So tomorrow night, Didi Gregorius will be coming back from the IL. He has been out since the playoffs ended after having Tommy John surgery. There have been many who were out earlier in the year and many still yet to come back, but I feel like Didi is the biggest one coming back from the longest injury and signifies the beginning of the end of all the ridiculousness that they have endured this year with relation to injuries.
First, let's go through the list of injuries this year so far:
GONE AND CAME BACK ALREADY
- Aaron Hicks (Back)
- Gary Sanchez (calf)
- CC Sabathia (heart, Knee)
- DJ Lemahieu (knee - no IL, but about a week off)
- James Paxton (knee)
- Clint Frazier (Ankle)
GONE AND NOT BACK YET:
- Aaron Judge (Strained oblique)
- Troy Tulowitzki (Strained calf)
- Giancarlo Stanton (Various)
- Miguel Andujar (Shoulder - out for season)
- Greg Bird (Plantar Fascia)
- Luis Severino (lat)
- Didi Gregorius (Tommy John)
- Dellin Betances (Shoulder, Elbow)
- Jonathan Loaisiga (Shoulder)
- Jordan MOntgomery (Tommy John)
- Ben Heller (Tommy John)
- Jacoby Ellsbury (hip and everything else)
- Jake Barrett (Shoulder)
So let's start with the list of those who got injured and came back already. This is a significant chunk of a team. Aaron Hicks had a bad back, as soon as the ink dried on his new 7 year contract. Was out for the first 7-8 weeks or so. Raised some eyebrows. He does not get the credit he deserves. Batting average is rising slowly and he's getting some clutch hits. Sanchez was out for a minute and everyone was all excited that ROMINE would get his chance to shine. C'mon everybody. Get a grip. (by the way, not hearing any complaints about his defense, now that he is hitting again!) Sabathia was out twice already! Actually 3 times - 5 game suspension for last year issue, then the heart and then the knee. And then Paxton goes down for a bit - that's 2/5 of the rotation that has gone and come back already. Throw in about a week of Lemahieu being out - I'm convinced he would have been in the IL if there was any room there for him! And of course, Clint Frazier who is hitting the tar off the ball but can't catch a damn cold in the outfield. So let's think about what things looked like while all of these guys were out in addition to the guys who are still out. This was a sample lineup from a game against the Royals. (Remember, no matter how many injuries have mounted, Aaron Boone is going to give people days off. SOmeone good will be out of the lineup every day. That's baseball in 2019.
1 - DJ Lemahieu
2 - Luke Voit
3 - Brett Gardner
4 - Clint Frazier
5 - Mike Tauchman
6 - Gio Urshela
7 - Mike Ford
8 - Austin Romine
9 - Tyler Wade
Starting pitching:
1 - German
2 - Happ
3 - Tanaka
4 - Opener (Paxton was out)
5 - Opener (CC was out)
Ok, in the batting order, 1&2 look good right now because they are absolutely raking and 2 months in, they are the real deal. Gardner batting 3rd? Be honest, how many of you were pissed they resigned him this year? And he's batting 3rd? Truth be told, he's been a nice guy to have around. I for one, am thankful that he was resigned, considering the playing time he's getting, but he should be batting 9th and/or a great bench player and turning the lineup around. Not batting 3rd! Clint Frazier 4 - not bad but not expected to be getting those type of at-bats. At least he has stepped up. (of course, he got injured shortly thereafter also!) Ok, now 5 - Mike Tauchman. Here's a guy that everyone was "concerned" about losing at one point when Frazier was injured and ready to come back. He batted .211 everybody! 211! Get a grip. Yes, he had some key hits and actually came up with 13 RBI in 95 at bats. Not bad. But he batted 211! And for most of the time, he was under 200. Let's not talk about him as is he is Lou Gehrig taking over for Wally Pipp! He batted 211. 6 - Gio Urshela. This guy has been a revelation. He's one that would have been tricky had Andujar not opted for season ending surgery. And not because of any sort of concern about team chemistry, but because he is crushing it and Andujar is a killer too. That was gonna be a logjam, but it's not - until next year. 7 - Mike Ford. Ok, at one point, people were writing - yes, being published - saying "Should the Yankees bring back Mike Ford to platoon with Luke Voit for issues like "righty-lefty" stuff. COME ON PEOPLE! He batted. 179. 1 homer and 2 RBI. He walked a bunch of times, but really? I understand - the Yankees kept winning, but it was not because Mike Ford was lighting it up. H e actually batted 5th a couple of times. Wow! 8 - Austin Romine - everyone has this love affair with Romine. I don't get it. He's batting .209 with 1 homer and 11 RBI in 86 at bats. His OPS is .486. That's silly low. Nice catcher. Good back up. Happy we have him for when Sanchez goes down with injury, but enough with the preferring him over Sanchez stuff. Put it to bed. Take that opinion out back and shoot it, please. And 9 - Tyler Wade. Loving his .204 batting average this year. Scorching .520 OPS and 0 homers with 5 RBI. He had a hot week and everyone's like "WE NEED TYLER WADE! DOWN WITH STANTON!"
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm blown away by what they were able to do with a lineup like that. In spite of all the issues, they took care of business and they found ways to win. It's quite impressive. But people were actually worried about Hicks coming back and hoping that Sanchez would stay injured. I'm sorry, a team with Hicks and Sanchez destroys any team with Mike Tauchman and Kyle Higashioka. Case closed.
Ok, let's move on to now. Lots of people who need to come back. Let's realize that Andujar is OUT of the picture for this year. We'll ignore him until 2020. I'll tell you the moves that will have to happen when people come back.
The thing I can not deal with hearing is that "when all these guys back, it's going to hurt their chemistry." Or "I don't want to mess up what we have going on." Guess what - at the trading deadline every year, teams that are doing well end up going out there and adding players that will help their team. They move a few guys out, replace them with "better" players and the ones who do the best job of that go on to win the World Series. Good teams, upgrading their teams! Each of the following players coming back, making the team whole - this will put the Yankees over the top and change make them unstoppable.
- Didi Gregorius - 1st one coming back. When he comes back, the logical answer SHOULD be Kendrys Morales. Had a nice career, but it should not continue here. I'm cool with him getting the boot and that is a hell of an upgrade for the team overall.
- Giancarlo Stanton - Everyone is worried that when he comes back, he'll "upset what's going on with this team." Ok, I understand - you are happy with the fact that they don't strike out a ton right now. Let's check the stats. This year, they are on pace for 1,417 strikeouts. (Thats 525 in 60 games so far.) Last year, they struck out 1,421 times. Interesting, everyone claims that they are such a better "contact team" this year, but they are on basically the exact same strikeout pace as last year - and that's without Judge and Stanton. Things that make you go "hmmmmm?" 1 more thing, the Red Sox have 501 strikouts already this year, and everyone likes to claim that they are "not that type of team." Anyway - Stanton is a former MVP who had 38 homeruns and 100 RBI last year while hitting .265. (league average was .248) So, let me ask you - The Yankees had Cameron Maybin in the outfield tonight. To his credit, he's hitting in the .280s this year and has had some nice clutch his. But he's a career .255 with an OPS under .700. He had NO TEAM this year until the Yankees were desperate for someone other than Mike Ford. He's a nice story, but if he's still on the team in September, then it's probably a problem.
- Aaron Judge - When Judge comes back, you are probably looking at Thairo Estrada going back down. He has been great and is going to have a nice career. He's one of those guys who you are sad to see sent down and has earned playing time in the majors. HE IS NOT AARON JUDGE! I want you to look me in the eye and tell me that you will be disappointed to replace Thairo Estrada with Aaron Judge. I dare you. Go ahead, make my day! I don't need to say any more about this. BTW, who you want in Right - Judge or Clint Frazier?
- Dellin Betances - Currently, in the Yankee bullpen, you have David Hale and Luis Cessa. Now, David Hale has pitched well, but I think he's low man on the totem pole. I happen to not be a fan of Luis Cessa, so I'd like to see him go, BUT he has served his purpose and has more experience than Hale. It doesn't really matter. Someone will get injured again and they'll both be up at some point. (I'm sure we'll see Stephen Tarpley at some point too!) Just glad that their bullpen is ON lately and again, Hale has been nice, but he is NOT DELLIN BETANCES! See ya later, David!
- Luis Severino - Have you noticed that the Yankees have had to use "openers" lately? They had 4 starters on the IL at one point - Sevy, CC, Loaisiga and Paxton. They doesn't even mention Montgomery - he's so far forgotten, it's not even funny for a guy who actually got Rookie of the Year votes a couple years ago! Domingo German has been amazing, but he is on an innings limit. Severino will return to slide into German's spot and they'll STILL be short pitching due to typical injury stuff throughout a season. How in the hell does his return hurt anyone?
Those 5 additions make the team whole. They don't even need to do anything at the deadline. Their deadline deals are with the Injured list! Now for the rest of the injuries that don't REALLY mean a ton except hurting the depth of the team: If Ellsbury ever plays again for the Yankees, we are in trouble! OF course, we really could have used him in April. Ellsbury may be overpaid, but he'd have been better than Mike Ford and Mike Tauchman with Gardner in center!
- Troy Tulowitzki - It was a cheap lottery ticket. His injury paved the way for Thairo Estrada. If someone else goes down, they should bring up Estrada. Tulo is done. Let's release him and move on.
- Greg Bird - Voit is the real deal. I'm done with Bird. This decade's Joba Chamberlain.
- Jonathan Loaisiga - would be nice to have him around, but he's only up if someone's injured. We have German/Severino, Paxton, CC, Tanaka and Happ. Some say that is not enough for the playoffs - If Sevy is back, I go to war with this. If not, will need someone else. But I'll sit CC if we can get Scherzer. :-)
- Jordan MOntgomery Not a factor
- Ben Heller - not a factor
- Jacoby Ellsbury - please stay home!
- Jake Barrett - not a factor
- Miguel Andujar (out for season)
So what's the point in the end? I really and truly appreciate what's going on in Yankee land right now. It's been a magical season so far. They are finding ways to win. Lemahieu is batting close to .500 with RISP. Urshela seems like the real deal, but only time will tell. German is going to be a great pitcher in this league. The bullpen is out of this world. Sanchez has proven that last year was an injury riddled fluke. Gardner has been beneficial to have. Voit is not Kevin Maas or Shane Spencer. Gleyber has not taken a step back. Paxton is settling in. Chapman can get guys out with 100 MPH (as opposed to 105.) Chad Green's ERA is slowly coming back down. Ottavino does not give up a hit, ever! Maybin has been surprisingly helpful - a 1996-ish type of guy. Clint Frazier can HIT! (can't really field, though . . . . . )
To think that the team as presently constituted is build to win over the long haul is silly. They are hot. They are clicking. People have literally asked me "why not build a team like the Rays? It works, clearly." Yes, it works, and then they tear it down and build with youth and hope that it will work again, year after year. Or guys who had career years return to looking more like the numbers on the back of their baseball cards the next year. Sometimes they are bad, sometimes they are surprisingly great. THAT DOES NOT WORK IN NYC!! We can not operate like that. Because more often than not, teams like that fade. Kansas City is just 1 example in 2014 - great start, but they were not ready. 2015 they were! I feel like a team does that every year - teams like the Rays, A's, Twins, Mariners (13-2 start), Mets, Reds, Royals, Padres . . . . . But the Yankees don't need to tear down and restart. They rebuilt without ever sucking in 2017! It's working!
They are on a hot streak and ya know what - it's very possible something special could happen this year, even if those 5 guys don't come back. But all the guys having career years in their stead - you think it's gonna happen again next year? Look at this year's Red Sox. Last year - juggernaut. This year - not so much. Not too many huge changes - just not clicking the same. And these are BIG players on their team. The little guys the Yanks have - Maybin, Estrada, Romine, Ford, Tauchman, Wade - these are not long term guys. They may catch fire and it may last as a group for a year, but if you want to sustain for the next 7 years, you gotta have Stanton, Judge, Sevy, Sanchez, Hicks, Didi . . . . . . Long term stability, proven commodities and AWESOME PLAYERS!
To the little guys - I'll put the Yankees 40-man roster up against anyone in the league. I thank you for your time and service. I am NOT scared of a September injury because you have gained experience and proven you can do it. There is a chance you will become trade bait - helping the Yankees build and retool for the future and keep the farm system strong. There's a chance we'll see you many times the rest of this year, with the way the injuries have been hitting this team.
People are worried about "how we'll get everyone at bats" and what-not. I retort by saying "What a versatile team!"
POSITION PLAYERS:
- Luke Voit at 1st
- Gleyber at 2nd
- DIDI at SS
- Urshela at 3B
- Lemahieu can play 1st, 2nd or 3rd giving each player 1 day off a week. Didi gets 2 days off a week, move Gleyber to SS and DJ plays 2nd. DH 1 day a week and then sit 1 days a week and be a ridiculous pinch hitter.
- Judge in RF
- Hicks in CF
- Stanton in LF (Remember - there are only 3 bench spots BUT the DH counts as a 4th roving spot, so you can carry 5 outfielders)
- Frazier can give Judge a day a week in right, Stanton 2 days a week to be DH instead of LF and be the DH for 1 day a week. Killer bench guy on the other days.
- Gardner is the 5th outfielder, but he'll give Stanton a day or 2 to be DH or completely off and scan spell Hicks in CF 1x a week.
- Sanchez - Catches
- Romine - catch 2 days a week. 1 for Sanchez day off, 1 for Sanchez DH
PITCHERS
- Severino
- Paxton
- Tanaka
- Happ
- CC (German innings limit over)
- Chapman
- Betances
- Britton
- Holder
- Kahnle
- Ottavino
- Chad Green
- Cessa
Let's look at tonight's lineup
- Lemahieu
- Hicks
- Voit
- Sanchez
- Morales
- Frazier
- Urshela
- Estrada
- Maybin.
BENCH 1 - Gardner
BENCH 2 - Torres
BENCH 3 - Romine
NOW, Let's look at our line up in the playoffs if everyone is healthy.
- Lemahieu (DH)
- Judge (RF)
- Voit (1B)
- Stanton (LF)
- Sanchez (C)
- Torres (2B)
- Didi (SS)
- Hicks (CF)
- Urshela (3B)
BENCH 1 - Gardner
BENCH 2 - Frazier
BENCH 3 - Romine
Come on. Don't even try to tell me you'd prefer tonight's lineup.
See you all in the World Series - with our full and versatile team of position players, a solid bench, a stable yet not perfect rotation and the best bullpen in the league. I'll take my chances with that. Let's just make sure to hook Maybin, Estrada, Tauchman, Ford and Wade some nice "Legends" seats so they can be at the "Serious October Baseball" too.
JOEY V
