Thoughts after the Yankees lose James Paxton and Gleyber Torres to injuries

The Yankees are not playing this weekend because the Mets are dealing with two positive COVID-19 cases, yet the team still managed to make news. Yesterday the Yankees announced three players will be put on the injured list:

• Luis Avilan (shoulder inflammation)
• James Paxton (Grade 1 flexor strain)
• Gleyber Torres (Grade 1 left quad and left hamstring strains)

The Yankees have not yet announced timetables for their returns -- there was no media availability on the off-day yesterday, which is standard -- though I reckon Paxton and Torres will miss weeks, not days. Flexor strains are delicate and must be allowed to heal properly, otherwise the pitcher risks elbow ligament damage. Torres straining his quad and hamstring is so dumb it's almost impressive. An extremely 2019-20 Yankees thing, that is. Robbie Cano had it right all those years: never hustle and play 160 games a year. The Yankees said Giancarlo Stanton will miss 3-4 weeks with his Grade 1 hamstring strain, so until the team says otherwise, that's what I'm assuming with Gleyber. Blah. Anyway, I have a few quick thoughts on things that I don't want to wait until Tuesday to post because they'll be outdated by then, so let's get to 'em.

1. Judge's return. During a radio interview yesterday Aaron Boone said Aaron Judge will likely be activated prior to the team's next game. "That is the thought. He should be ready. For our next game he should be ready to go," Boone said, according to George King. The injuries mean the Yankees have three roster spots to fill and Judge will get one of them. I won't celebrate until I see Judge back in the lineup -- we've heard the "he'll be back soon" line only to get burned too many times the last few years -- but, by all accounts, the calf injury really was minor. Hooray for that. The offense needs him. Luke Voit can't do it all.

2. The backup infielder. Even after Judge is activated, the Yankees will have only 12 position players on their 28-man roster. They're carrying 14 pitchers and will have two open spots. One of the two open spots has to go to a backup infielder, and unless the Yankees are willing to play Gio Urshela at second base or shortstop (something they have resisted to date), it has to be someone who can play the middle infield (i.e. not Miguel Andujar). Matt Duffy, Kyle Holder, and Jordy Mercer are at the alternate site. All three would require a 40-man roster move. I guess it's possible Avilan, Paxton, or Torres will land on the 45-day injured list. If not, I bet the Yankees spend the next few days working on a minor trade to avoid losing a guy like Ben Heller or Brooks Kriske on waivers for nothing. Heller or Kriske for a non-40-man roster prospect (likely a player to be named later) seems easy enough, though I suppose they could trade them for an infielder directly. I guess we'll find out. Point is, Thairo Estrada and Tyler Wade are the only middle infielders on the roster right now, so the Yankees have to add one before they play their next game, with Mercer the odds on favorite given his status as a Proven Veteran. No matter what they do, a 40-man roster move will be required. (In the name of all that is holy, just put Andujar at third and Urshela at second or short now that Torres and DJ LeMahieu are out. Or Andujar at second and Urshela at third. Do it and thank me later.)

3. Replacing Paxton. The circumstances are unfortunate and I hope everyone is okay, but this weekend's series postponement comes at a good time for the Yankees. Brian Cashman & Co. have a few days to catch their breath and plot out roster moves before playing their next game rather than rushing into something. My preferred Paxton replacement (in order):

1. Trade addition
2. Clarke Schmidt
3. Other (Mike King, Nick Nelson, etc.)

Jon Morosi says the Angels will sell and, if true, the new slider happy Dylan Bundy would be a fine target. I wrote about Bundy as a possible "get him away from the Orioles and make him use his fastball less" guy a few times at RAB and he'd remain under team control next year as an arbitration-eligible player, so yeah, he'd make sense. Anyway, I hope the Yankees can go out and get a starter soon. The flexor strain is likely to sideline Paxton a while, so much so he might return as a reliever because there won't be enough time to stretch him out as a starter. I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for Schmidt. They've resisted calling him up this long and the 40-man roster is already cluttered. If anything, I bet they wait until after the trade deadline to call him up a la Luis Severino in 2015. See whether you can get a starter at the deadline, and if not, go with your top prospect. The Yankees may only need their fifth starter once before the deadline and King as a fill-in is the easiest move. Maybe they pair him with an opener -- who is even opening now that Chad Green is needed in the late innings while Zack Britton and Tommy Kahnle are hurt? Luis Cessa or Jonathan Loaisiga? no thanks -- but that's the easiest move. Find a soft landing spot (i.e. a good matchup day) and give King a spot start before the deadline. That's the guess here. The Yankees will replace Paxton with King in the short-term, see what they can do at the trade deadline, then turn to Schmidt should a deal not come together.

4. No lefty reliever. Now that Luis Avilan and Zack Britton are on the injured list, Aroldis Chapman is only lefty reliever on the roster, and he's the closer, not someone who will face the other team's big lefty bats in the seventh or eighth inning. The Yankees are also without Tommy Kahnle, their best matchup guy against lefties because of his changeup. Chad Green has always been very good against lefties, so I assume he is the lefty matchup guy by default right now. The bet here is the Yankees call up a lefty reliever prior to their next game. I have a hard time believing they'll carry a 10-11 man bullpen and have no middle innings lefty. Fernando Abad and Tyler Lyons are the only southpaws at the alternate site and whoever is throwing the best figures to get the call. Clearing a 28-man roster spot is easy (there will still be an open spot even after Aaron Judge is activated and an infielder is called up, plus the Yankees could easily send down Ben Heller or Miguel Yajure), but adding a lefty reliever would require another 40-man roster move. Maybe it's best not to have a middle innings lefty in that case? The three-batter minimum rule limits their usefulness and, frankly, I'd trust Green vs. a lefty in a big spot over any lefty the Yankees could realistically add to the roster. I dunno, just seems unlikely the Yankees will roll with 9-10 righties in a 10-11 man bullpen in which the only lefty is married to the ninth inning. 

5. No game until Tuesday. During the radio interview yesterday Aaron Boone said he's heard it is "at least possible" the Yankees and Mets will play a doubleheader on their mutual off-day Monday, according to Anthony DiComo. I don't think that's happening though. The Mets announced their traveling party will quarantine at home this weekend and there are no workouts scheduled. The earliest they will hold a workout is Monday, and every team that has been shut down due to a positive COVID-19 test has held at least one workout day before playing a game. Hard to see the Mets doing nothing at all Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, then jumping right into a doubleheader Monday. That means the Yankees are not likely to play again until their series opener in Atlanta on Tuesday night. The Yankees and Mets could play doubleheaders next Friday and Sunday at Yankee Stadium (the Mets would have to be the home team for one game each day, or maybe they do a two-stadium doubleheader, that'd be fun), then I guess they could make up the third game during their mutual off-day Sept. 14th. Two doubleheaders in one weekend will be rough but it shouldn't be too bad. The Yankees have an off-day this coming Thursday and then an off-day the following Thursday, so it's not a long stretch of games. With an expanded roster and seven-inning games, they'll be okay. Before any scheduling plans can be made, the Mets have to check out okay and continue testing negative. Hopefully that happens and they can resume play soon. As things stand, I would bet against the Yankees playing before Tuesday.

6. Trade market takes shape. The Yankees made a very minor trade yesterday, sending David Hale to the Phillies for righty reliever Addison Russ (not Addison Russell, thankfully). I'll have more on Russ, a Jonathan Holder type with a very small outside chance to become a Tommy Kahnle type, in Tuesday's post but my quick take is he's a pretty darn good return for a journeyman who had been designated for assignment and seems to be on waivers twice a season. And with the way the last few years have gone, I bet Hale winds up back in pinstripes next year. Anyway, the Red Sox traded relievers Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree to Philadelphia last night and that may set the trade market for relievers (something the Yankees need) in this weird season. Boston received reclamation project Nick Pivetta and pitching prospect Connor Seabold in the deal. Workman is a rental and Hembree will remain under team control next year, and the Red Sox are paying enough of their salaries to turn them into league minimum players for the Phillies. That's a pretty good return for one year and two months (four months if the Phillies make the postseason) worth of relievers. The Yankees equivalent is something like Luis Cessa and either Mike King or Nick Nelson. What this trade tells me is teams willing to flex their financial muscle will be at an advantage at the deadline. The Red Sox do not get a guy like Seabold without eating close to $1M in salary ($815,000 to be exact). Money is tight after the shutdown and every dollar counts. The Yankees should -- should -- be able to take on money at the deadline, especially since their luxury tax bill will be prorated. A guy like, say, Trevor Rosenthal will be owed over $350,000 in September. Are the small market Royals desperate to get rid of that? Possibly! It's hard to know what the Hembree/Workman trade means for prospect cost at the deadline because it's two relievers with different terms of control, but it does show that money is really important right now. Much moreso than usual. The willingness to take on money will be a distinct advantage at the deadline.

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