February 6th, 2020: Paxton, Betts, Severino, Stanton, Not Top 30 Prospects, Mailbag

Six days until pitchers and catchers report to Tampa and 16 days until the first Grapefruit League game. Hooray. Anyway, with my Top 30 Prospects List coming out tomorrow, here is the regular Friday post a day early. Let's get to it.

1. Paxton injured. Two days ago -- literally two days ago -- I wrote there will be a Spring Training injury that shakes up the projected Triple-A Scranton rotation. The injury didn't wait until Spring Training. James Paxton underwent a "microscopic lumbar discectomy with removal of a peridiscal cyst" yesterday, the Yankees announced. In English, that means Paxton had a herniated disc removed from his lower back and a cyst removed as well. Baseball always has a way of bringing you back to Earth when you start to get excited, doesn't it? The Yankees say Paxton's "approximate timeline to return to Major League action is 3-4 months," which means May or June. (I worry "approximate" is doing a lot of work there.) Brian Cashman told Bryan Hoch and Joel Sherman that Paxton first experienced discomfort in the final week of the regular season (remember when he was pulled from his start in Texas after one inning?), and he received an injection at some point in October. That's why Masahiro Tanaka started ALCS Game 1. They pushed Paxton back to Game 2 to give the injection time to kick in. Cashman said the doctors recommended treatment during the offseason, not surgery, but Paxton's back flared up when he ramped up his workouts a few weeks ago, and those "storm clouds" led to the Yankees keeping J.A. Happ. That explains that. "There was a lot of knocking on our door about it, but because Paxton’s complaints were being evaluated over the winter by various personnel, it just made sense to keep our depth," Cashman said. Herniated discs are bad news and backs never really get better. Ask David Wells. This is something Paxton will have to manage pretty much his entire career going forward. With Paxton out, the rotation depth chart now looks like this:

1. Gerrit Cole
2. Luis Severino
3. Masahiro Tanaka
4. J.A. Happ
5. Jordan Montgomery
6. Mike King
7. Jonathan Loaisiga
8. Deivi Garcia?

Montgomery returned from Tommy John surgery late last year and has been throwing since October -- "I feel pretty strong right now," he told the Associated Press earlier this week -- so that's good. Domingo German is due back from his domestic violence suspension in early June, so the Yankees know they have him coming. Unlike Paxton, German is not injured and we don't have to see how his rehab goes. His suspension has a fixed end date. He can return on June 5th. That's when we'll see him. I guess the Yankees could dip into free agency to add rotation depth (Clay Buchholz? Jason Vargas?), but I get the sense they will stand pat for now and see how Spring Training unfolds. You can find No. 6-7 starter types pretty much anywhere, and remember, three years ago Montgomery came out of nowhere to win the fifth starter's spot in Spring Training. Maybe someone like Nick Nelson or Clarke Schmidt can be this year's Montgomery. Who knows? Paxton turned a corner late last season and was very good down the stretch -- he pitched pretty well in October considering his back was acting up -- and I was looking forward to seeing whether that would translate over a full season in 2020. Now the goal is making sure he's healthy for the second half and the postseason. The Yankees have the depth to weather the storm until German and Paxton return -- worst case scenario is Chad Green gets more opener work at some point -- and they're good enough to win the AL East even with Paxton sidelined. The most important thing is making sure he's healthy and ready for October. The Yankees will most need Paxton in the postseason, and I would happily trade a few starts in May and June for starts in October. Give him as much time as he needs to recover, and, if the rotation is in rough shape a few weeks into the season, the Yankees will figure it out. They always do. It's a bummer Paxton is hurt again -- it's a major bummer for him as he heads into free agency -- but the timing is as good as it can be for an injury like this. It happened in early February and not June or August. His recovery starts before Spring Training. (The Yankees now have two 60-day injured list candidates in Paxton and Aaron Hicks. They can easily open 40-man roster space should a non-roster guy like David Hale be needed in the big leagues. They will eventually need a 40-man spot for German, however.)

2. Mookie Betts trade. Mookie Betts has been traded and I ain't mad about it. Tuesday night the Red Sox agreed to send Betts, arguably the best non-Trout player in the sport and inarguably their best homegrown player since Roger Clemens, to the Dodgers in a three-team trade. Here are the details (the trade still isn't official, for what it's worth):

• Dodgers get: Mookie Betts, David Price, cash (all from Red Sox)
• Red Sox get: Alex Verdugo (from Dodgers), Brusdar Graterol (from Twins)
• Twins get: Kenta Maeda (from Dodgers)

In a separate follow-up trade, the Dodgers will send Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling to the Angels, which allows them to stay under the $208M luxury tax threshold. Priorities, you know? Anyway, there is a lot to unpack here, so let's get to it. One, this is embarrassing for the Red Sox. They could have made a baseball trade and gotten as much talent as possible in return for Betts, which would have been a lot even with his impending free agency. Instead, they made a money trade and sunk his value by attaching him to Price's contract (Boston is reportedly paying half the $96M still owed to Price). They prioritized maximizing profits over fielding the best possible team, with or without Betts. It's very simple: the Red Sox won a World Series two years ago and they're immensely profitable, and they just traded their best player to save against the luxury tax. Fans should be outraged. Two, the Red Sox seem to have successfully brainwashed a not insignificant number of people into believing Betts wanting to get paid what he's worth in free agency (something he's very open about) actually means Betts does not want to stay with the Red Sox. No, it means Betts wants to get paid what he's worth, but the Red Sox don't want to give it to him. Mookie is not the greedy one in that equation, and the fact Boston made a money trade rather than a baseball trade tells us yes, this was all about making the payroll situation more favorable for ownership. They didn't make the trade because they think Betts will age poorly at that size or something like that. The Red Sox made the trade because they were not planning to pay him and this was their best chance to unload Price. Keeping Betts and trying to win in 2020 was apparently a non-option, which is silly. Imagine if the Nationals thought it would be best to trade Anthony Rendon last winter because they weren't sure they could re-sign him this winter? Three, as much as I won't miss the Yankees facing Betts, I will miss them facing Price. In his four years with the Red Sox, Price allowed 64 runs in 69 innings against the Yankees (postseason included), and the Yankees won nine of his 14 starts. I'm honestly surprised the Red Sox managed to win five times. I know it's more nuanced than this, but it is crazy to think Price going to the Dodgers will cost the Yankees at least one win in the standings in 2020 (and 2021 and 2022)? At least we'll always have this photo (via Presswire):

Four, the Red Sox won't be terrible this coming season. They won't be great, I don't think, but they won't be bad, and the funny thing is they (probably) won't have their first round draft pick next year (and the year after?) once commissioner Rob Manfred hands down the sign-stealing scandal punishment. At least they'll be able to use their newfound payroll flexibility to sign, uh, Robbie Ray? Five, the Yankees equivalent to Verdugo and Graterol is Clint Frazier and Deivi Garcia, and it fits well. Frazier and Verdugo are both young outfielders who have shown they can hit MLB pitching, though Frazier has never gotten an extended opportunity like Verdugo last year, and he doesn't have back issues or significant off-the-field concerns. Baseball America (subs. req'd) ranked Graterol 60th on their recent top 100 prospects list and Garcia 65th. MLB.com had them 83rd and 92nd, respectively. They are very close. The biggest difference between the two is injury history. Graterol had Tommy John surgery in 2016 and a shoulder problem in 2019. Would I trade Clint and Deivi for one year of Betts and three years of half-price Price? Yes, I absolutely would, assuming the goal is win the World Series and not save money. Six, I really like what the Twins did here. They're ready to win right now -- Nelson Cruz and Josh Donaldson are not getting any younger -- and waiting around for Graterol to establish himself at the big league level doesn't make much sense, especially if you think he's only a reliever long-term. Maeda is signed affordably through 2023 and he's a reliable league average-ish starter with bullpen experience. He helps them much more than Graterol in the short-term. Nice pickup for the Twins. Seven, I can't help but feel like the Twins made the trade specifically to beat the Yankees. The Yankees have a very right-handed lineup and Maeda has been death on righties throughout his career. The numbers:

Against a Yankees team that figures to have at least seven right-handed hitters in the lineup, Maeda is worth sending out there in Games 1 and 5 of a postseason series. He's dominated righties throughout his career (Yankees in three). And eight, man did the Dodgers make out like bandits. They traded a superfluous outfielder and their third (fourth?) best starter for one of the game's best players and a better starter. The Dodgers really took advantage of the Red Sox being desperate to unload payroll. I think Los Angeles is the best team in baseball right now, at least on paper, with the Yankees not far behind (the James Paxton injury changed the equation a bit). There is a long, long, long way to go between now and October, but the chances of the first Dodgers-Yankees World Series since 1981 have never been greater. That would be so fun. More than anything, I can't believe the Red Sox traded Betts to get under the luxury tax threshold. This sport is so stupid sometimes.

3. Not Top 30 Prospects. My annual Top 30 Prospects List will be released tomorrow, so, to continue the tradition, here are my Not Top 30 Prospects. These are not prospects 31-35. These are five prospects who are not in this year's top 30 but I believe can make next year's top 30 with a good season and proper development. Four of the last year's five not top 30 prospects made this year's top 30, which I'm pretty sure is my best hit rate ever. Usually only one or two players go from not top 30 one year to top 30 the next. Four in one year? Go me. Anyway, here are this year's Not Top 30 Prospects, listed alphabetically.

LHP Jake Agnos

Date of Birth: May 23rd, 1998 (age 21)
Acquired: 2019 fourth round, 135th overall ($411,500 bonus)
2019 Stats: 5.25 ERA (1.92 FIP), 26.4 K%, 7.0 BB% (12 IP in Rk/SS)
Projected 2020 Level: Low-A and maybe High-A

At 5-foot-11 and 207 lbs., Agnos is a thick lefty with a low-90s fastball and an upper-70s curveball that ranked among the best pitches in last year's draft. He also has an improved changeup. The curve allows Agnos to miss a ton of bats despite the average-ish fastball, and if the Yankees help him add velocity the way they've helped many others add velocity, he could really be something. Agnos has no projection remaining at that size and his control can come and go, but a three-pitch lefty with a bona fide out-pitch breaking ball is a nice get in the fourth round. Even if the command never comes, the curveball will still give Agnos a chance to carve out a career as a reliever.

SS Maikol Escotto

Date of Birth: June 4th, 2002 (age 17)
Acquired: Signed July 2018 out of the Dominican Republic ($350,000 bonus)
2019 Stats: .315/.429/.552 (167 wRC+), 8 HR, 26.1 K%, 14.7 BB% (218 PA in Rk)
Projected 2020 Level: Extended Spring Training and Rookie

The Yankees have a knack for finding unheralded prospects in Latin America and Escotto has already emerged as a standout from their 2018-19 international signing class. He tore up the Dominican Summer League last year and is very strong for his size (5-foot-11 and 180 lbs.), giving him above-average power potential from the right side. Escotto has a plan at the plate but swings and misses too often. He's a good runner and a good defender with a strong arm. The swing-and-miss issues are a real concern, but Escotto has a sneaky good all-around tools package.

C Antonio Gomez 

Date of Birth: Nov. 13th, 2001 (age 18)
Acquired:  Signed July 2018 out of Venezuela ($600,000 bonus)  
2019 Stats: .288/.351/.442 (126 wRC+), 1 HR, 15.8 K%, 7.0 BB% (57 PA in Rk)
Projected 2020 Level: Extended Spring Training and Rookie

The 2018-19 international haul already looks very promising for the Yankees. Gomez was the best defensive catcher in the signing period and he's one of the best teenage catchers in the minors. He has an excellent arm -- I had someone I know put an 80 on it (on the 20-80 scouting scale) -- and a very quick transfer. Gomez is a good receiver with quick feet, so he frames and blocks well. He's bilingual and is heavily invested in the success of his pitchers. Offensively, Gomez makes consistent contact and wears out the opposite field, mostly with singles. He's a big kid (6-foot-2 and 210 lbs.) but lacks power, and will have to work to maintain his mobility behind the plate as he matures. A triceps issue sidelined Gomez more than two months last summer.

OF Brandon Lockridge

Date of Birth: March 14th, 1997 (age 22)
Acquired: 2018 fifth round, 157th overall ($297,500 bonus)
2019 Stats: .251/.319/.410 (112 wRC+), 12 HR, 25.2 K%, 8.1 BB% (556 PA in A-)
Projected 2020 Level: High-A and maybe Double-A

If nothing else, Lockridge is a fun player to watch. He's maybe the fastest runner in the farm system, and he uses that speed to create havoc on the bases and run down balls in center field. Even with that speed, Lockridge is more than a righty slash-and-dash hitter. He has bat speed and will put a mistake in the seats, giving him 20/20 potential. Lockridge can get power happy at times and he is overly aggressive at the plate, which equals too many strikeouts and not enough walks. You'd like a player with his speed to get on base more often. I'm probably underrating Lockridge. He helps his team in a number of ways.

RHSP Osiel Rodriguez

Date of Birth: Nov. 22nd, 2001 (age 18)   
Acquired: Signed July 2018 out of Cuba ($600,000 bonus)  
2019 Stats: 5.59 ERA (4.67 FIP), 19.2 K%, 8.5 BB% (9.2 IP in Rk)
Projected 2020 Level: Extended Spring Training and Rookie

In addition to Luke Voit, the Yankees also acquired $1M in international bonus pool money from the Cardinals at the 2018 trade deadline, and they used part of it to sign Rodriguez the next day. The 6-foot-2 right-hander has a deep arsenal and he uses a variety of arm angles, giving him all sorts of different looks. Rodriguez pitches in the mid-90s and has touched 98 mph, and it's a high-spin fastball. The curveball, slider, and changeup all show out-pitch potential. There is effort in Rodriguez's delivery and throwing strikes can be a challenge at times. Rodriguez missed time with undisclosed but reportedly minor injuries last season, and the Yankees are trying to get him to stick to one arm angle so he can fully develop his pitches. The upside is considerable, with health and the delivery the biggest developmental obstacles.

4. How can he improve? Luis Severino & Giancarlo Stanton. In today's installment of our series looking at each core Yankee heading into 2020, we're going to cover Severino and Stanton, two players in similar situations. We've already covered Zack Britton, Aaron Judge, Adam Ottavino, James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka, Gleyber Torres, Gio Urshela, and Luke Voit. Severino and Stanton were both severely limited by injuries last season. Severino went down with rotator cuff inflammation in Spring Training and then suffered a Grade 2 lat strain during his rehab. He made three regular season starts and two more in the postseason. Stanton appeared in only 18 regular season games and five in October. His laundry list of injuries included a torn biceps, a shoulder strain, a calf strain, a knee strain, and a quad strain. Some of those injuries were related -- Stanton hurt his shoulder while rehabbing the biceps and he apparently hurt his quad protecting the knee -- but still, yeesh. From 2017-18, Severino (tenth in innings) and Stanton (fourth in plate appearances) were among the most durable players in the game. Then they broke down in 2019. What a bummer. The easiest way the Yankees can improve in 2020 is keeping Severino and Stanton on the field. Severino was a +5 WAR starter in 2017 and 2018, his two full healthy seasons, and he turns only 26 this month, so he's still very much at a peak age. It's not unreasonable to believe he can again dominate with good health. Stanton failed to reach +2 WAR for the first time in his career last season, and six times in his 10 seasons he's been at least a +4 WAR player. He turned 30 in November, so he's still in his prime, and his upside is MVP level. Giancarlo hit .288/.403/.492 (139 wRC+) in his 18 games last year. He hit .266/.343/.509 (129 wRC+) in his first year as a Yankee and is a career .268/.358/.547 (142 wRC+) hitter. Keep him on the field and Stanton is a game-changer. Beyond staying healthy, I think gaining more experience and becoming more comfortable in left field is an obvious priority for Stanton, who has looked much better there as time has gone on. He could wind up playing a lot of left field this year, especially while Aaron Hicks is out, so the better he is and the more comfortable he is, the better it will be for the Yankees. As for Severino, I would really love to see him improve his changeup. He throws the pitch a ton ...

... so we know he's confident in it, but it's a clear third pitch for him. The changeup produced below league average whiffs-per-swing (25.4% vs. 31.2%), ground ball (42.1% vs. 50.2%), and contact quality (.320 xwOBA vs. .288 xwOBA) rates in 2018, his last healthy season. Every once in a while Severino will throw a changeup like this and you can see its potential. The fastball and slider are super legit and developing consistency with that changeup can get Severino to the next level and into the true ace tier I think he's short of right now. More than anything, I just want Severino and Stanton to stay healthy this season. Keep them on the field and they'll do great things. If Severino improves his changeup and Stanton gets better in left field, that would be awesome too. We're all counting on you, Eric Cressey.  

5. DH compromises. No-so-bold prediction: the National League will adopt the designated hitter before the end of the 2020s. The sooner it happens, the better. Not because I hate watching pitchers hit (I do!), but because I'm not sure I can tolerate another round of "how about this DH plan instead?" ideas. Case in point, this recent nugget from Jayson Stark (subs. req'd):

Here’s one possible wrinkle that has been kicked around in behind-the-scene brainstorming sessions: How about a rule that would allow teams to use their DH only as long as their starting pitcher remained in the game? Then, once the starting pitcher exited, that game would revert to old-school rules.

The more we think about this idea, the more we like it. Starting pitchers would no longer hit, which would eliminate some teams’ injury paranoia. It would create incentives to keep starters in the game longer, which could lead to more offense. And it would preserve some elements of late-inning managerial strategy that fans of “NL rules” still love.

By all means, let's make sure Nelson Cruz can start the game but not finish it, and inferior hitters can take important at-bats in the late innings. Gotta preserve that "strategy." Not sure how baseball can survive without pinch-hitting and double switches. The scary thing? Stark says this idea has been "kicked around in behind-the-scene brainstorming sessions," so this is something MLB is considering. Maybe not seriously, but still. Someone came up with this, thought it was such a good idea that they told someone else either out loud or in writing, and that someone else apparently liked it enough to continue the conversation. Oy vey. Here's another DH proposal via the sufficiently handsome Dayn Perry:

The big idea? The home team of a given game gets to choose whether the DH is used. 

That's pretty self-explanatory, but just in case it isn't we'll drone on about it. Before every regular season or postseason game, the home team will declare whether the DH rule will be in force for that particular game or whether pitchers will bat. There would be some sort of cutoff -- say three hours before first pitch -- at which point the home team must make its choice. The decision affects that game and that game only. If a given home team picks the DH rule for one game, they're free to keep the DH for the next game or choose to have pitchers hit, even if it's a twi-night doubleheader (remember those?). Teams will not be allowed to make one-game roster tweaks based on the home team's decision, which means they must structure their roster to account for either possibility and be subject to the usual limitations on roster churn.

I like this idea. Know why? Because I'm pretty sure every team would choose to use the DH before every game, and it would usher in the "DH in both leagues" era. Instead of MLB saying "we're bringing the DH to the NL" and angering a rather large number of fans -- yes, some people will be truly angry, not just irked -- they'd pass the buck to the teams, and let the teams bring the DH to both leagues for them. Under what circumstances would a team choose to let their pitcher hit, really? To get someone like Cruz or Giancarlo Stanton out of the other team's lineup? The other team would put them in the lineup anyway and remove a lesser hitter. Because you have a good hitting pitcher? lol those don't exist. Madison Bumgarner hit .127/.236/.222 (29 wRC+) last year and is a career .177/.228/.202 (45 wRC+) hitter. He sucks at hitting. He's a good hitter for a pitcher, but he sucks at hitting, and the injury risk is not worth getting that bat into the lineup. Give teams a choice between using a DH or letting a pitcher hit, and they'll take the DH. There's not a front office in the game that would voluntarily let pitchers hit (well, maybe the Rockies). All the empty at-bats -- there is where I note pitchers hit .128/.160/.192 (-18 wRC+) in 5,173 (!) plate appearances last season -- are not worth the few pitcher dingers or sac-bunt-turned-triple-because-the-defense-botched-its we get per year. I assure you, we will all live full and happy lives if we never see the Bartolo Colon home run video again. Actual hitters will make better memories. Pitchers have never been worse at hitting than they are right now and asking them to continue doing something they don't train for and is a detriment to their team is bad for the game. Eventually MLB will bring the NL out of the Stone Age and make it use the DH. I bet it happens at some point during the 2020s. Maybe not in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement (Dec. 2021), but perhaps in the one after that (Dec. 2026). Rip the band-aid off and adopt it, and pass on half-measures like using the DH for the starting pitcher only or letting the home decide whether to use the DH.

6. Rapid fire thoughts. Greg Bird has landed with the Rangers. The team announced the minor league contract earlier this week and Levi Weaver says the deal is worth $1.5M at the MLB level. Bird will compete for their first base job with Ronald Guzman, Nick Solak, and Sam Travis. Another not-so-bold prediction: Bird will tear up Spring Training, get hurt early in the season, and Rangers fans will spend the rest of the year wondering what could have been ... Wilmer Flores, who I wrote about as a possible target last week, got a two-year deal worth $6M or so from the Giants, according to Jon Heyman. I was thinking about a minor league deal. Two guarantee years for a bench guy? Pass. That said, it would be cool if the Yankees did something at some point. The offseason to date has been sign Gerrit Cole (awesome!), re-sign Brett Gardner (okay!), and let a bunch of depth leave (uh?) ... Taijuan Walker has been working out for teams and Bob Nightengale says he was clocked at 85-88 mph recently. Yikes. Walker averaged 93.5 mph and topped out at 94.3 mph during his lone September appearance last year, thought it was a relief outing and I'm sure there was some "first game back from Tommy John surgery" adrenaline. I said this at the time, but I thought it was a red flag the Diamondbacks non-tendered Walker rather than pay him $5M or so through arbitration. They must not have been happy with his rehab and, if that 85-88 mph report is true, it explains why a 27-year-old former top prospect who was very good in his last fully healthy season is still unsigned.

Mailbag Question of the Week

Dan asks: Pessimistic Yankees fan here. I know the Astros and Red Sox are going through their different but equally interesting and awesome troubles. However, isn’t it silly for us fans to think that both teams will just lay down? Astros still have a top 3 (maybe 7 with the no more trash cans) lineup and the Red Sox always have some type of witchcraft in them. I’m just more afraid of a Cole, DJ, Gio, bullpen, etc regression coupled with the other two teams (and the Rays) still being there. Thoughts?

I don't think anyone realistically expects the Astros or Red Sox to lay down. Are they worse (on paper) now than they were last year? Yes. The Astros lost Gerrit Cole and the Red Sox traded away Mookie Betts and David Price (Dan sent this question in before the trade). That is a lot of high-end talent that hasn't been replaced.

That said, the Red Sox and especially the Astros are still very good. Houston's position player core is fantastic -- no, I don't expect them to all turn into .235 hitters after the sign-stealing drama (they're probably still stealing signs) -- and a rotation fronted by Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke is dangerous.

As for the Red Sox, they're still building their lineup around Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, and J.D. Martinez, and Chris Sale turning back into CHRIS SALE would give them a nice lift. I think Boston is clearly the third best team in the AL East, but still a formidable opponent. I rank the 15 American League teams like so:

1. Yankees
2. Astros
(gap)
3. Twins
4. Rays
5. Indians
(gap)
6. Athletics
7. White Sox
8. Red Sox
9. Angels
10. Rangers
(gap)
11. Blue Jays
12. Mariners
13. Royals
14. Tigers
15. Orioles

The Angels are the Wile E. Coyote of Major League Baseball. Every time you think this is the year they will get over the hump and get Mike Trout back to the postseason, they crash into a tunnel painted on the side of a mountain. Gotta think this is a make or break year for GM Billy Eppler, Brian Cashman's former right-hand man.

Anyway, the Astros are still very good, but are perhaps more vulnerable right now than at any point in the last four or five years. The Red Sox are no longer a powerhouse, but they are formidable, and I would not expect them to fold into a 75-win team after the Betts trade. Underrate the Astros and BoSox at your own risk.

Bonus Mailbag Question of the Week

Julian asks: With Curtis Granderson announcing his retirement, is he a possibility of being at Old Timers Day sometime in the future? What about even Ichiro? He wasn't in the Bronx long, but would for sure put butts in the seats.  

I sure hope Granderson comes back for Old Timers' Day, and I don't see why he wouldn't be invited. Because he signed with the Mets? Bah, who cares. Granderson was a good Yankee and a genuinely lovable dude. Whenever he's ready to consider himself an Old Timer, I'm sure the Yankees will be happy to have him.

Same with Ichiro Suzuki. Even moreso, really. Ichiro was not Ichiro! with the Yankees but he is maybe the most recognizable baseball player in the world, and him appearing at Old Timers' Day would be a huge draw. Maybe they'd even let him pitch during the Old Timers' Game. This is a no-brainer. The Yankees would love to get Ichiro back in the Bronx.

Other recently retired former Yankees I'd like to see at Old Timers' Day at some point: Bobby Abreu, Phil Hughes, Hiroki Kuroda, Damaso Marte, CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, Chien-Ming Wang, and Kevin Youkilis. Okay, I'm kidding about that last one, but I hope to see the other guys at Old Timers' Day soon.

(Send your questions for Friday's mailbag to RABmailbag at gmail dot com.)