River Avenue Blues

River Ave. Blues » Jacoby Ellsbury » Page 2

Barring another injury, Jacoby Ellsbury will force the Yankees’ hand soon

by

(Presswire)

At some point in the next month or two, the Yankees will have to make a decision on the future of Jacoby Ellsbury. His extended absence came to an end when he reported to Tampa last weekend. Although he won’t be ready for opening day, it seems like his saga is nearing an inflection point. A setback wouldn’t surprise anyone, but it’s now a real possibility that he’s healthy and ready to play relatively soon.

Of course, Ellsbury has plenty of work to do to complete his comeback. He’s just getting back to baseball activities after a long layoff, so there’s rust to shake off. He’ll also need to have his own version of spring training, meaning that he’ll probably stick around in extended camp into April. From there, he’ll likely do a full minor league rehab stint before being ready to return to the majors. That gives the team until some time in May assuming all goes well.

As long as Ellsbury stays on track, he will have all of the leverage once ready to join the big league team. He’s still owed approximately $47 million through next season, he can’t be sent to the minors, and has a no trade clause. The Yankees can’t just let him toil on the injured list, either. Sorry, a phantom injury isn’t an option. The center fielder hasn’t worked this hard to return from major surgery merely to twiddle his thumbs at home.

Oddly enough, the Yankees could actually use someone like Ellsbury if Aaron Hicks’s back woes linger. But when the team’s outfield is at full strength, Ellsbury as the fifth outfielder is a wasted roster spot. That puts the Yankees in a very tricky situation. In such a role, he’d ride the bench most of the season. I’m sure Ellsbury has too much pride to want to do something like that, and I’m sure the Yankees would much rather have a more traditional bench player. With a roster at full strength, keeping Ellsbury around would likely force Tyler Wade back to the minors.

Ellsbury almost certainly has little to no value to any of the other 29 teams in baseball. If Adam Jones got only $3 million from Arizona, what team would be take on even a portion of Ellsbury’s deal? The only way a trade could be accomplished is in a swap of bad contracts. Even then, though, there would be a significant hurdle with Ellsbury’s no trade clause. Maybe he’d accept a deal to a team out west, where he’s from and currently resides. But he doesn’t have to. If another club really wants him, they can just wait until the Yankees have no choice but to cut Ellsbury.

This all leads down one path: releasing him. It’s the best option for all parties involved. There’s no need to be stubborn by keeping him on the bench. He deserves a chance to play somewhere else if the Yankees don’t want him. I don’t think it makes much sense to obtain another hefty contract in exchange for Ellsbury, especially if it’s going to be a stretch to roster said acquisition.

The Yankees have undoubtedly been happy to claw back some of Ellsbury’s contract via insurance, but that gravy train appears to be ending. Sure, Ellsbury could have some sort of setback, but the team can’t count on it. If and when he’s ready to go, whether that be some time in late April or later this season, it’ll be time to cut him loose. There’s no need to try to make this marriage work.

March 18th Spring Training Notes: Gonzalez, Florial, Ellsbury

by

(Presswire)

The Yankees beat the Braves this evening. Masahiro Tanaka was on top of his game, striking out seven and allowing one run on two hits and a walk in five innings. He has one more tune-up start before Opening Day. Adam Ottavino, who’s had a sneaky bad spring, allowed three runs on two hits and two walks in two-thirds of an inning. Time to panic? Nah. Wait until he does that a few times during the regular season.

Offensively, Luke Voit (home run) and Aaron Judge (triple) led the way. Judge is still looking for his first single this spring. Nothing but extra-base hits so far. Brett Gardner and DJ LeMahieu had one single apiece, Tyler Wade doubled, and Austin Romine had three base hits. Another good Grapefruit League game. The Yankees won and everyone made it out in one piece. Here is the box score and here are the day’s notes from Tampa:

  • In case you missed it earlier, the Yankees have agreed to a minor league deal with Gio Gonzalez. Brian Cashman called it a “verbal understanding” and said he’s not sure when Gonzalez will be MLB ready. Gio will join the Yankees in the coming days. [Erik Boland, George King, Joel Sherman]
  • Estevan Florial (wrist) will wear a hard cast for a few weeks and Aaron Boone didn’t have an exact timetable for his return. Florial actually has two fractures in his wrist, but the second fracture is small and won’t require as much time to heal as the main fracture. [Brendan Kuty]
  • When will Jacoby Ellsbury (hip) rejoin the Yankees? “The timetable is ‘As soon as possible.’ It’s hard to give an exact day or week, but we’re doing everything. I’m in baseball activity, so that’s the good news,” he said. Ellsbury reported to camp yesterday to continue his rehab. [Ken Davidoff]
  • The Yankees have back-to-back games on the other side of Florida on Wednesday and Thursday. Usually they have a group of players stay overnight rather than make the long bus trip back and forth. Miguel Andujar, Greg Bird, Clint Frazier, Gary Sanchez, Gleyber Torres, Luke Voit, and Tyler Wade are all making the trip. [Coley Harvey]
  • Conor Foley has the day’s minor league camp workout groups. Reminder: These are only spring workout groups. They are not regular season assignments. Here is video of Deivi Garcia and personal favorite Tanner Myatt from today’s games.
  • And finally, MLB is testing out a new device that allows the pitcher and catcher to communicate through watches. The Yankees tried it out last week and some said it slowed everything down. Meh, no harm in trying. [Jesse Dougherty, James Wagner]

The Grapefruit League season continues tomorrow afternoon with a home game against the Rays. Luis Cessa is the scheduled starting pitcher. Tomorrow’s game will be televised live.

March 17th Spring Training Notes: Hicks, Betances, Florial, Ellsbury, Wilson

by

Two games, two wins for the Yankees today. James Paxton no-hit the Phillies for 4.1 innings before reaching his pitch count, though he did give up a run because he walked a batter and Chad Green let the inherited runner score. Green gave up three hits in his two-thirds of an inning. Greg Bird, Gleyber Torres, and Troy Tulowitzki all hit home runs, plus Tyler Wade and Matt Lipka had two hits apiece. Here are the box score and video highlights for this game.

Meanwhile, against the Orioles, Jonathan Loaisiga allowed a hit and a walk in three scoreless innings. Didn’t strike anyone out though. At this point, I don’t think today’s outing is enough to land him a spot in the Opening Day rotation. Luke Voit, Miguel Andujar, and Zack Zehner all went deep. The Kyles (Holder and Higashioka) each had a single and a double. Here are the box score and video highlights for this game, and here are the day’s notes from Tampa:

  • Aaron Boone confirmed Aaron Hicks (back) will begin the season on the injured list. He received a second cortisone shot yesterday, which seems not great! “He could avoid a full (injured list) stay at the big league level because obviously we can backdate him … Hopefully this will knock it out once and for all, but it will slow him down by a couple of days,” Boone said. [Coley Harvey]
  • Dellin Betances threw a 1-2-3 inning today but his velocity was still down in the 90-92 mph range. Gary Sanchez even went out to the mound to make sure he was feeling okay. Betances, who has always been a slow starter velocity-wise, said he feels good and is still building arm strength after getting a late start to camp following the birth of his first child. [James Wagner, Sweeny Murti]
  • Estevan Florial (wrist) will see a specialist Tuesday and the Yankees will know more about his timetable then. “My understanding is he could potentially be in a cast, but the hand specialist may have him in something else. That’ll kind of unfold over the next 48 hours exactly how we attack it,” said Boone. Florial suffered a non-displaced fracture yesterday. [Randy Miller]
  • Jacoby Ellsbury (hip surgery) arrived in camp today. He had his physical today and is not close to returning to the lineup. Ellsbury is hitting off a tee and playing catch at short distances. That’s about it. His rehab work will gradually increase in the coming weeks. Needless to say, he’s not a candidate to fill in for Hicks. [Bryan Hoch, Pete Caldera]
  • Conor Foley has the day’s minor league camp lineups. Obligatory reminder: Those are only spring workout groups, not full season assignments. Just turned 20-year-old Saul Torres is not jumping to Triple-A after hitting .125/.172/.193 in rookie ball last season.
  • And finally, Russell Wilson is gone. His two days in camp are over. Wilson shagged fly balls and took batting practice, and presumably mingled with the young players, which was the entire reason the Yankees acquired him in the first place. [Bryan Hoch]

The Yankees open the final full week of the Grapefruit League season with a road night game against the Braves tomorrow. The game won’t be televised. Last time the Yankees will play an untelevised game in 2019. Hooray for that. Masahiro Tanaka is Monday night’s scheduled starter.

Where does each 2019 Yankee hit the ball the hardest?

by

(Presswire)

In the year 2019, exit velocity is firmly ingrained in the baseball lexicon. It is inescapable. It’s all over Twitter and game broadcasts, and the Yankees literally show exit velocity on the Yankee Stadium scoreboard. Each time a Yankee puts the ball in play, there’s the exit velocity, right next to the pitch velocity on the center field scoreboard. Get used to it. Exit velocity isn’t going anywhere.

The Yankees have embraced exit velocity as an evaluation tool. It helped them unearth Luke Voit, and I remember former farm system head Gary Denbo mentioning Aaron Judge had premium exit velocity back when he was still a prospect in the minors. Hit the ball hard and good things happen. Here is the 2018 exit velocity leaderboard (min. 200 balls in play):

  1. Aaron Judge: 94.7 mph
  2. Joey Gallo: 93.9 mph
  3. Nelson Cruz: 93.9 mph
  4. Giancarlo Stanton: 93.7 mph
  5. Matt Chapman: 93.1 mph
    (MLB average: 87.7 mph)

Hitting the ball hard is a good skill to have. I mean, duh. Hit the ball hard and it’s more likely to go for a hit. Hit the ball hard in the air and it’s more likely to do serious damage, meaning extra-base hits. Last season the league hit .730 with a 1.098 ISO — that’s ISO, not SLG — on fly balls and line drives with an exit velocity of at least 100 mph. For real.

Not surprisingly, the home run record-setting Yankees led MLB with a 93.6 mph average exit velocity on fly balls and line drives last season. With that in mind, let’s look at where each projected member of the 2019 Yankees hit the ball the hardest last year. Specifically, let’s look at where in the strike zone they produce their best contact. Some guys are low ball hitters, others are high ball hitters, etc.

For the purposes of this post, we’re going to consider “best contact” to be fly balls and line drives with an exit velocity of at least 100 mph. Why 100 mph and not, say, 95 mph or 97.6 mph or whatever? No real reason. Round numbers are cool so 100 mph it is. Here is each projected 2019 Yankee, listed alphabetically, and last year’s “best contact” profile.

(All spray chart are shown with Yankee Stadium’s dimensions even though not every batted ball was hit at Yankee Stadium, which is why there appear to be more homers than were actually hit.)

Miguel Andujar

Average FB+LD exit velocity: 92.7 mph
Number of 100+ mph FB+LD: 65 (13.5% of all balls in play)

I am legitimately surprised Andujar’s exit velocity numbers are not better. His average exit velocity on all batted balls was 89.2 mph, which ranked 72nd among the 186 hitters with at least 300 balls in play last year. His average exit velocity on fly balls and line drives ranked 128th (!), right behind Manny Margot and one-tenth of a mile-an-hour better than JaCoby Jones. Huh. Didn’t expect that.

Anyway, the strike zone plot above shows Andujar makes hard contact pretty much everywhere. That makes sense. He seems to get the fat part of the bat on the ball no matter where it’s pitched. Most of his 100 mph or better fly balls and line drives are to the pull field, like most hitters, though Andujar can drive the ball the other way. I’m still a bit surprised his exit velocity are numbers are relatively low (but still better than average). Didn’t see that coming. Maybe that means he’s due for bad regression?

[Read more…]

March 12th: Spring Training Notes: Hicks, Sabathia, Paxton, Gregorius, Heller, Ellsbury, Roster Cuts

by

The Yankees rallied in the eighth inning to beat the Orioles tonight. Miguel Andujar had three hits and made a nice defensive play going to his right. Brett Gardner, Aaron Judge, and Kyle Higashioka all hit home runs. Giancarlo Stanton, Luke Voit, Gary Sanchez, Greg Bird, and Troy Tulowitzki all had base hits as well. Trey Amburgey’s bases loaded walk and Clint Frazier’s sacrifice fly contributed to the three-run eighth inning rally.

Jonathan Loaisiga got the start and gosh, it did not go well. He really labored in the second inning and finished the night having allowed six runs (five earned) in two innings. It would behoove him to pitch well in his final two Grapefruit League appearances. Jonathan Holder allowed a solo homer in an otherwise uneventful night for the big league relievers. Zack Britton threw two innings. Holder, Chad Green, and Aroldis Chapman threw one each. Here are the box score and video highlights, and here are the day’s notes from Spring Training:

  • Aaron Hicks (back) received a cortisone shot yesterday. He admitted he still had limited mobility when he took swings Sunday. Aaron Boone said Hicks could return to game action this coming weekend. “Something like this lingering, we had to do something about it,” Hicks said, adding he can always go to minor league camp to get a bunch of at-bats before Opening Day, if necessary. [Bryan Hoch, James Wagner]
  • CC Sabathia faced hitters for the first time this spring in a short live batting practice session. Only three hitters. Here’s some video. Also, James Paxton threw a simulated game. He was away from the team this past weekend following a death in his family. [Kristie Ackert, Pete Caldera]
  • Didi Gregorius (Tommy John surgery) has progressed to take dry swings with a regular bat. He was swinging a fungo bat last week. Gregorius will begin hitting off a tee in a week or two. Until then, dry swings only. [Bryan Hoch]
  • Ben Heller (Tommy John surgery) is ten bullpen sessions into his throwing program and is about six weeks away from pitching in rehab games. He’s throwing fastballs and changeups only now. He’ll introduce sliders into his throwing program next week. [DJ Eberle]
  • Jacoby Ellsbury (hip) is expected to join the Yankees on Sunday. He’s still in rehab mode and only recently started running on flat ground. Ellsbury is still a ways away from baseball activity, let alone playing in games. [Brendan Kuty]
  • More roster cuts: Chance Adams, Trey Amburgey, Cale Coshow, Kellin Deglan, Thairo Estrada, Danny Farquhar, Mike Ford, and Joe Harvey have all been sent to minor league camp, the Yankees announced. I count 50 players in big league camp now.

If you’re interested and will be up early, tonight’s game will be replayed on MLB Network at 6am ET tomorrow. The Yankees have another night game tomorrow night. That’s a home game against the Phillies. Masahiro Tanaka is starting and the game will not be televised.

March 6th Spring Training Notes: Severino, Sabathia, Hicks, Ellsbury, King, Roster Cuts

by

The Yankees came from ahead to lose to the Cardinals this afternoon. Austin Romine clubbed a three-run home run to lead the way offensively. Gleyber Torres, DJ LeMahieu, and Tyler Wade all doubled, plus Brett Gardner and Giancarlo Stanton had singles. Torres had two hits on the day. Clint Frazier and Greg Bird each drew a walk. Seemed like Yankees hitters were in 3-2 counts all afternoon.

Jonathan Loaisiga started and looked very good in his first two innings (four strikeouts) before things unraveled in his third inning (three runs). He is pitching for a rotation spot now. Aroldis Chapman was the only projected big league reliever to pitch today and he allowed a soft single in an otherwise ho hum inning. Here are the box score and video highlights, and here are the day’s notes from Tampa:

  • Luis Severino (shoulder) is optimistic he won’t miss much time. All his strength tests came back strong. “It’s going to be tough for a little bit, but after that, like I said, it’s better it happened now than in midseason or at the end of the season,” he said. Not surprisingly, Brian Cashman said the Yankees will be cautious with Severino and give him as much time as he needs. [Coley Harvey]
  • CC Sabathia (knee) threw his third bullpen session today as scheduled. Aaron Boone stated the obvious and said Sabathia will likely start the season on the injured list, but said it should be a “short” stay. Boone make it sound like it’ll be the injured list then the five-game suspension, not the other way around. The order does matter a bit because the Yankees have to play with a 24-man roster during the suspension. [Meredith Marakovits, Lindsey Adler]
  • Aaron Hicks (back) is expected to resume baseball activities tomorrow, Boone said during an in-game interview with YES this afternoon. Hicks was ready to go today, but the Yankees held him out one more day as a precaution. Resuming baseball activities tomorrow means he is probably a few days from returning to game action.
  • Jacoby Ellsbury (hip) will join the Yankees next weekend so they can evaluate his progress. What happens after that is anyone’s guess. Also, Mike King (elbow) has an MRI coming up soon. Three weeks ago the Yankees shut him down and said he’ll be evaluated again in three weeks, and it’s been three weeks, so there you go. [Brendan Kuty]
  • The Yankees announced their first round of roster cuts this morning. Domingo Acevedo, Brady Lail, and Trevor Stephan were sent to minor league camp. There are still 59 players in big league camp, according to my unofficial count.

If you’re interested, this afternoon’s game will be replayed on YES (after the Nets game) and MLB Network (12am ET). The Yankees will be on the road tomorrow afternoon to take on the Phillies. Miguel Andujar, Greg Bird, Clint Frazier, Adam Ottavino, James Paxton, Gary Sanchez, Troy Tulowitzki, and Luke Voit are all making the trip, so says Lindsey Adler. Tomorrow’s game will be televised live.

March 1st Spring Training Notes: Sanchez, Sabathia, Ellsbury, First Base

by

Gary’s back. (Also, peep Jonathan Loaisiga’s Tommy John scar.) (Presswire)

The Yankees and Orioles played to a tie tonight. Rashad Crawford had the game-tying two-run single in the ninth. James Paxton started and allowed a solo homer in two innings plus one batter. Chad Green struck out three of the four batters he faced and Tommy Kahnle struck out all three men he faced. I wonder what his velocity was like. DJ LeMahieu started at third base and, according to Bryan Hoch, he made a nice play coming on a weakly hit grounder. Consider that practice for CC Sabathia starts.

Gary Sanchez made his spring debut and caught four innings. He went 0-for-2 at the plate and had a hit taken away on a diving catch by the center fielder, says Hoch. Gary told Lindsey Adler he’ll play again Sunday. Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge, Brett Gardner, Gleyber Torres, Luke Voit, and DJ LeMahieu went a combined 0-for-15. Ouch. The Aarons each drew a walk. Giancarlo Stanton singled and walked, and Clint Frazier doubled and walked. Here is the box score and here are the day’s notes from Tampa:

  • As expected, CC Sabathia threw his first bullpen session of the spring today. Here’s some video. “Conditioning-wise, knee-wise, everything felt great. I have plenty of time (to get ready for the regular season). Plus, I’m suspended, so I got an extra week,” he said. Sabathia will throw his next bullpen session Sunday. [Pete Caldera, Lindsey Adler]
  • There have been conflicting reports about the upcoming rotation the last few days, so let’s clear things up: Luis Cessa is starting tomorrow, Masahiro Tanaka and Domingo German are starting Sunday’s split squad games, and Luis Severino is expected to make his spring debut Tuesday after the off-day Monday. That has always been the schedule. Some of the reporters in Tampa tweeted out the wrong days though, creating some confusion. It happens. [Bryan Hoch, George King]
  • Jacoby Ellsbury (hip surgery) is running on flat ground and the Yankees will soon get together to map out a plan for him. “His work’s going well, but we’ll probably in the next week or two get to the point where we have to make a decision to continue to get there, or if we deem he’s ready for baseball activities, then he’ll get going out here,” said Aaron Boone. [Brendan Kuty]
  • For the first time this spring, Boone indicated there is a scenario in which both Luke Voit and Greg Bird are on the Opening Day roster. “(We are) a long way from that,” Boone cautioned, referring to the roster decision. Voit and Bird have both started the spring very well. There are still more than three weeks to go until Opening Day though. [Coley Harvey]
  • And finally, intrasquad games have started at the minor league complex across the street. Here’s video of first base prospect Steven Sensley hitting a dinger.

The Grapefruit League season continues tomorrow afternoon with a road game against the Pirates. Cessa is starting and Miguel Andujar, Greg Bird, Thairo Estrada, Danny Farquhar, Estevan Florial, Clint Frazier, Joe Harvey, Austin Romine, Stephen Tarpley, and Troy Tulowitzki will all make the trip, so says Brendan Kuty. It’ll be Farquhar’s spring debut and his first game action since suffering a life-threatening brain hemorrhage last April. Tomorrow’s game will not be televised. Sunday’s games will though.