November 8th, 2019: Pitching Coach, Dickerson, Kim, Backup Catcher, Awards, Minors, Robot Umps, Mailbag

The GM Meetings are next week and those usually bring some hot stove rumors and/or news. Four years ago the Yankees made the Aaron Hicks trade at the GM Meetings. Last year they re-signed CC Sabathia. The odds on favorite for this year's GM Meetings transaction is a new contract for Brett Gardner. We'll see. Here are today's thoughts as Craig Edwards picks up where RAB left off.

1. New pitching coach. You know what I really do not miss about RAB? Having to cover late night breaking news. The Aroldis Chapman extension news broke at midnight this past Saturday! Good grief. Around 8pm ET last night Jeff Passan reported the Yankees have hired 33-year-old Matt Blake away from the Indians to be their new pitching coach. Blake would fit right in with the 2013 Yankees as a generic white guy. Here's the resume I've been able to piece together:

• College of Holy Cross (graduated 2007)
• Associate Scout, Yankees (2009) 
• Pitching Coordinator, Cressey Sports Performance (2009-2016)
• Owner, Elite Pitching Development (2009-???)
• Pitching Coach, Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox (Cape Cod League) (2015)
• Lower Level Pitching Coordinator, Indians (2015-16)
• Associate Director of Player Development, Indians (2016-19)
• Director of Pitching Development, Indians (2019)

Cleveland promoted Blake to Director of Pitching Development earlier this week, according to Zack Meisel, so the whole pitching coach thing must've come together real quick. Meisel says Blake is highly regarded "both at coaching and translating advanced data into terms pitchers can understand and utilize," which is the biggest part of the job these days. Conor Foley heard from a pitcher who called Blake the "best pitching coach I’ve ever worked with, hands down,” and Joel Sherman spoke to a pitcher who said Blake has a "great understanding of analytics but can interpret and make it easy to understand and apply," so that's cool. Joe Noga notes Indians manager Terry Francona recently singled Blake out for his work helping Aaron Civale, Zach Plesac, and others become productive big leaguers. Here's more from Marc Bona:

"The challenge is not every player is going to get better," said Blake, who previously ran a pitching-instruction business. "Are we putting the right work in? I do think there is a hard conversation you have to have if a player is not getting better.

If not, what else can we consider?"

He used the example of working with a pitcher on his fastball command.

"Is the drill wrong or am I coaching it wrong? Continue to ask the questions over and over," Blake said.

My official opinion on Blake: I have no opinion. I know that's unsatisfying, but I don't know anything about the guy. The Indians have been one of the best pitching development teams in baseball the last few years, maybe the best pitching development team, which reflects well on him. Otherwise I don't know what to tell you. I'm the wrong guy to come to if you're looking for a strong take on a coach. The one thing I will say is I'm glad the Yankees hired a guy with some pro ball experience. That jump from college straight to the big leagues is awfully big. I'm also curious to see whether the Yankees hire an assistant pitching coach, which is a new fad spreading across baseball. The Phillies, Rangers, Reds, and Red Sox either have multiple pitching coaches currently or had multiple pitching coaches in recent years. The Yankees interviewed several college coaches for the pitching coach job -- they interviewed Michigan's Chris Fetter and Arkansas' Matt Hobbs, and Kendall Rogers says they also reached out to Arizona's Nate Yeskie and TCU's Kirk Saarloos -- and they also interviewed David Cone, according to Jack Curry. I'm sure they interviewed a few others as well. Clearly, the Yankees were looking for the next great pitching coach, not an established been there, done that coach we'd all recognize. Did they hire that guy in Blake? No idea! We'll all find out together. It does seem like the Yankees found the next great manager in Aaron Boone, and I don't hear any complaints about hitting coaches Marcus Thames and P.J. Pilittere, so I guess the team is doing well identifying quality coaches, even if they are inexperienced at the time of their hire. Maybe Blake will prove to be a miracle worker and Masahiro Tanaka comes out throwing 97 in April and Luis Severino develops a changeup that stops in midair. Would be cool. Generally speaking, the more talent on the roster, the better the coach looks. The Yankees need another starter, maybe two, no matter who they hired to be the pitching coach. (I am selfishly happy Cone will remain in the booth. I enjoy him on the broadcast.)

2. Dickerson a fit? A free agent I like who may or may not fit the Yankees: Corey Dickerson. The 30-year-old hit .304/.341/.565 (127 wRC+) with 12 homers in 279 plate appearances around shoulder and foot injuries with the Pirates and Phillies this past season. Only once in his six full seasons did he post a sub-115 wRC+ (101 in 2016). He's a left-handed hitter with fly ball tendencies (career 38.4% grounders), and he has a knack for catching up to elevated fastballs (video), this era's fashionable pitch. Dickerson has turned himself into a passable defensive left fielder and the offensive profile looks like it would mix well with Yankee Stadium, and hey, the Yankees could use another left-handed bat. Clint Frazier is almost certainly getting traded at some point. Could Dickerson fit as a part-time left fielder and part-time DH who shares the positions with Giancarlo Stanton? As for Aaron Hicks and the potentially overcrowded outfield, worry about that when Hicks makes it back. A possible lineup given the current personnel plus Dickerson:

1. 2B DJ LeMahieu
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. LF/DH Corey Dickerson
4. LF/DH Giancarlo Stanton
5. SS Gleyber Torres
6. C Gary Sanchez
7. 1B Luke Voit
8. 3B Gio Urshela
9. CF Brett Gardner (he's coming back, we all know it)

The Yankees love love love squeezing a left-handed bat between Judge and Stanton and Dickerson packs enough punch to fill that lineup spot. Certainly moreso than Gardner, who hit third against right-handed pitchers most of the postseason. If Frazier is not traded, he should get those left field and DH at-bats. Miguel Andujar figures to see time at DH as well. Frazier is likely to get traded though, and as much as I love Andujar, he is coming back from major shoulder surgery. He may need time in the minors to get back up to speed at the plate. The 2019 Yankees were nice enough to remind everyone of the importance of not just depth, but quality depth, and remember, there will be a 26th roster spot next season. It'll be that much easier to carry the extra bench bat. Dickerson is not a big exit velocity guy (averaged 87.1 mph this year) and we know the Yankees value exit velocity as an evaluation tool, so in that sense he doesn't fit. Also, it takes two to tango. Would Dickerson want to come to New York to share time with Stanton in left field and at DH with Andujar and Hicks on the mend? He might look for more playing time security. MLBTR and FanGraphs crowdsourcing project a two-year deal in the $15M to $16M range for Dickerson, which is pretty much exactly what I had in mind. Two years and $7M to $8M annually. I dunno. I like Dickerson and he maybe fits the Yankees, but the Yankees might not be the best fit for him. The outfield needy Indians jump to mind as a great fit for Dickerson, assuming they will spend money this winter.

3. Pursuing Kim. Last week I wrote about Yoshitomo Tsutsugo and Shogo Akiyama, two Japanese position players looking to make the jump to MLB this offseason. This week's Asian player: Korean lefty Kwang-Hyun Kim. Ken Rosenthal says Kim wants to play in the big leagues next year and his team, the SK Wyverns, are deciding whether to post him. Post him again, actually. Kim was posted back in 2014, the Padres won his rights with a $2M bid, but the two sides could not agree to a contract, so he returned to Korea. This past season was Kim's first full season back from Tommy John surgery, and he posted a 2.51 ERA with a 22.9% strikeout rate and a 4.8% walk rate in 190.1 innings. The league averages in 2019 were a 4.16 ERA, a 17.3% strikeout rate, and an 8.6% walk rate, so he was considerably better across the board. Here's some video. Kim has a great slider:

Here's what Sung-Min Kim, former RAB heartthrob and current front office staffer for the KBO's Lotte Giants, has to say about the southpaw:

Kim's fastball sits in low-90's but can reach mid-90's when needed. His slider has a sharp break and is a sure ML pitch. He's become a better pitcher in recent years utilizing more of his secondary pitches (curveball and forkball) and showing better control (1.81 BB/9 IP this yr).

Kim is 31, so he's no kid, and this winter might be his last good chance to make the jump to MLB. Would he be willing to start out in the bullpen as a long man/spot starter before getting a rotation spot? That's what Hisashi Iwakuma did back in the day. He joined the Mariners at age 31 in 2012 and made 14 relief appearances before the team tried him as a starter. Kim could follow a similar path. Iwakuma signed a one-year contract worth $1.5M with another $3.4M in incentives tied to starts and innings. Does that framework work for Kim? Kim made roughly $1.4M this past season and was one of the highest paid players in the league. What qualifies as a pittance in MLB is a fortune in KBO. Heck, even $2M guaranteed with another $4M in incentives works for me. Then again, the release fee would only be $400,000 on a $2M deal, and that might not be enough for the Wyverns to post their ace. Kim is three years into a four-year contract, so, after next season, he will be a true free agent and able to sign with an MLB team without going through the posting process. The Wyverns could post Kim this offseason and take whatever they can get, or risk losing him for nothing next offseason. I dunno what the team's thinking is or priorities are. I'm just looking at a 31-year-old lefty with a nasty slider who could possibly help in some capacity next year, maybe as a reliever or maybe even as a starter. If the price is right, meaning an Iwakuma-esque contract, I'd be totally cool with giving Kim a look as the last guy in the bullpen, and seeing whether he can pitch his way into a more prominent role. Is he up for that? Dunno, but it's worth finding out when (if) he's posted.

4. Finding a backup catcher. At some point this offseason the Yankees will add a catcher. Either they'll re-sign Austin Romine to backup Gary Sanchez, or they'll bring in someone to compete with Kyle Higashioka in Spring Training. Given the self-imposed payroll limit (whatever it is), the Yankees may look to save money wherever possible this offseason, and letting Romine walk and replacing him with Higashioka on a six-figure salary is one way to do that. The free agent catching crop stinks beyond Yasmani Grandal. How do the Yankees a) convince a free agent to be Sanchez's backup, and b) do that while spending less than what they would on Romine? It's harder than you may think. That could push the Yankees to the trade market for a potential backup catcher, and the ideal trade target would have a minor league option(s) remaining. Someone the Yankees could easily call up and send down as necessary, like Higashioka the last few years. The Padres have four catchers on their 40-man roster and strike me as a potential trade partner. The four and their 2019 numbers:

• Austin Allen: 143 wRC+ and +6.9 framing runs in Triple-A
• Austin Hedges: 46 wRC+ and +26.0 framing runs in MLB
• Francisco Mejia: 96 wRC+ and -0.8 framing runs in MLB
• Luis Torrens: 142 wRC+ and -2.8 framing runs in Double-A

Allen and Hedges both have two minor league options remaining. Mejia and Torrens have one each. Mejia is a recent top prospect and San Diego's catcher of the future, so he's likely unavailable. Hedges is projected to make $2.9M through arbitration, which goes against the whole "cheaper than Romine" idea, but it could make him a non-tender candidate. I think a trade is more likely than a non-tender -- some team will value that pitch-framing -- but who knows? I know Torrens is a former Yankees prospect and we all love bringing back former Yankees, but Allen interests me the most. The soon-to-be 26-year-old is a lefty hitter with power (obligatory dinger video) and a history of strong minor league performance:

Gotta love the rocket ball, huh? Between that and the hitter friendly environment in El Paso, San Diego's Triple-A affiliate hit .299/.367/.530 as a team in 2019. Crazy. Anyway, Allen's first taste of the big leagues didn't go too well this year (14-for-65 with 21 strikeouts) but that's not unusual. Most guys struggle when they first reach the show. Here's what MLB.com said about Allen's defense last year, the last time he was prospect eligible:

While Allen's large frame (6-foot-2 and 220 lbs.) continues to raise questions among evaluators about whether he can stay behind the plate long term, club officials were pleased with the progress he made in 2017 after working with catching instructor John Nestor. He has decent hands and some raw arm strength. 

So he won't win any Gold Gloves. Romine wasn't either. The power is real though, and Allen has consistently rated well as a pitch-framer, which is about all you can expect from a potential backup catcher. I mean, that's what Higashioka provides, right? Power and framing. Allen plays a position of need, he has Yankee Stadium friendly left-handed power, and he can be sent to Triple-A the next two years without requiring waivers. Seems like someone worth targeting. The Padres have a big 40-man roster crunch this offseason -- they designated actual prospect Jacob Nix for assignment a few days ago because they needed an open 40-man spot -- and, given their catching depth, would they move Allen for a non-40-man roster prospect? They would avoid losing him on waivers for nothing (an optionable catcher with power would definitely get claimed) and open a 40-man spot, which will inevitably be needed this winter. Just an idea. One way or another, the Yankees will bring in a potential backup catcher this winter. It'll either be Romine or someone to compete with Higashioka. Allen would be the latter, and there's enough skill here to be an up-and-down third catcher at worst the next two years. (I could see the Yankees going after Mike Zunino given his power and framing. The Rays may non-tender him given his projected $4.9M salary.)

5. Longest and shortest homers. Earlier this week I reviewed the biggest hits of the 2019 season. Now it's time for another RAB post-postseason staple: the longest (and shortest) home runs of the year. Here are the five longest Yankees homers of 2019:

1. June 21st: Gary Sanchez vs. Brad Peacock (481 feet) (video)
2. May 25th: Luke Voit vs. Scott Barlow (470 feet) (video)
3. April 27th: Gary Sanchez vs. Derek Holland (467 feet) (video)
4. Aug. 20th: Aaron Judge vs. Joakim Soria (467 feet) (video)
t-5: Aug. 12th: Gio Urshela vs. Gabriel Ynoa (462 feet) (video)
t-5. Aug. 27th: Aaron Judge vs. Yusei Kikuchi (462 feet) (video) 

Look at Gio getting in on the longest homers action! Sanchez had a 461-foot homer as well (video), and no other Yankee had even a 450-foot dinger. The longest home runs not hit by Judge, Sanchez, or Voit were that Gio blast, and 446-foot homers by DJ LeMahieu (video) and Austin Romine (video). Austin Romine? Austin Romine. Gleyber Torres' longest homer checked in at 438 feet (video). Edwin Encarnacion's longest as a Yankee was 435 feet (video). Giancarlo Stanton's three homers registered at 420 feet (video), 440 feet (video), and 445 feet (video). The Yankees led baseball in average exit velocity (89.7 mph) this year but only ranked 26th in average home run distance (397 feet). Blame the short porch. All the cheapies drag down the team average. Now here are the team's shortest homers:

1. Aug. 18th: DJ LeMahieu vs. Hunter Wood (331 feet) (video)
2. April 13th: Aaron Judge vs. Ryan Burr (335 feet (video)
3. Aug. 26th: Mike Ford vs. Tommy Milone (339 feet) (video)
t-4. June 22nd: Gio Urshela vs. Wade Miley (342 feet) (video)
t-4. June 25th: Gleyber Torres vs. Clayton Richard (342 feet) (video)
t-4. June 25th: Edwin Encarnacion vs. Tim Mayza (342 feet) (video)

I always love it when a non-Yankee Stadium homer makes it into the shortest homers of the season list, like Ford's. Smart move packing up the short porch and bringing it to Seattle that night. The Yankees hit 13 home runs no longer than 350 feet this year and that's a) way fewer than I would've guessed, and b) only the third most in baseball. The Astros (18) and Red Sox (14) had more sub-351-foot homers in 2019. The year of the dinger was an awful lot of fun, wasn't it? Something tells me we won't see quite as many long balls in 2020.

6. Awards candidates. Earlier this week MLB announced the three finalists for the major awards, and, as expected, the only Yankee to make the cut is Aaron Boone. He's up against Twins manager Rocco Baldelli and Rays manager Kevin Cash for Manager of the Year. The Yankees did not have a serious Rookie of the Year candidate -- Mike Ford (+1.0 WAR) was the only Yankees rookie north of +0.2 WAR this year -- nor a serious Cy Young candidate. Realistically, there was only one MVP finalist spot available behind Mike Trout and Alex Bregman, and it went to Marcus Semien, and I think that's the right guy.

• DJ LeMahieu: .327/.375/.518 (136 wRC+) and +6.0 WAR
• Marcus Semien: .285/.269/.522 (137 wRC+) and +8.1 WAR

It's Gold Glove defense at shortstop vs. good to great defense at the three non-shortstop infield positions. Even ignoring defense, the offensive numbers are comparable, and who are the voters going to go with, the guy on the team that cruised to a division title, or the guy on a team that battled for a wildcard spot? Exactly. My guess is Bregman wins, Trout finishes in second (again), Semien then comes in third, and LeMahieu finishes fourth ahead of guys like Xander Bogaerts, Matt Chapman, Rafael Devers, and Justin Verlander. I'd bet on Gio Urshela and maybe even Aaron Judge getting a down-ballot MVP vote or two. As for Boone, who knows? Manager of the Year is impossible to predict. The Twins surprisingly won the AL Central this season, but they also blew an 11-game lead at one point, and is that really Manager of the Year worthy? I think Boone has a chance to win this year because of all the injuries. The Yankees were expected to win the division this year, but all those injuries changed the calculus, and an argument can be made they overachieved. This might be the best chance for a Yankee to be named Manager of the Year since, I dunno, Joe Girardi in 2009? (The last Yankees manager to win Manager of the Year was Joe Torre in 1998.) LeMahieu finishes fourth in the MVP voting and Boone wins a close Manager of the Year race. The official Axisa awards predictions. (The awards winners will be announced throughout next week.)

7. Minor league free agents. Baseball America (no subs. req'd) released this year's list of minor league free agents earlier this week. There are 510 of them, including 23 Yankees. I'm not going to list all 23. Here are the notables:

• OF Rashad Crawford: The fourth piece in the Aroldis Chapman trade can play the heck out of center field, but he's never hit. I could see the Yankees bringing him back to see whether he can build on his .262/.329/.352 (102 wRC+) line at Double-A this year.
• IF Gosuke Katoh: Managed a .279/.382/.443 (115 wRC+) line and a career high 11 home runs with the rocket ball in Triple-A in 2019. Played five positions too. I think Katoh will look for a team that offers a greater chance to reach the show.
• RHP Brady Lail: Made his MLB debut this year and the Yankees like him enough that they brought him to camp as a non-roster player the last three years. Another reunion could be in the cards. Clearly, the team likes Lail.
• RHP Yoiber Marquina: Converted catcher came over in the Nick Goody trade with the Indians. He threw 18 innings around injuries in two years in the farm system.
• OF Alex Palma: Signed for $800,000 back in the day and was having a breakout season with High-A Tampa in 2018 (132 wRC+) when he broke his leg in two places in an outfield collision. He played 47 games in 2019. A reunion is possible. He's only 24.

Among non-Yankees, two minor league free agents stand out to me: Dalton Pompey and Jackson Stephens. Pompey is a former top prospect with the Blue Jays and he's dealt with concussion issues the last few years. He's a speed and defense guy, and a switch-hitter with a .274/.352/.361 (106 wRC+) batting line in nearly 1,000 plate appearances in Triple-A. The Yankees do not have much center field depth at the moment, even with the inevitable Brett Gardner re-signing. Pompey seems like a decent depth option to stash in Triple-A. As for Stephens, he's a mid-90s fastball guy who has averaged -- averaged -- a 3,146 rpm spin rate on his curveball the last two years (video). That's Ryan Pressly/Seth Lugo territory. Top of the line curveball spin. The Reds kept trying Stephens, who is still only 25, in the rotation. I say stick him in the bullpen, see if the 94-95 mph fastball turns into a 96-97 mph fastball, and tell him to throw something like 60% curveballs. Maybe it works. Chances are it won't. I think it's worth a Triple-A bullpen spot to find out.

8. Automated strike zone. Robot umpires are coming, folks. Not next season, and probably not the season after either, but eventually. MLB tested the automated strike zone in the independent Atlantic League and in the Arizona Fall League this past season, and, during an MLB Network appearance last week, commissioner Rob Manfred said they will implement the automated strike zone in some minor league parks next year. The quote:

"Here's our thinking on the automated strike zone: The technology exists. We have the technology. We're actually going through a big upgrade of that piece of our technology during this offseason. I think we need to be ready to use an automated strike zone when the time is right. That's why we experimented in the Atlantic League. It's why we went to the Arizona Fall League. It's why we're using it in Minor League Baseball next year, in some ballparks at least."

Katherine Acquavella visited an Atlantic League park in August to see the automated strike zone in action. TrackMan, the system that records spin rate and all that, tracks the pitch, and the call is relayed to the umpire behind the plate through an earpiece, and he signals ball or strike. The system is calibrated for player height, so in theory Aaron Judge wouldn't get hosed by all those low strikes. Believe it or not, Atlantic League players and umpires were all for the automated strike zone. Josh Norris (subs. req'd) spoke to several AzFL players who hated it, both hitters and pitchers, mostly because they had to recalibrate their own strike zone. More high strikes were being called and also some pitches that caught the very bottom of the zone were called strikes despite looking like sure balls. An example:

The pitch nicked the very bottom of the strike zone, so TrackMan called it a strike. I worry that is what baseball will devolve into with an automated strike zone. Pitchers throwing breaking ball after breaking ball, trying to catch the bottom of the zone. It would become a league of .180 hitters with a 15.0% walk rate. The technology exists and is being improved, so yes, MLB should continue to explore an automated strike zone. Human element? Please. The players are the human element. Ain't no one watching to see an umpire. If we ever get to a point where the automated strike zone is ready to be implemented at the big league level, my hope is MLB would stick with it in Double-A and Triple-A for a few years first, so that when it is introduced at MLB, many players already have experience with it. That's not necessarily easy -- you'd be asking some players to go from an automated strike zone (in the minors) to a human strike zone (early in MLB career) then back to an automated strike zone (later in MLB career) -- but I don't know how else to do it. Maybe it's better to just rip the band-aid off and implement it at once rather than wait. I get the sense the automated strike zone is still a long way off. Whenever it does get implemented -- and I do think it is inevitable -- all hell will break loose. People will call it the worst thing ever and say the nerds are ruining the game, so on and so forth. Take all the instant replay complaints we've seen the last few years and multiply them by about a thousand. That's how it'll be when the robot overlords arrive to call balls and strikes.

Mailbag Question of the Week

Nick asks: Could the Yankees save some LT space and lock in some future rotation certainty by extending Tanaka this offseason? He's been great in the postseason but fairly mediocre in the regular season for 3 years now (101 ERA+). I'd think if they tacked on 2-3 years the contract would have an AAV under $22m, maybe $17-18m?  

As always, I would bet against the Yankees giving a player an extension because they are very stingy with extensions -- the Aaron Hicks and Luis Severino extensions were outliers as far as I'm concerned -- but it's an interesting idea. Tanaka is a consummate pro who has shown he can handle New York, and he's still productive.

Tanaka will make $23M next year and hit free agency at age 32. Would another three years and $51M work? That is $17M per year, or J.A. Happ money. Tanaka maybe trades a little earning potential for the locked in payday. Then again, he's already banked over $100M in his career, so the money may not matter. He might want to explore free agency and see whether there's a better fit for him and his family.

Adding three years and $51M to the one year and $23M remaining on his contract would lower Tanaka's luxury tax hit from $22.14M to $18.5M, so a little more than $3.5M in luxury tax space opens up. The Yankees know Tanaka better than anyone, and I think the chances of a new contract after next year are really good. This team's track record with extensions suggests they won't look to sign Tanaka this offseason though.

Bonus Mailbag Question of the Week

Michael asks: Assuming Didi walks, any interest in Brock Holt? Super versatile and can fill the role DJLM was supposed to, AL East tested, bats left-handed. Seems like a pretty decent fit.

Holt will be this winter's Marwin Gonzalez, who was last winter's Ben Zobrist. The free agent who fits every team because he can play pretty much anywhere. MLBTR and FanGraphs crowdsourcing both project a two-year deal worth $8M. I was thinking he could fetch two years and $5M or even $6M per season.

At this point Holt is what he is. He's a league average-ish hitter with little power who can play many different positions but none especially well. Holt is probably best at second base at this point. The Yankees could use him for the bench, absolutely. I would bet on him going to a team that promises a starting job. It only takes one team to do it.

Bonus Bonus Mailbag Question of the Week

Jon asks: What are your thoughts on FA pitcher Kyle Gibson? Maybe someone who can compete for a back-end spot with the Yankees? He seems to fit the profile of a guy throwing fewer FBs and having some success. He got a ton of swing and misses last year. 

Gibson is a sneaky good target. I would not want him to be the starter the Yankees bring in, but if they were to sign Gerrit Cole, salary dump J.A. Happ, and sign Gibson to be the No. 5 starter, I'd be totally cool with it. For what it's worth, MLBTR and FanGraphs crowdsourcing project reasonable two-year deals in the $18M to $20M range (total, not annually).

An ulcer sabotaged the end of Gibson's 2019 season -- he was stuck pitching in relief in the ALDS -- but, before that, he paired league average-ish strikeout (22.6%) and walk (7.0%) rates with an above-average ground ball rate (51.5%). Home runs hurt him (1.29 HR/9), but he was hardly the only pitcher to have trouble with homers in 2019.

Gibson is a sinker pitcher with a really good slider as well as a curveball and changeup. He doesn't fit the Yankees as a elevated four-seamer/spin rate guy, but not everyone needs the organizational stamp. A league average ground ball guy who can mix four pitches well is a perfectly fine back-end option. Now you just have to convince him to come to Yankee Stadium.

(Send your mailbag questions to RABmailbag at gmail dot com.)