The latest on the Yankees, who will try to draw even against the archrival Red Sox in Game 2 of the American League Division Series on Saturday after dropping the opener Friday:
- Luke Voit may be on his way to becoming an “increasingly legitimate answer” at first base for the Yankees, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post observes. Acquired in what was then a low-key trade with the Cardinals in July, Voit slashed an astounding .322/.398/.671 (187 wRC+) with 15 home runs in 161 regular-season plate appearances, also posting the majors’ leading expected weighted on-base average (.440) among those with at least 150 PA. The 27-year-old continued to stand out during the Yankees’ first two playoff games – including their wild-card win over the Athletics – and general manager Brian Cashman said Friday (via Davidoff): “He’s certainly exceeded my expectations. He’s batting close to the middle of the lineup in the postseason. That’s pretty impressive stuff. And he’s certainly taken advantage of his opportunity playing here. I’m thankful for it.”
- Voit was on New York’s “radar” before it acquired him for relievers Chasen Shreve and Giovanny Gallegos, Cashman revealed, adding that “our analytics crew had noticed him early on. In a lot of our meetings last year, he was someone we coveted from St. Louis, and we finally matched up.” Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe sheds more light on the Voit addition, writing that assistant GM Tim Naehring has credited both the Yankees’ scouting staff and fellow AGM Mike Fishman – an “analytics guru,” per Cafardo – for the move. A 22nd-round pick of the Cardinals in 2013, Voit totaled just 137 PA with them – during which he batted a mediocre .240/.307/.432 (93 OPS+) – prior to the trade.
- While Voit looks like the in-house favorite to start at first for the Yankees in 2019, Cashman’s not ready to give up on the 25-year-old Greg Bird, who has battled injuries and inconsistency during his 659-PA career (via Davidoff). “The way his season played out has been a head-scratcher. But the great thing about our game … is he’ll go home and try to regain all the accolades that were coming his way with performance and that can start next spring,” Cashman said of Bird, who hit an ugly .199/.286/.386 (81 wRC+) with 11 HRs in 311 trips to the plate during the regular season.
- Yankees center fielder Aaron Hicks aggravated his right hamstring Friday, forcing him to exit in the fourth inning, but it seems he dodged a serious injury. While Hicks won’t start Game 2 in Boston, he’ll be available off the bench, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com relays. Manager Aaron Boone said he “wouldn’t hesitate” to use Hicks, whom Brett Gardner replaced Friday and will once again fill in for on Saturday.
xabial
Remember the Luke Voit trade thread?
“Who cares”.. “Minor league guy” traded for another.
southbeachbully
Yep. Absolutely right. I for one wasn’t expecting him to be this good but couldn’t understand why people wrote him off so easy. Yes, he is old for a prospect but he was drafted (and signed) at age 22. His minor league numbers were very solid and indicated power and walk ability. I think we too often get caught up with age. Who cares? You really are more concerned with his age during the 5-6 years of control and right now, he’s in his prime years and buy the time he is a free agent he’ll be 32 and you can choose to let him walk.
dimitrios in la
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves re his walk year. So far so good—nice move— but the guy’s played well for a half season.
kahnkobra
exactly
Foreveryankees
An average player becomes a good player after dawning the greatest uniform in the history of sports!!!
Phanatic 2022
The trade seemed more about the bonus money than anything else at the time.
Judge Judy
Voit is the real deal Holifield. Trade Bird for a young pitcher like Green or Abreu were. Voit could hit 50 homers next season. He’s ready. Yanks in 4
adshadbolt
Who is the green and abreu u are talking about?
Judge Judy
Chad Green and Albert Abreu. They were prospects with no prospect status or low status. Green was Detroit’s 24th prospect and Abreu was falling in Texas.
Kayrall
Bird alone wouldn’t get them that.
Judge Judy
Really? 2 months of a slumping Beltran and Justin Wilson was enough but the best hitter on the Yankees won’t grab the 24th best prospect on a team?
kenneth cole
Bird is not the best hitter on the team… are you joking? His stock has plummeted. I’d much rather swap him and Ronald Guzman. Guzman is a great defender and would see his value increase at Yankee stadium. And Abreu was Houston, not Texas. He was in the McCann deal with Jorge Guzman, who we then flipped to Miami in the Stanton deal… so not sure where your head is at.
Yankees can’t afford another year of Bird and the rollercoaster he is. Might as well buy low on a guy like Guzman.
thecoffinnail
Judge Judy is just a troll. He is actually a Boston fan.
southbeachbully
Nah, I don’t think the Yanks could reasonably expect much of anything for Bird. He has options left. Let him rebuild his value at AAA if need be. Injuries tend to create opportunities.
c1234
Voit is not going to hit 50 home runs next season lol
KnicksFanCavsFan
Who said he would? I mean he COULD have an exceptional year if given 600 ABs but in general, insider to judge guys by more than 3 months.
c1234
Judge Judy said he could hit 50 HR’s. Not happening.
MB923
Judge Judy is a trolling Red Sox fan
getright11
Holyfield*
pasha2k
Yeah he’ll give them a WS.
kahnkobra
wrong
eileenyankees9
Hey Cashman,
Don’t forget to give Sonny
Gray another chance also, him and Bird!!
Oh and make sure to tell Boone to keep batting Stanton clean up…
Bocephus
Did you watch the WC game?
acarneglia
Can I just marry Eileen?
lammyj34
Right
eileenyankees9
Acarn,
I DO!!!!
CowboysoldierFTW
Two timing me?
eileenyankees9
Cowboy, lol, too cute!!
Phanatic 2022
Haha
poor leo
Bird is career.218 BA…with 600 PA
How long does Cashman give him?
xabial
Another NYY fan here said he wants 1500PA to be satisfied with the sample size, and seek changes Lol…
Masochist?
thegreatcerealfamine
You must be talking about beng guy.
xabial
Hah awesome memory ;=P
I actually had to refer to thread to get exact #. Personally, think even 1000 PA is too much…
thegreatcerealfamine
I couldn’t quite remember how to spell his name, so I probably shortened it a bit. That guy Smuckers will probably rudely call me out on it.
steelerbravenation
According to him thousands more
MetsYankeesRedSox
Yup…so far the same old David Price playoff pitcher I’ve seen before.
Slevin
The price was wrong Bobby!
Birdman1182
and I was ridiculed when I was beyond skeptical of our dealing of Voit. Good for him, glad hes raking.
Cardinals17
I’m proud for Voit too. He never got a fair chance with the Cardinals’ John Mozeliak behind the wheel. Mozeliak had rather let talented players rot in the minor leagues and win 3 straight AAA Minor league championships. Then he trades for lesser quality players in quantity. Mozeliak’s favorite saying is; We’ll cash in on low hanging Fruit!!! After his Voit deal, he needs to check out 2 other sayings….. He can’t see the forest for the trees. ….. Or….You can’t see any further than the tip of your nose on your face. Glad you are away from president of baseball operations for the Cardinals, John Mozeliak. The Cardinal Nation wishes you well!!!!
JFactor
Wait, so Moz did the Voit trade, but can’t make baseball decisions for the club?
CardsNation5
He’s still the President of baseball operations. No, Michael Girsch made the trade. He’s the GM, not John Mozeliak.
papa fraunch
There is almost a zero percent chance Voit sustains a 40.5% HR/FB%
Phanatic 2022
True. But we still be excited.
CowboysoldierFTW
I dont believe anything till I see it two years on a row. Don’t really like Voits glove and never liked Bird at all.
CowboysoldierFTW
Bird never received rave reviews from me.
Asfan0780
Don’t forget Yankees same deadline also traded away 1b Tyler Austin who’s actually slightly younger than voit. Did show impressive power but low avg and obp
Steve Lawrence
Mlb history is riddled with break out players like Voit. The vast majority regress to their prior stats. Very few (JD Martinez) sustain. Imho Voit has earned the chance to show he can sustain. I highly doubt that he does.
thecoffinnail
He hit very well in the minors and always had good plate discipline. He was never given a real chance in St. Louis. Like you, I will remain skeptical about him but I also know some players take the Josh Donaldson road to stardom.
KnicksFanCavsFan
Thing is, there’s nothing in his history that should surprise anyone. In the minors he showed power and patience. Age does matter when it comes to prospects but not when you’re drafted at 22, perform well but are blocked by other players at your position. He wasn’t like Hicks in Minnesota where he has highly regarded and struggled for years to succeed.
joeseadog
Shane Spencer as 26 year old rookie, 27 games, 10 HR, 27 RBI, .373 BA, 411 OBP
and then the league catches up to you.
Kevin Maas as a 25 year old rookie, 79 games, 21 HR, 41 RBI,252 BA, 367 OBP
and then the league catches up to you.
Rabbit career starts are many, ala Bird and Sanchez, adjusting yourself to the league adjustments to you is what separates the from the great players and the also rans.. Best of luck to Voit, Yankee fans just have to hope he’s well versed enough hitting wise, to adjust as the league finds the holes in his swing.
Phanatic 2022
I loved mass that first year
ken48tribe
As good as Voit has been, he still doesn’t solve the Yankees problem of being overwhelming right handed in their lineup. The one thing that Bird did was in batting left handed he provided some additional protection just like Didi does. Looking for good, reliable switch hitting position players. Granted they are rare.
ken48tribe
Oops! Forgot about Hicks.
justin-turner overdrive
I’m convinced Voit and Muncy are the same guy
Begamin
I still believe Bird can succeed at the major league level. However, I am completely OK with rolling with Voit for a while. Maybe if Voit regresses a bit next year and Bird seems to have gotten back to the player we know he can be they can form some sort of platoon. Tyler Austin was never good in a platoon role because he needed regular ABs to produce but maybe Voit and Bird can be like Torreyes in the sense that they dont need to see live pitching regularly to be successful at the plate. Im not one to over react to a lineup having too many RH or LH hitters. As long as they hit RHP and LHP just fine I dont care which box they set their feet in
Oh, and I forget who I was talking to about Gary but he sure did come through yesterday despite a guy here saying playing Gary is nothing more than a “hope and prayer”. Wonder what that guy is up to now? Think he found another player with bad stats coming off an injury riddled season to claim that he is a bad player?
64' Yanks
Voit is the real deal. The Cardinals seem to have a problem of not giving their younger players a fair shot. Another example, is Tommy Pham, he’s already a fan favorite in Tampa! The Cards maybe traded him since his contract was due for arbitration. Luckily, the Yankees had no choice but to bring up two young kids and also play Voit over Bird. It will be interesting what the Yankees do in the off season in regards to Bird and others.