The entire AL East has had troubles with starting pitching so far this season, Peter Gammons writes. Heading into play today, the division had only produced 34 quality starts in 90 games. Gammons feels the Yankees’ strong bullpen and ability to upgrade their roster via the trade market this summer could make them the favorite in the division — they have plenty of Double-A talent they could trade, and they have the ability to afford an additional expensive starting pitcher. Here’s more from the AL East.
- Koji Uehara’s struggles Saturday night raise questions about whether the Red Sox made the right move in re-signing Uehara and letting Andrew Miller leave for the Yankees last offseason, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. The Red Sox gave Uehara two years and $18MM, a commitment that Cafardo notes surprised some observers, given Uehara’s injury issues and his play down the stretch last year (and, presumably, given the fact that he’s 40). Miller, meanwhile, got twice that amount from the Yankees and has pitched well so far. It is perhaps worth noting, though, that Uehara has six strikeouts and no walks in 4 1/3 innings thus far this season. Worries about him might be somewhat premature.
- The Rays have been successful so far this season despite serious troubles with injuries, MLB.com’s Bill Chastain writes. Last offseason and the start of this season have been a test for president of baseball operations Matt Silverman, who has now had to deal with losing his manager and with having 12 players (including Drew Smyly and James Loney, who have since returned) on the disabled list at once.
Uehara is wayyyy down the list of Red Sox concerns right now, how about getting some innings out of the starters and not putting an unbelievable amount of pressure and work on the pen.
Tanaka, Pineda, and Eovaldi have given the Yankees reason to feel pretty good thus far, but there’s also the matter of the offense having been producing almost nightly, including Tex with his 8 HR’s/18 RBIs already, on top of the bullpen being stellar. I wouldn’t write them to be the favorites yet because Boston and Toronto both have some fierce offense as well, and it’s a long season, but they’re more in the mix at this point than they were given credit for before the season.
Trouble with the Red Sox is that no matter how good your offense is it doesn’t matter when your rotation is averaging 5 runs a game while having a below average bullpen. They better hope that Betts doesn’t become this years JBJ and that their offense plays to their potential because it will be a long season for them.
I guess to look on the bright side of things, the Sox are playing horrendously in every facet of the game yet they are still 10-9. What can they be if they begin to click?
Also to mention that their hitting has been poor in terms of BABIP, and RISP. When those stats start to normalize, they’ll look much better.
One thing I just read that somewhat surprises me is that the Red Sox team wRC+ is only 92 which ranks 18th in baseball, yet they are 5th in runs scored and 9th in OBP.
wRC+ says their offense is below average whereas traditional stats put them among the best (top 5-10).
Yeah it is very odd, but they have scored a ton of runs on errors so far this year, it is definitely 20+. Also, you have Pedroia and Ramirez who have hit a lot of HRs so far this year, while men have been on base. From here on out, Betts should get better, as well as Ortiz, Sandoval, and Napoli. When that happens, I’m sure we will see that wRC+ correspond correctly with their runs scored and OBP.
They’ve been buoyed by a ton of unearned runs and home runs. Their batting average is going to have to undergo some serious improvements to warrant the amount of money spent on this offense.
It should because their BABIP is so low. Hanley’s is only around .260 and his BA is .300, while Betts, and Ortiz have both been hurt badly by their BABIP.
Their bullpen is 8th in the league (not sure if that includes today’s game, but that was all off a AAA kid so….), and is at worse a league-average bullpen. If their starters can go 6 innings, they have a very good shot at winning the game.
I agree, I would say their bullpen has actually been a pleasant surprise. The early returns on guys like Breslow and Ogando, who had off-years in 2014, are really solid so far. Varvaro looks like a solid addition as well with his ability to get righties and lefties out.
Don’t forget the division leading Rays who have had their starting 1B, 2B, DH, #1 SP, #3 SP, #5 SP, closer and 2 LH middle relievers all go on the DL already this year. That doesn’t include Matt Moore who is still recovering from TJS who would have probably been their #2 SP. They added Loney and Smyly back this weekend and both players were huge in multiple wins this weekend. They are expecting most of these injured players back in the next few weeks and the rest of the ALE should be concerned.
The Rays have been a bit of a surprise thus far, that’s for sure, and could continue to surprise to a point. The only thing is, I don’t know if they have enough on the offensive side of the ball or in the pen to be division leaders consistently down the stretch. I (not so) quietly love their rotation though, particularly Archer I find highly under rated.
Archer is unbelievable imo. I get to watch him often as a jays fan, we never seem to be able to do anything against him.
His stuff is really amazing, and he’s so young it makes you wonder where he’ll be in a few years if his health holds up.
2nd highest velocity on his fastball on average in the AL i think as well which was surprising to hear today. Great command and will only improve.
He’s unbelievable because the Jays don’t have any LHB’s that can stop Archer from throwing slider after slider besides Justin Smoak.
I disagree, hes just an amazing pitcher.
I have him in fantasy baseball. Watch him almost regularly. He neutralizes RHB’s with the slider away and fastball in combination. He’s pitched practically the same 2 games against the Jays.
His splits reflect my statement, LHB’s are hitting him better than RHB’s by 100 points in OPS this year and throughout his career LHB’s have a league average OPS aswell. His issues last year was consistency with control as he walks lefties.
Youre very right on that, he is unreal vs RHP. But i think thats simplifying it. Hes just a good pitcher in general, and is only getting better at the age of 26. Jays couldnt touch his slider today, it was embarrassing .
He threw a few meatball sliders to a few lefties in the lineup, Smoak missed on one that broke down the middle to end the first but was thinking fastball and swung through it. Pompey also hit one of those meatball sliders as a LHB. Jays are way too RHB oriented.
Reyes being out of the lineup hurts them tremendously against a guy like Archer. He was 9-21 vs Archer with just 3k’s. Also, by the way batting from the Left handed batters box.
Yeah i really dont like Smoaks bat, never have tbh. His glove is great but meh, need some more good contact hitters in the lineup. Got enough power. James Loney type 1b would be a great replacement for Smoak.
Whoever told you Smoak isn’t any good just an upset Mariners fan. The guy had a 290+ batted ball distance(which has increased every year since 2011) last year playing the majority of his games in Seattle. Mariner fans constantly complained he always hit the ball to the warning track. In Toronto and every ballpark in the division except perhaps Fenway, those are all homers or ringing doubles off the wall. He’s going to hit 20 homers this year if he gets enough playing time with a solid OBP and steady defense.
Him also being in the lineup means Edwin has less ways to hurt himself for an extended period of time and he’ll save Donaldson and Reyes a good amount of errors.
Not really to be honest. Smoak just isnt that great, or some other team would have picked him up. Hes struggled badly his entire career and struggles to hit .220. He has great defence, but i think that OBP is gonna fall drastically. Its quite low for his career even though hes got off to a nice start OBP-wise, he wont sustain in though in my opinion. He honestly cant hit anything other than a fastball consistently and with how the jays lineup is built, Smoak doesnt fit. If only Navarro could play 1B. But nah, i just dont think hes that great tbh.
His WRC+ vs Navarro’s WRC+. You don’t want a light hitting catcher with less speed than Prince Fielder and less power than the guy he’s supposedly better than playing everyday.
he was actually sick today. was throwing up inbetween innings. thats why he only went 7 innings. pretty amazing if you ask me.
The biggest question with the Rays, similar to the Yankees, is their offence. If you look at a lot of their guys, not many have solid track records of offensive performance. It all comes down to whether or not they can score a few runs a game.
Agreed, but they do manufacture runs quite well surprisingly. You know, stealing some bases here and there, moving the runners over effectively. Rays are the dark horse in the division for sure.
Sure, but I’ll take the potential even if it’s not proven yet. Souza is as legit a batter as Longoria is, and Beckham will be coming along. Arms are good. I just happened to be in St. Pete yesterday and caught the Rays-Jays game. Rays are very good with the old scouting eye.
The Rays offense might not be great, but it is solid. Over the past 3+ years Jaso, Longoria, Kiermaier, DeJesus, Guyer, Jennings, Loney and Cabrera have all been average or better hitters and Souza has the MiLB numbers, plus eye test to be at least an average MLB hitter.
The Rays are also very good defensively at every position except SS and 2B. They have probably the best SP in the division when healthy and a very good back of the BP in Jepsen, Boxberger and McGee. Add all of this up and they have a very legitimate chance to win the division once they get healthy in a few weeks.
that rotation is going to be filthy. But to be fair still need to see how Moore pitches after TJS, and when is Cobb ever healthy? Their lineup is still very suspect and their pen is mediocre. Every team in this division has their strenghts and weaknesses. I will say they’ve been impressive so far in the early going.
pen is not mediocre at all. bullpen will be great once McGee is back. 7th 8th and 9th innings guy will be Jepsen BoxBerger and McGee. arguably 3 of the top 25 relievers in the game
lol maybe McGee is top 25. That bullpen is above average fine.
Dito! everyone wrote the Rays off this offseason. this team is A LOT better than last season. love the aggressive approach. if we are high on the standing around the allstar break and we add just one more big bat we would be a serious threat in the playoffs. our rotation and bullpen is among the best. if we got one player that can hit 3rd would be a lock for playoffs!
Chris archer is literally unreal… kid has stuff some of the nicest stuff in the ALE. As a jays fan, the rays are a force to be reckoned with.
I’m a big fan of Souza personally. I knew from the second the Rays got him that this would be a classic Rays steal. I could easily see him stealing AL ROY honors with a 20 homer, 20 steal season.
Not to mention 1st overall pick Tim Beckham. Hes had a great start as well.
I saw him last night at Tropicana against the Jays…the bat speed is legit…he’s a star
Rays just get it done. They find the players.. sometimes just a dominant middle reliever they pull out of their hat.
Their offensive MO has been to get 2-3 above average bats and a bunch of averagish hitters who can play defense and mix and match to try and get production. Add that to very good starting pitching and a pretty good BP and they seem to get their 90+ wins against all odds every year.
They Rays have been a better offensive team than most realize. Over the last 3+ seasons, the Rays are 3rd in MLB in wRC+, They just don’t get the runs to correspond though because they play their home games in a tough pitchers park.
That’s the Royals and Giants MO as well…do a few things above average, and nothing below average. I watched the turf last night. It let’s a few balls through. Heavy air though. Reminds me a bit of what the Astros dealt with at the old Astrodome. Tropicana was oddly charming. I mean, it’s obviously a relic…but the fans that were there were watching the game..and a big core of children. Reasonable prices. Chris Archer bobblehead night on a Saturday and maybe 35% full. I suppose it’s a hassle to get to for most of the bay area.
Texeira hasn’t played more than 123 games since 2011. That was 5 years ago and he’s 35 now. Unless he’s willing to calm down and act like a 35 year old is suppose to with the glove, which I doubt he will. I’d expect him to hit the DL at least once this year.
Before I hear it, wrist injuries are a wear and tear injury. It’s not something that just snaps unless you drop a brick on it.
That’s a very fair point, his health has been an issue, believe me I’ve dealt with that disappointment repeatedly,lol. He seems to think his new diet(an anti inflammatory, fun free diet) has been a tremendous help to his production and will help prevent flare ups of old wounds. So we’ll see, but right now, he’s off to arguably the most productive start of his career and it’s been a pleasant surprise.
Yankees bullpen has to be Top 3 in the league. Maybe second to the Royals only. Imagine if we had retained Robertson, wow.
That middle of the infield is struggling offensively and defensively. At least Didi made a great play last night despite the loss. But we gotta improve upon the bottom two hitters. Hovering around the Mendoza line is not going to cut it.
For right now, as long as they’re making the plays, I’m happy. That right-handed part time player, Petit, had a couple of big doubles against the Tigers this past week. Maybe there will be a slight up-grade to be had via the trade market later this season. Refsnyder is having trouble in the field in AAA. He’s not really an option, no matter how good his bat, if the Yankees aren’t convinced he’ll make the plays in the field.
To me, the top 3 bullpens are SD,KC,and NY, and it’s really take your pick because you can’t go wrong with any of them. KC is viewed as tops because of the big 3, but SD and NY have better depth beyond the top options imo.
Royals relievers have a 0.65 ERA this year. That is Ridiculous. (next lowest is 2.00, Yankees). Padres actually rank low (well mid pack) with a 3.47 ERA, 14th overall
I think Gammons is off base here. The Yankees will be around 81 wins, because their talent level isn’t much better than that when you factor in more age-related decline and expected injuries. I don’t see them emptying their farm for plug-in players, unless those players are real upgrades that they have some control over after this year. And, it wouldn’t shock me if the Yankees emulated the Red Sox from last year, and actually sold. I don’t think they would go so far as to tank, but I think they will be opportunistic on both the buy side and the sell side
“because their talent level isn’t much better than that when you factor in more age-related decline and expected injuries.”
This is the youngest Yankees team since 1996. And I will worry about injuries when they happen. Injuries can happen to anyone at anytime. Who woulda thought Darvish and Lucroy would be out when they have had no injuries in the past. Yet as of now A-Rod I believe has played every game this year.
And 2 random notes to point out “age-related decline”, the 2013 Red Sox were the oldest team in baseball (per ES (you know the last 2 letters)) and the 2014 Giants had the oldest pitching staff in baseball.
And their best hitter this year is their oldest player in the lineup. Last year their best pitcher was the oldest player on the team. Their oldest hitter on the team last year (Ichiro) led the team in batting average. Old may mean decline but it doesn’t necessarily mean mediocrity.
We are going to have to disagree a bit. First of all, their core position players qre old–they improved somewhat by bringing in Didi, but you have a 30+catcher, a 35-year old IB who has been in decline, a 2B who may no longer be a credible ML player, a 3B in his thirties–and then you get to the outfield. As to the Red Sox, at the risk of enraging RS fans, a lot of things went very well for the RS in 2013, that weren’t exactly career norms for their players.
“a 2B who may no longer be a credible ML player”
Which means he can be easily replaced. Though this year he’s done somewhat surprisingly driving in key runs and hitting several HR’. Drew has a respectable 0.2 WAR this year. Headley at 3B certainly has struggled as has DiDi at SS, but I think we can agree it has Zilch to do with their age (obviously not the case with DiDi since he’s only 25)
I do agree about the 2013 Red Sox. Everything went right. Said it before the season the same would have to go for the Yankees this year. Thusfar it pretty much has.
Drew can be replaced, the question is whether the Yankees will bother to do so. That depends on how well the rest of the team holds up.
To be fair, Drew has been better so far than initially expected (4HRs while putting together some good ABs despite lack of average to show for it, and solid defensive plays regularly). If his avg. doesn’t pick up and he doesn’t start hitting the ball more consistently, I think more likely than anything he starts splitting time w/Pirela unless an viable trade option comes to fruition.
That’s a fair analysis. I wonder if the Yankees won’t just stick to prospects to fill in, and let Drew be a utility players.
I think that’s not out of the question, Drew has looked really smooth at both SS and 2nd on the defensive side and could thrive in that type of role. The only problem is the Yanks top viewed 2nd base prospect (Refsnyder) is having a terrible time adjusting to 2nd defensively, making errors constantly(7 already) despite a plus bat. Pirela is a second choice because he can play multiple positions,but the upside isn’t high although he’s solid enough to at least earn split playing time to begin with.
I read somewhere that they might move Ref back to the OF. Perhaps they already have actually?
I’m pretty sure they haven’t wouldn’t really work right now with the outfield they have in AAA.
Well, as of yesterday they hadn’t done so, but I’d be thrilled if they at least tried it, I’ve been calling for it since ST ended, and I never heard complaints of his defense before shifting to 2nd.
I just take issue with all the Yankee hats claiming how “young” this team is as a reason to be positive. The bottom line is that the team averages out to be “young” because so many players are low-end minor league quality guys. The guys that actually play heavily, and the ones they will rely on, are primarily washed-up has beens. Not a Yankee hater, just saying… a team isn’t “young” because it is packed with young part-time players who couldn’t even crack a roster elsewhere.
Their pitching is actually quite young. Position players not so much
I was just simply stating a fact though that this is their youngest team in nearly 20 years.
Yankees are actually as young or younger than the Red Sox at many key positions. Pablo, Hanley, Napoli, Papi , Victorino, Koji, and Pedroia all are injury risks and age/weight related decline risks.
Yankees have little to sell since they have so many NTC’s. Red Sox are much smarter about limiting NTC’s.
I don’t necessarily subscribe to the idea that the Red Sox are the best team since the 1927 Yankees, but Pablo and Hanley should be healthy this year. I do agree that the RS have a better front office.
I wouldn’t say the talent level is a question. There’s tremendous talent on the team throughout, lots of upside in the pen/rotation, offense if it’s healthy,and in the defense. The question is how healthy that talent will remain and if the offense can continue to score like they have been.
Anyone who thinks the worries about Koji are premature probably has not seen him pitch much (since he has not pitched much). He is afraid to throw the FB for strikes since he has lost 4 mph and hitters can sit on the split which does not break as sharply due to lower arm speed
Red Sox should work out a package for Papelbon, Hamels and Harang. Their prospects always seen over hyped (Bradley, Betts, Barnes and Boegarts have disappointed) so they should not be afraid to part with prospects given their uncertainty.
Yankees lack the will to take on salary or part with top prospects, and their rotation is an injury time bomb with little quality depth (although Severino may be ready by the 2nd half).
I have been saying for some time about the lack of quality pitching in the AL East which has now become a hitters paradise as the best pitchers have left the division. Yankees and Rays might have the best top of the rotation starters, but the Yankees starters are fragile
Let’s see:
to the Red Sox: Hamels, Harang, Papelbon
to the Phillies: Escobar, Rodriguez, Vazquez, Margot, Marrero, Bradley, Jr. and Craig (salary)
If Betts and Bogaerts have disappointed, I can’t imagine what they would be like if they excelled
Maybe Betts would be hitting above .200
Yea, that’s an uninformed statement. Saying Bogaerts and Betts are overhyped or disappointing is beyond unfair, and inaccurate. Even if they were both hitting .050 with no RBI, no SBs, and no clue, they are STILL both only 22 years old and possess the tools to be stars. Will they? Who knows.Even still, Betts may have a low batting average but his current numbers project to 17 HR, 75+ RBI, and 40 SB – give me that from my leadoff guy all day! Bogaerts is near .280 with .353 OBP, and he projects to about 75 RBI, 15-20 SB, and nearly as many walks as strikeouts. Again, from a 22yo just finding his way, give me that all day. A lot to prove, but the bottom line is that trading even one of these guys for someone like Hamels would be an overpay.
Lost in all the personality and stat talk that dominates discussions regarding the Yankees, is the fact that the team has been playing excellent fundamental baseball under Gerardi for years. Veterans that come over to the Yankees from other teams that were short-cutting their play – particularly on defense and running the bases – seem to get their games in line when they put a Yankee uni on, and do what they are still capable of doing to help the team win that day. I’ve been impressed with the moves Cashman made over the winter that tightened up the defense and improved the bullpen. The Yankees are a very satisfying team to watch – they appear to put a professional effort out every game.
as a big rays fan i tried to stay positive in offseason, as i was almost positive we would surprise many doubters that kept saying we got worse, you won’t contend
Did I miss something but didn’t Miller play for the Orioles, not the Sox before becoming a Yankee?
These Editors always make mistakes when it comes to the Orioles. It’s no big deal. Just the normal thing in these blogs.