November 24th, 2020: Rule 5 Draft, Cubs, Chapman

Reminder: I am skipping this Friday’s post for Thanksgiving. If there’s breaking news, I will happily cover it, otherwise I’m going to lay low around turkey day. I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving. Thanks for reading.

Gonna start you off with a must-click link: Adam Ottavino documented the COVID-19 season with his camera and spoke to Joon Lee about it. There are all sorts of great behind-the-scenes photos and stories in there. Make sure you check it out. Now here are today’s thoughts.

1. Rule 5 Draft protection deadline. The Rule 5 Draft protection deadline came and went with no real surprises Friday. Here are the moves the Yankees made and the roster ramifications.

Four additions

The Yankees added four players to the 40-man roster Friday: RHP Roansy Contreras, RHP Yoendrys Gomez, IF Oswald Peraza, and RHP Alex Vizcaino. Baseball America had Gomez, Peraza, and Vizcaino in the 5-10 range of their recent top 10 Yankees prospects list, and I have to think Contreras will be in the 11-15 range of the top 30 list when that is released.

Peraza, 20, is an interesting prospect because he posts huge exit velocity numbers despite showing little to no power in his career to date (career .079 ISO). He’s a no-doubt shortstop with good defensive chops, above-average speed, and advanced strike zone knowledge. I’m not sure Peraza could’ve stuck in MLB all next year as a Rule 5 Draft pick, but I understand the Yankees protecting him. Better to be safe than sorry.

Vizcaino spent the summer at the alternate site working on a few slight mechanical tweaks that have apparently helped him better control his slider. He’s an upper-90s fastball guy with a great changeup (GIF via Lucas Apostoleris) …

… so the ability to turn the slider into a usable third pitch will ultimately determine whether he will start or relieve long-term. Devin Williams was just named NL Rookie of the Year as a fastball/changeup reliever. Squint your eyes and you can see Vizcaino following a similar path.

Vizcaino is the only one of the three 40-man roster additions with a chance to help the Yankees as anything more than an emergency call-up next season. He’s only thrown 27.1 innings at High-A, though he did spend this year at the alternate site, which is a heck of a lot more than Contreras, Gomez, and Peraza did. None of those guys have played above Low-A.

Between Contreras, Gomez, Peraza, and Luis Medina, the Yankees have four players on the 40-man who won’t help at the MLB level in 2021. We could probably throw Vizcaino, Estevan Florial, and Luis Gil in that basket too. Hard to see them as anything more than emergency call-up candidates after a lost minor league season. That's seven 40-man spots tied up in kids who aren’t really MLB options. That seems like a lot.

Left exposed

I would not call him the most notable prospect the Yankees left exposed to the Rule 5 Draft, but the prospect most likely to be selected is reliever Addison Russ. He is about as MLB ready as a reliever can get after that lost minor league season, and ZiPS likes him. Gotta think some team will grab Russ in the Rule 5 Draft and see what he can do in Spring Training at the very least.

The Yankees acquired Russ in the David Hale trade with the Phillies and I thought they would add him to the 40-man roster, though it’s not a complete shock they didn’t. You never quite know with these older (Russ is 26 already) reliever types. Supposedly his velocity was down at the alternate site too, though that could be a function of the weird year and short Summer Camp.

Righties Glenn Otto and Trevor Stephan were also left exposed to the Rule 5 Draft and I’m not sure either gets picked. Otto’s had a ton of injuries over the years and Stephan was so bad two years ago (the last time teams saw him) that he had to be demoted from Double-A to High-A at midseason. Neither was at the alternate site. Garrett Whitlock is also unprotected but is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

The Yankees have had 12 players selected in the Rule 5 Draft since 2014 and only two of those 12 stuck with their new team: Luis Torrens (Padres in 2015) and Rony Garcia (Tigers in 2020). Chances are they’ll have another player selected this year, with Russ the odds on favorite. As always, the smart money is on him coming back. That’s just the way it is with the Rule 5 Draft.

40-man situation

The 40-man roster is now full. The Yankees didn’t have to open any spots to accommodate the four Rule 5 Draft protection guys, though they will have to clear space every time they make a move going forward this offseason (re-sign DJ LeMahieu, etc). I think the chopping block lines up like so:

1. Ben Heller
2. Mike Ford
3. Jonathan Holder

Ford made himself expendable this past season (and Luke Voit made himself indispensable), and while Holder is a perfectly cromulent middle reliever, I can’t help but wonder whether a league minimum guy like Albert Abreu or Brooks Kriske could give you the same (or better) production. Holder is projected to make $900,000 in 2021 and every dollar counts.

The Yankees have done the “my 40-man prospect for your non-40-man prospect” many times over the years (Chance Adams for Cristian Perez, Ronald Guzman for Reiver Sanmartin, Joe Harvey for Alfredo Garcia, etc.) and will surely try it again these next few weeks. Here are the teams with open 40-man roster spots and are thus the most likely trade partners:

• One open spot: Astros, Brewers, Cardinals, Mariners
• Two open spots: Angels, Braves, Rangers, Twins
• Three open spots: Cubs, Dodgers, Mets, Phillies
• Four or more open spots: Athletics (five), Nationals (seven!), Reds (four)

Keep in mind those teams may have 40-man spots earmarked for other players. The Astros have to re-sign or replace Michael Brantley and George Springer, for example. Abreu, Mike King, Nick Nelson, Miguel Yajure, and Thairo Estrada all strike me as candidates to be dealt for a non-40-man player in a roster shuffling move at some point.

DFA targets?

As always, the Rule 5 Draft protection deadline brought a wave of players getting removed from the 40-man roster. There were 17 players designated for assignment Friday, plus three waiver claims and two minor trades. Only three of those 17 players caught my attention as possible depth pickups for the Yankees: Jordan Humphreys, Brian O’Grady, and Trevor Williams.

O’Grady, 28, is a lefty swinging first baseman and outfielder with a career .286/.360/.553 (134 wRC+) batting line in 154 Triple-A games. Basically a Mike Ford who can also play the outfield. O’Grady is 10-for-47 (.213) with two homers in scattered MLB playing time with the Reds and Rays the last two years, and he has a minor league option remaining for next year.

Two years ago Williams was legitimately one of the best pitchers in the National League (3.11 ERA and 3.86 FIP in 170.2 innings). In the two years since, the 28-year-old has a 5.60 ERA (5.45 FIP) with underwhelming peripherals (18.2% strikeouts, 7.3% walks, 39.1% grounders). The Pirates missed their chance to cash him in as a trade chip. The old regime was a disaster.

I know the Yankees need pitching, but I don’t think they’re this desperate yet. Williams is projected to make $3.5M in 2021 and there’s no way he gets claimed at that price. He’ll clear waivers and elect free agency before long, and if the Yankees want to bring him in, they can sign him then. No waiver claim required. There’s more name value than on-field value here.

Humphreys, 24, is a former Mets prospect who has thrown only 13.2 innings the last four years because of Tommy John surgery and the pandemic. The Mets traded him to the Giants for Billy Hamilton this year, then San Francisco cut him loose last week. MLB.com ranks Humphreys as the 26th best prospect in their system. Here’s a piece of their write-up:

Humphreys' best pitch is his fastball, which plays better than its 90-94 mph velocity because of its riding life and his ability to command it to any quadrant of the strike zone. Both of his secondary pitches presently grade as average but show flashes of becoming better than that. He has a tight upper-70s curveball with promising spin rates and a changeup that he sells well with fastball arm speed … He offers the upside of three solid pitches with plus control

Even with a full 40-man roster, I think it’s worth claiming Humphreys. The Yankees could claim him, then designate him for assignment and pass him through waivers, and if he clears, they’d have him as a non-40-man roster player. If he gets claimed, then they’re right back where they started. No biggie. The Yankees are 21st on the waiver priority list. If Humphreys gets to them, it means 20 teams will have already passed. It just might work.

2. The Cubs as a trade partner. Even before Theo Epstein stepped down last week, the Cubs were expected to cut payroll and break up their core this offseason. They’ve gone backwards since the 2016 World Series and almost all their core players will become free agents next offseason. Rather than gear up for one last run, they’re poised to tear it down.

“They seem to think a heavy restart could be in order,” an executive told Mark Feinsand. “Won’t be easy, though, because of the money their guys are set to make. If someone can extend (Kris) Bryant or (Javy) Baez, they are probably still pretty good gets … (The Cubs) are open to all kinds of stuff. They aren’t a group afraid to make big moves.”

"The eye might be a little more focused on the future than usual," new president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer added during his press conference yesterday. 

Wrigley Field was just granted National Historic Landmark status, entitling the team to over $100M in tax breaks, and owner Tom Ricketts told Jordan Bastian that money won't be put into the baseball budget. Not even a phony "it gives us more flexibility, so we'll see what happens" comment. Just a straight up no. For all my complaining about Hal Steinbrenner and the payroll, I'm glad he owns the Yankees and not some of these other ghouls.

Anyway, the Yankees have multiple needs (second base, rotation, pitching in general) and with the Cubs ready to break up the band, there could be a trade match between the two teams. Let’s look at a few notable Cubs and see whether they fit the Yankees (players listed alphabetically).

SS Javy Baez

Baez was really, really bad in 2020. He hit .203/.238/.360 (57 wRC+) -- Gary Sanchez had a 79 wRC+, for comparison -- with too many strikeouts (31.9%) and not enough walks (3.0%). Baez blamed his struggles, at least somewhat, on the lack of in-game video access. I’m willing to give everyone a mulligan after this unusual season. Baez had a 131 wRC+ in 2018 and a 114 wRC+ in 2019. I believe that is his true talent level.

As poorly as he hit this year, Baez remained a Gold Glove caliber shortstop, and he would be an upgrade over Gleyber Torres at the position. The Yankees could push Torres to second and go with Baez at short, knowing he’ll at least provide value defensively if he doesn’t hit. His $10.7M projected salary is about half what Francisco Lindor is projected to receive. That’s appropriate seeing how Baez is basically the poor man’s Lindor right now.

Unlike some other players mentioned here, I don’t think the Cubs are desperate to unload Baez and clear his salary. He’s a player I could see them keeping next year and even long-term with an extension. That doesn’t mean they won’t listen to trade offers, of course. If the Yankees miss out on DJ LeMahieu, it’s worth making a call and seeing what the Cubs want for Baez even though he would be another strikeout heavy righty bat.

C Willson Contreras

Contreras and Sanchez are very similar players. They’re both offense first catchers who are the same age (28), under team control another two years, and have the same 2021 projected salary ($5.5M vs. $5.6M). Both had down 2018s (Gary played through a shoulder injury that year), very good 2019s, then down 2020s (Sanchez’s 2020 was much worse, of course).

There are two key differences between Contreras and Sanchez: Contreras is a better blocker and has rated as a better framer, and his ups and downs haven’t been nearly as extreme. If the Yankees were to trade for Contreras, they’d replace Sanchez with a similarly talented but less volatile player. There’s merit to it, for sure.

The second tier of the free agent catching market isn’t good and I reckon Contreras will be a popular trade target for the teams that miss out on J.T. Realmuto. Can the Yankees win a prospect bidding war? Do they want to when they have such a similar player already on the roster? Trading prospects for Contreras, then Sanchez outplaying Contreras the next two years would be very amusing and is 100% possible.

RHP Yu Darvish

The Yankees need pitching and here’s a starter with a 2.40 ERA (2.54 FIP) and stellar strikeout (34.6%) and walk (3.4%) rates in his last 25 starts and 157.2 innings. Darvish’s first season and a half with the Cubs did not go well, but he turned things around in the middle of last season, and it continued into this year, when he finished second in the Cy Young voting. When he’s on, he’s as good as they come.

The downside: Darvish comes with the risk of age-related decline (turned 34 in August) and he’s expensive (three years and $59M remaining on his contract). Trade for him and he could turn into a lemon immediately. It wasn’t too long ago that Darvish looked like a big free agent bust. That said, he’s not completely over the hill at age 34, and his salary is reasonable for a pitcher of this caliber. He’s not overpaid. He’s appropriately paid.

Darvish would be a worthy No. 2 behind Gerrit Cole and the asking price shouldn’t be too high given the salary. Zack Greinke was traded with two and a half years remaining on his contract and he fetched four mid-range prospects. Can the Cubs get that for Darvish with all the belt-tightening going on around the league? Maybe, but I think they would be lucky to do that well. The Yankees should call about Darvish. Absolutely.

OF Ian Happ

The Yankees had their pick of three players in the Aroldis Chapman trade: Gleyber Torres, Eloy Jimenez, and Happ. They made the right pick. Happ has been a very productive player the last few years though, including posting a .258/.361/.505 (131 wRC+) line with 12 homers in 57 games in 2020. He does strike out too much (career 31.5%), but he’s a switch-hitter with power and patience (12.2% walks), and players like that fit into every lineup.

Happ, 26, is now a full-time outfielder and the Yankees don’t need another outfielder. They could try him at second base again though. Just because the Cubs have given up on him there doesn’t mean he couldn’t try it again. Happ has three years of control remaining and he’s projected to make a mere $2.5M in 2021. He’s good and he’s affordable. The only question is where exactly does he fit into the lineup? Is second base doable or has that door closed for good?

RHP Kyle Hendricks

Hendricks, 31 next month, is probably the most valuable player on Chicago’s roster. Either him or Happ. Hendricks is a soft-tosser in a league of hard-throwers and it works because he has an outstanding changeup, elite command, and pitching smarts. He’s been among the best starters in baseball the last five years, and with three years and $43.5M remaining on his contract, he is absurdly underpaid. Hendricks is an absolute bargain.

I would rather have Hendricks' next three years than Darvish's next three years. The trade packages figure to be very different though. Hendricks is younger and cheaper, and he’s been better than Darvish the last three years. Darvish is no slouch though, and I’d rather pay an extra $5M a season and give up lesser prospects to get him than pay the price to get Hendricks. Hendricks strikes me as one of the few players the Cubs will keep through this transition phase given his affordable contract.

RHP Craig Kimbrel

In the Before Times, Kimbrel would have been an amazing “take on his salary to lower the asking price for someone else” trade target. He’s been pretty bad in his two years with the Cubs (6.00 ERA and 6.29 FIP), and while they were both weird years (he signed at midseason in 2019 and then there was the pandemic), they still happened, and they lowered Kimbrel’s trade value.

Kimbrel turns 33 in May and he’s owed $16M next year with a $1M buyout of his 2022 option. Take on that $17M and get someone else (Baez, Contreras, Darvish, Happ, Hendricks, etc.) for pennies on the dollar, you know? Then you hope Kimbrel has a good 2021 with a normal Spring Training, or something close to it. Teams with money to spend (hello, Blue Jays or Mets) should be all over a Darvish or Hendricks plus Kimbrel package.

The Yankees tried to acquire Kimbrel once upon a time but it was a long, long time ago. It was the 2015 trade deadline. A lot has changed since then. Maybe the Yankees could send Adam Ottavino the other way to offset salary, but even then, would they really tie up nearly $50M in three relievers (Kimbrel, Zack Britton, Aroldis Chapman) next year? I don’t think they would have done that even before the pandemic.

Taking on Kimbrel’s salary to lower the asking price for another player is a great idea that doesn’t seem all that realistic right now. The Yankees have some payroll flexibility this winter but not that much, and dropping $17M on a reliever who might just be bad now seems like a poor use of payroll space. Kimbrel as a way to lower the prospect cost for another player is a good idea. It just doesn’t seem like a thing that will happen.

1B Anthony Rizzo

Like Hendricks, I could see the Cubs keeping Rizzo through this transition. He’s a heart and soul guy and the team leader. That said, gosh, his lefty bat sure would look nice in the No. 3 hole between Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Rizzo, 31, is owed $16.5M next year, and he’s coming off an underwhelming .222/.342/.414 (103 wRC+) batting line in 2020, but I'm not sweating it. Weird season, etc. etc.

The Yankees don’t need a first baseman at the moment, and even if they were to trade Luke Voit this winter, they would be able to plug someone in at first base at much less than $16.5M. I mentioned Rizzo out of obligation. He doesn’t fit into their current payroll situation. Maybe we’ll revisit Rizzo when he’s a free agent next offseason.

The Non-Tender Candidates

Pretty good chance the Cubs will non-tender Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber next month. They’re projected to make $18.6M and $7.9M next year, respectively. Gotta say, the Cubs non-tendering Bryant before his final year of team control after all the service time shenanigans (and the grievance that took five years to resolve) would be really, really funny.

Bryant, 29 in January, played through injuries this past season and hit a woeful .206/.293/.351 (76 wRC+) with four homers in 34 games. He was never right. For the Cubs, the smart thing would be tendering Bryant a contract, hoping he rebounds with good health next year, then trading him at the deadline rather than non-tendering him and letting him go for nothing. The Cubs don't seem likely to do that though. Pretty wild.

Gio Urshela is the same age as Bryant, significantly cheaper, under team control longer, and possibly the better player at this point. The last two seasons:

The thing is, Bryant is the type of player who, when he becomes available, you figure out a way to make room for him because he is so talented and can be so impactful. He’s played first base and the outfield in his career. Could he make it work at second base (or could Urshela)? Could he be a roving four corners guy who plays everyday at a different position?

In the real world, trading prospects for Bryant, then paying him $18.6M next year doesn’t make a ton of sense given the payroll situation and the likelihood of a non-tender. It would be smarter to wait until Bryant hits free agency, then pursue him at a lower salary with a “we’ll give you a chance to rebuild value in a hitter friendly ballpark and also win” sales pitch. It takes two to tango and he may not go for it, but that’s life.

I mentioned Schwarber a few weeks ago. I don’t want the Yankees to push Clint Frazier aside to make room for Schwarber but I could definitely see it happening. They love Schwarber. I can’t say I fully understand it, but they love him. That said, I don’t think they love him so much that they’d trade for him. If anything, the Yankees would wait until after Schwarber gets non-tendered, then pursue him as a free agent.

Darvish is the best fit among prominent Cubs players, I think. He is expensive, but he’s also very good, and the prospect cost shouldn’t be prohibitive. Contreras and Hendricks will require a real prospect package, Happ and Rizzo are imperfect positional fits, and Kimbrel is owed too much money without the promise of being good. Baez would work, though the Yankees could find a capable infielder in free agency. Darvish-caliber starters are in short supply.

3. Remembering a random Yankee: Chris Hammond. This week’s random Yankee comes by request and is a pitcher who had the season of his life at just the right time. Here's the random Yankee archive. You can find links back to everyone we've covered there.

A former sixth round draft pick, Hammond was a journeyman southpaw who compiled a 4.54 ERA in 843.2 innings with the Reds, Marlins (two stints), and Red Sox from 1990-98. He was an original Marlin -- Hammond started the third game in franchise history -- and around injuries he posted a 3.57 ERA in 234.1 innings with Florida in 1994-95.

Hammond spent 1999-2000 away from baseball and was essentially retired. At age 35, he attempted a comeback with Cleveland in 2001, and threw 51.2 Triple-A innings with a 3.31 ERA. They released him at midseason and Hammond hooked on with his hometown Braves. He had a 2.35 ERA in 30.2 Triple-A innings the rest of the season.

That was enough for the Braves to bring Hammond to Spring Training the next year and he won a spot in their 2002 Opening Day bullpen, and turned in an outstanding season: 0.95 ERA (2.74 FIP) with 63 strikeouts in 76 relief innings. That was the first year of batted ball data and his 52.0% ground ball rate was comfortably better than the 43.5% league average.

Hammond’s career year came at a good time. The Yankees were looking for a lefty reliever that offseason and were willing to pay handsomely for one, relatively speaking. The negotiation was … unusual. The Yankees made the same contract offer to three free agents and told them the first one to take it, gets it. From the Associated Press:

The New York Yankees, the team (Mike Stanton) helped to three World Series titles and four AL pennants in six seasons, had called his agent at 5:15 p.m. Friday with an ultimatum: accept a $4.6 million, two-year contract in the next 15 minutes or be cut loose.

New York made identical offers to Stanton and two other free agent left-handed relievers: Chris Hammond and Mark Guthrie. First one to accept gets it.

Stanton didn't even bother to respond, and his career with the Yankees came to an end when Saturday's midnight deadline passed for free agents to re-sign with their former clubs. Hammond's agent and New York then started working on a two-year contract for about $5 million.

Hammond and the Yankees eventually agreed to a two-year, $4.8M contract with a club option for a third year, and his stint in pinstripes started with a lie. In Spring Training, Hammond had a left shoulder issue -- the same shoulder that gave him problems earlier in his career -- and he told reporters he did not go for an MRI when he actually did.

“Maybe he isn’t used to the New York market, but I don’t know why he said he didn’t have an MRI,” Brian Cashman told George King at the time. “There is nothing wrong, thankfully. Nothing a little rest won’t help.”

“It feels fine,” Hammond later added. “It might be something inflamed. I took some anti-inflammatory and it feels good. We will see how it feels (today) ... I would be worried if it was pain, but it just aches.”

Younger me was stoked the Yankees signed Hammond because hey, the guy had a 0.95 ERA the previous year. At the time he was only the ninth pitcher in history to throw at least 50 innings in a season with a sub-1.00 ERA. It never dawned on younger me that his home run rate (one allowed in 76 innings) was completely unsustainable.

Hammond had a good regular season with the Yankees. He was a lefty but not a lefty specialist, throwing 63 innings in 62 appearances as Mariano Rivera’s primary setup man. His homer rate shot up (five in 63 innings) while his strikeout (20.3% to 17.2%) and grounder (52.0% to 32.8%) rates dipped. Opponents hit .270/.304/.407 against him -- it was .195/.278/.261 the year before -- yet he still managed a 2.86 ERA (3.25 FIP). I remember him as an adventure. Lots wiggling out of jams.

The Yankees beat the Twins in four games in the ALDS that year and Hammond did not appear in the series even though Minnesota had four lefties in their lineup (Jacques Jones, Corey Koskie, random Yankee Doug Mientkiewicz, A.J. Pierzynski). When time came to set the ALCS roster against the Red Sox, Hammond was dropped in favor of another position player.

“This is the first time we’ve ever had 11 pitchers -- if I’m not mistaken -- in the first round,” Joe Torre told Lenn Robbins about the decision to drop Hammond. “We went to 10 now because I wanted the extra infielder, (Erick) Almonte. (Enrique) Wilson will in all likelihood play (Game 3) against Pedro (Martinez) because he’s had success against him. I don’t know where he’ll play right now. So I wanted to make sure I had an infielder.”

Hammond was added to the World Series roster and appeared in one game against the Marlins, his former club. It was Game 5, the David Wells game. Wells was forced out after one inning with back trouble. Jose Contreras allowed four runs in three innings of long relief, then Hammond took over in the fifth inning with the Yankees down three runs. It was his first game action in 27 days.

With the Yankees down 4-1 in the fifth, Wilson botched a rundown -- he rushed the play and threw the ball to no one in particular with Ivan Rodriguez hung up between second and third -- and put runners on second and third with one out. Three pitches later, Mike Lowell looped a single to center against Hammond to score both runners. Here’s the entire sequence.

Those two runs proved to be the game-winning runs. The Yankees rallied late and closed to within 6-4, and they got Bernie Williams and Hideki Matsui to plate representing the tying run in the ninth inning. Bernie flew out and Matsui grounded out to end the game and give the Marlins a 3-2 series lead. You know what happened next.

That was Hammond’s final appearance as a Yankee. He was traded to the Athletics after the season in a move that was partly about cutting costs (Hammond was owed $2.6M in 2004) and partly about clearing a spot for Felix Heredia. The Yankees received righty Eduardo Sierra and infielder J.T. Stotts in the trade.

Hammond, then 38, was quite good with Oakland in 2004 (2.68 ERA in 53.2 innings), and he hung around with the Padres in 2005 (3.84 ERA in 58.2 innings) and the Reds in 2006 (6.91 ERA in 28.2 innings). He was completely out of baseball from 1999-2000, then he came back, pitched to a 2.93 ERA in 280 innings from 2002-06, and made nearly $7M. Not bad.

Sierra and Stotts, it should be noted, were good prospects. Baseball America (subs. req’d) ranked Sierra as the No. 11 prospect in the farm system heading into 2004. Granted, the system was very thin in those days, but still. Here’s a snippet of their scouting report:

With a 95-mph fastball, Sierra has one of the best raw arms in the system. He pitches high in the zone with a power fastball. When his splitter is working and he can control his fastball, he can be virtually unhittable. However, command is the key to Sierra's success and it tends to waver. The Athletics moved him to the bullpen full-time last year and the Yankees plan on keeping him there. With two big weapons, he has closer potential as he matures and fills out his lanky frame.

Sierra spent a year and a half in the system (3.30 ERA and 107/83 K/BB in 106.1 innings), then was sent to the Rockies in the Shawn Chacon trade. He bounced around the minors and the Mexican League from 2006-10 but never did reach the big leagues.

Baseball America (subs. req’d) ranked Stotts as the No. 23 prospect in the system after the trade and called him a future utility man. He never hit and was out of baseball by 2007. Stotts got into scouting after his playing career ended, first with the A’s and later with the Yankees. He was the scout who watched Troy Tulowitzki’s showcase in Dec. 2017 and recommended the Yankees invite him in for a private workout, according to Joel Sherman.

4. Rapid fire thoughts. Aroldis Chapman’s suspension has been reduced from three games to two games, reports Jon Heyman. That’s the suspension stemming from the pitch he threw over Mike Brosseau’s head in September. The appeal hearing was pushed back into the offseason because there were scheduling issues with some witnesses. Whenever the 2021 season begins, the Yankees will be without their closer the first two games. Not the end of the world … ESPN released their Opening Day broadcast schedule. The Yankees will host the Blue Jays on Opening Day and it will be the very first game of the 2021 season. ESPN will have the broadcast at 1pm ET on Thursday, April 1st. Gerrit Cole will throw the first pitch of the new MLB season to Cavan Biggio, presumably. This is subject to change, of course. The pandemic is still raging and screwing up everyone’s plans … And finally, the minimum salary will be $570,500 next season, reports the Associated Press. That’s a $7,000 raise from this season. Last year’s raise was $8,500 and it was $10,000 each of the two years before that. The Collective Bargaining Agreement says the 2019-20 and 2020-21 raises are set by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. Why the MLBPA agreed to that rather than (a minimum) $10,000 each year, I don’t understand. Were the owners really going to blow up an entire CBA over that?

(Send your requests for Tuesday's random Yankee series and questions for Friday's mailbag to RABmailbag at gmail dot com.)