Here are the latest updates on a few health situations from around the game …
- Royals lefty Danny Duffy is working through a mound progression, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports on Twitter. Shoulder tightness has limited Duffy in camp and seems likely to prevent him from opening the season on the active roster. He’ll throw 25 to 30 pitches off the bump tomorrow, working in a few offspeed offerings in a session that ought to help the club assess his timeline.
- Though Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco hit in a minor-league game today, he’s still on a slow path back to the majors. Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets that throwing is the major limiting factor at this point for Polanco, who’s working back from shoulder surgery. Still, the outlook seems much better now than might have been feared. Polanco could return in May, per Brink, which might make for a nice early-season boost.
- Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks has undergone a cortisone shot in hopes of resolving some lower back woes, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports. He called it a “lingering” problem that needed to be taken care of, but shouldn’t hamper his ability to play on Opening Day. Hicks believes he’ll only need to sit out a few days before getting back to action and finishing his preparation for the coming season — his first since inking a $70MM deal with the club earlier this spring.
- In other Yankees news, southpaw CC Sabathia toed the rubber against hitters today for the first time in camp, Ackert tweets. Sabathia has been taking things slow after undergoing an angioplasty over the offseason. Shortstop Didi Gregorius is on an even longer timeline as he works back from Tommy John surgery. He’s currently taking dry swings with the bat, though, as MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch tweets. It’s good to see some tangible progress; Gregorius, though, still appears to be on a timeline to return in the middle of the season.
Should have never brought CC back. The Yanks were lucky his body lasted as long as it did. That roster spot should have gone to one of the other free agent pitchers available this offseason.
AMEN
Careful the apoligist Yankees fans are gonna have a cow, but right on to both of you.
Nah. Diehard Yankee fan here and I was against Sabathia coming back in a starting role. Maybe as a long man, but not as a starter and not for that money.
That rotation spot should be Corbins’s but they couldn’t sign him, if they did that Hal wouldn’t be able to pocket as much money as he can by bringing CC back instead.
Let me know when you spend over $200MM on payroll
Exactly.
What does that matter if you’re avoiding every high priced free agent?
Hal and Cashman lied to the fans. Telling everyone that the goal is to get under the luxury tax to reload and then not spend on a generational talent like Machado is an absolute joke.
Thanks for sharing your ridiculous ideas John. Too bad that the Yankees can’t play two third basemen in the same game, huh?
Truth be told, your boy Machado doesn’t care about winning, just whining. And congratulations for getting the largest contract at the time, he will NEVER wear a WS champion ring because he is NOT a winning player. He is far from a generational talent worth a ten year deal with that much money.
Instead real Yankee fans will enjoy Andujar eating up AL pitchers.
The real joke are make believe fans like yourself.
So enjoy your summer watching your favorite team Mets as your anger festers inside of you.
I think CC as a #5 starter is not too shabby. I’ve been hoping the Yankees would run a six-man rotation by picking up someone like Kikuchi though. Then, in that 6th man rotation, have J. Montgomery eventually take CCs spot (he is going to retire by the end of the year, so).
Im not mad at the CC signing in itself though. There arent that many better 5th SP out there. There arent many #5 guys that post a 3.65 ERA. Not to mention he was very cheap, as far as SP goes. Then again, Ervin Santana was picked up on a minor league pact…
Totally agree. As for Hicks, it’s time to see what Clint Frazier can do. I also didn’t agree with bringing back Brett Gardner…poor CC and Hardy were poor moves….they should have a FA arm as the 15th starter. I don’t t understand Cashman….
The Yankees make playoffs and stay under luxury tax during youth movement rebuild! Gardner and CC are types of veteran leadership that helps usher in new era.
Go to Yankee game early. Watch warmups. Gardner leads stretches, game focus, professional. CC is in bullpen keeping things light and reinforcing things coaches say. Veteran leadership and decent production for cheap.
Hey E-
These posts are from know it alls or meta fans hiding in a yankee T-shirt.
First CC-I’m not sure what amazes me more-the quality of so many of his starts or the crying about him. We can salute him together when he goes into the HOF.
Gardy—if you love to watch the game, his at bats are a classic example of what it takes to wear out a pitcher. I was at last night’s exhibition. Yes he faded last year as he overplayed, due to injuries. Guys on other clubs would pull themselves out of the lineup and not give one for the team.
Let’s not get crazy boys and girls about Hicks early injury which the YAnkees are moving very slowly to rehab right.
BTW-Fraizer and Bird need to play the first few months in AAA. No need to rush them-they need to play every day.
Can we stop with the idea that the minuscule salary being earned by either of Gardner or CC is blocking them from something else? It was smart to bring CC back in November not knowing how things would pan out for Happ or any other FA. I’m positive if another FA was avail at a price Cashman liked then he would’ve gone with 6 starters. With Severino not being ready for opening day they still would’ve needed CC anyway.
Straight up!
Agree.. makes zero sense!
I have a bad back- cervical to lumbar and if Hicks got cortisone it has to be in his Spine. Unless they are doing trigger point to reduce spasm. I have horrible daily LB spasm and I usually have to do a 2 on 1 massage as I have thick, tight large muscles from body building and my back is as tight as a rock and I wear the massuase out quickly- even men. 4’8 Asian massage therapists who walk on back and use knees and elbows are best. But- I only feel good for like 2-3 hours.
If Hicks has my type of intense spasms then he needs to figure out a daily routine from moment he wakes up to getting a $20k bed that’s adjustable. No alcohol, super hydrate, use proper supplements and aminos and even change of eating habits. My back got worse at 28
Take care of that back, Chris! I’ve been there, too. What helps these guys is they have access to the best doctors and rehab facilities in the world. Meanwhile, people like us max out of physical therapy sessions with $25 copays and find out that acupuncture isn’t covered by our insurance.
If anyone doesn’t think this Hicks back issue won’t linger all year than they’re nuts. This guy can’t stay on the field to save his life. Nice extension Cash.
As if anyone thought he would not be hurt for about half of the extension. If you’re the one person who didn’t realize he’d be out with a lot of injuries then congrats on not having paid attention to baseball the past few years.
You evidently don’t read these comments much..
@Pope..Thank God Gardy is still here
You got that straight. All hail the genius who somehow spends 236 million for a wild card berth…..
2018 CC: 29 starts 153ip 3.65 era 120ERA+
That’s pretty damn good and kinda great given the dearth of starters in this day and age… and he is great in the clubhouse… CC haters are objectively stupid.
I will wager you any amount of money that every one of those stats you listed will decline this year for CC.
So they’ll revert back to his 2016 or 2017? He’s actually been improving every year since he reinvented himself after the 2015 season. Anything close to his 2018 numbers for $8M is really good. The main thing with CC is the low amount of innings he throws. Its taxing on the pen
how are you actually defending the quick ridiculous move to sign CC? Cash has badly missed and misjudged this off season period. None of his acquisitions will matter or make a difference in October when it matters except Pax.
If he signed for 16 they’d say the same thing..apologists
Funny how outside the short outing against them in ALDS, your Red Sox have not done well against him much. Since 2015 (excluding the last game in postseason), CC has only lost to the Red Sox once.
+geeson
For a #5 starter he is solid. Its only $8MM too. Its a veteran depth signing. Stop pretending its more than that
What was the harm done? You really think Cashman made a choice between Corbin, Kluber, or whomever vs CC? Cmon dude. You’re smarter than that. If Keuchel were willing to take a 2-3 year deal for $15-$20 mil he’d likely be a Yankee and they would’ve had 6 starters, 5 to start the season.
yes you are correct the yank rotation looks solid with cessa and losisiga pulling up the rear. For sure the yanks need more #5 guys in the rotation. is colon still available? i forgot- when did the yanks turn into the Tigers?
Stop pretending CC is number 5 starter on a good team- he would not make the rotation on the other 3 AL powers….nor would he make the rotation on the dodgers, cubs, nats, or another top flight NL team.
The corbin deal was outrageous but in retrospect with severino now questionable…..
Charlie Morton would have been a much better signing than bringing back CC for that spot in the rotation. And the Yanks had more than a nought money to do it.
@geeson How in a world where we are all about analytics do we throw out CC’s numbers? Let’s put aside the heart condition because that came out of nowhere. His knees are always going to be a concern to an extent.
CC was brought in to be their #5 and he and Paxton were acquired in November just so Cash wouldn’t be in a situation where he missed out on others and was stuck or desperate. If you really think signing CC for $8 mil prevented them from acquiring someone better then I disagree. They could have gone with a 6 man rotation.
CC was brought in to be the #5 starter. So let’s lop off the top 30 pitchers in IP, ERA,FIP and WAR because those are going to be your #1 starters for each team and we aren’t going to compare them to CC.
From 31-150 (#2 pitchers to #5)
CC ranked 70th overall in IP
in ERA 32nd overall
in FIP 44th overall
in WAR 41st overall
in K/9 44th overall
in GB% 35th overall
in HR/FB 32nd overall
in HR/9 37th overall
Although being top 30 in each category doesn’t make one an automatic ace of a staff the fact that, aside from ranking 70th in IP, CC is easily top 50 across the board in any almost all meaningful categories suggests that CC’s PERFORMANCE ranks him among starters that are currently #2s, #3s and #4s shows that he is an EXCELLENT #5 and likely one of the best #5s in baseball right now and I’m not sure if that’s even debatable.
Cash signed him as insurance so that if he didn’t get Corbin, Kluber, etc, at least he would have a complete 5 man along with Severino, Paxton, Tanaka and Happ. They signed Happ and that allowed them to move Gray. I can’t imagine he would’ve passed on someone better than CC if they could be had for the right price. Can we shut up and stop using this lame excuses that resigning Gardner or Sabathia blocked them from acquiring better players.
The only legit critique on Cashman this winter is this inexplicable nonsense that commentors here and on TV made that the Yanks had a crowded outfield and didn’t need Harper or any other option.
I wanted Harper. I’m not saying that they HAD to sign him. I would’ve been happy with Markakis or Brantley too. But to go into the opener with the likely possibility that Ells will be on the DL and Frazier in AAA to knock of the rust isn’t a shocker. The possibility that Hicks may be on the DL and Gardner, who shouldn’t have been the starting LF (based off last season) may now be thrust into being the starting CF is a damn shame.
Did it REALLY take the possibility of Hicks being on the DL to highlight the fact that we have NO DEPTH at the major league level or AAA is something I’ve been saying all winter. Now we have to move Stanton to LF and still go after a FA 4th OF and some minor league depth too.
For all those clamoring our OF was crowded, ask yourself. Who was playing in LF last year in August? It was not Gardner, it was McCutchen. I have NO problem resigning Gardner for $7 or $8 mil. Yanks can afford it. The problem was stopping there. He’s best suited as a #4 who can step in and start when needed. Asking him to be the starter for a full season is a joke. We all hope Frazier will be called up and claim the LF job but what if he doesn’t? Then we’re forced to go out and acquire one.
The alternative is to move Stanton (or Judge) to LF and carry Voit and Bird as our 1b/DH guys. We could’ve done much better going after Markakis who eventually signed for a whopping 1/$6 mil. Smh.
agree with you on harper and could argue machado as well (although preferred a lefty and don’t love him),
however on SP i strongly disagree with all you guys. Even cash admitted he needed “pitching pitching and pitching”…..
so I am sorry if i can’t get excited over adding one guy with “potential” who has not pitched more than 160 innings or so.
Forgive me for not getting excited about Seve who has pitched exactly one half of a season of stud pitching and is now hurt. mind you its the shoulder area and not a blister or hammy.
Forgive me for wondering if tanaka who i love is Jekyll hide and playing on a spaghetti elbow.
Oh….and forgive me for not getting excited about an older fatter run down 38 year old with a heart condition who wasn’t the answer last year when needed at home against the damn red sox. I assure you that sox fans wet themselves over a game 4 in the Bronx against CC.
As for Happ, again forgive me fro not being pumped about 17 million on a guy that old who for the most part has a been a 4/5 guy on a good team.
cash has passed on many starters for “price and/or cost reasons” and the only ones paying the price are the Yankees and our fans. Scherzer, sale, verlander, Cole, Corbin all could have been in pinstripes and all are not. I dont care why. its on cashman. Everyone of those guys is better by any analysis than any current yankee pitcher. That is fact
So…to get around his failures with SP (aka CC types who last 3 innings) he loads up and spends an average MLB GDP on the pen. Shockingly, at some point during the season the pen breaks down a bit. why? because no Yankee starter now goes more than 5 innings? why? because drum roll please- they are not very good nor consistent. hence cessa and loaisiga in the rotation.
Cashman’s failures on SP results in WC games not WS games.
Oh gee…how did your Metsies do?
Oh, with Cano you will be comparing his peak from 3 seasons ago and watch the slide as he precipitously becomes a showdown of what he was.
Want a fun comparison?
At the end of Manny Machado ‘s crazy ten year deal he will be the same age as Cano is right now.
Hello Mets fans. Do you know how bad it looks with a late 30’s and early 40’s second baseman. Don’t play the 1B card unless you want to trade away one of your best prospects. And the DH for the NL is a total fantasy. Watch the WILPONS PISS AWAY ALL THAT MONEY, AND INCLUDE THE MONEY THEY WOULD HAVE OAID THE OTHER DEAD WEIGHTS THAT THEY TRADED.
Hey Gee…you messed up when the time changed. It’s March not October. The clocks moved ahead it back. Wanna bet that Severino has a great year in part because the Yankees didn’t rush him?
You sound emotional because I just proved to you that, aside from an unexpected heart condition, that CC is a great #5. If your #5 is ranked top 50 in most relevant categories then it means his PRODUCTION is on par with a lot of teams #3 or #4 pitchers. As for Happ, again, you can focus on his age but he was one of the better pitchers in baseball last year and if you really feel like a combined 3.2 WAR and sub 4 era/fip in the AL East is no better than a 4/5 guy on a good team then you need to really look at the pitcching market. And truth be told, with Severino/Paxton/Tanaka he really is being asked to be a #4 on a good team. Happ’s 3.2 WAR ranked him 24th overall in baseball last year, His ERA and FIP were both top 30 in baseball. He’s pitched the last few years in the AL East and was lights out when he came to the Yanks. Overall, among AL pitchers last year he ranked top 15 in IP, ERA, FIP, WAR, K/9 and GS. Add to that, since you reference the Red Sox, he has a career 2.98 ERA in 20 starts vs the Red Sox. Did he get crushed in the 1 playoff appearance last year? Yes. Should that factor in when considering what he can do over a 30 games span? Of course not. Almost every great pitcher has had blemishes on their post-season record. If Kershaw were healthy would I hesitate to sign him as FA because of his long stint of post-season disappointments? Absolutely not.
I’m not trying to defend Cashman but in reality, what has he failed to do this year? Perhaps secure a true #1. But look at the market? is Corbin a true #1? Should he have outbid the Nats for Corbin? Should he have given up what was mentioned as the asking price for Kluber (Andujar and/or Torres plus more)? Debatable. But I won’t knock him for NOT overpaying. Yanks rotation has risks but I would say, on paper, the Yanks have a great mix 1-5 of starters and the fact that all 5 had at least a 2.5 WAR last year, something that only 43 pitchers did last year, would back that up. Considering the top 150 pitchers divided by 30 teams and I would say the rotation is better than solid. Obviously, health is the main concern.
“Scherzer, sale, verlander, Cole, Corbin all could have been in pinstripes and all are not.”
Very easy for you to say not knowing what the asking price was. Yanks offered the Pirates a good package centered around Andujar and Frazier and they passed. They took a much lesser offer for whatever reason. They wanted Torres for 2 years of Cole and I honestly believe that the MAIN reason Cole had the year he had was THAT coaching staff and mentoring under Verlander. There was no way to forecast Cole going from a 4 ERA/FIP pitcher in the weaker NLC to a freaking sub 3 ERA/FIP monster in the tougher AL. No one expected that thus I have no problem with Cashman not including more than what was offered (Andujar and Frazier) and I really wouldn’t have wanted to move Andujar anyway especially since they weren’t big players on Manny,
“So…to get around his failures with SP (aka CC types who last 3 innings) he loads up and spends an average MLB GDP on the pen. Shockingly, at some point during the season the pen breaks down a bit. why? because no Yankee starter now goes more than 5 innings? ”
Severino and Happ ranked 10th and 16th in IP among AL pitchers last year. Paxton and Tanaka had non-arm related injuries last year but averaged about 6 IP last year and had sub 4 era/fip too.
Looking at pitchers with the highest WAR and at least 150 IP last year the Yanks boast 3 of them in Severino, Paxton and Happ. The reality of today’s game is that “workhorses” average about 7 IP per game. If Severino hadn’t struggled in the 2nd half he likely would’ve been among them.
As far as the bullpen, the Yanks had the #1 bullpen in baseball last year. This year they’ll have a full year of Britton and added Ottavino. They have depth as they can go Chapman, Bets, Britton, Ottavino, Green, Holder,Kahnle and a few power arms to play with. I’m not too concerned with that,
i appreciate the back and forth and we both bleed Yankee blue. hopefully you are correct, but recent history supports my view that SP matters most.
stats can be easily manipulated. Seve had a great war but also finished with a solid 5.6 era in the entire second half last year. Happ including relievers was 75th in war. BTW Matt Boyd of the tigers was tied at 75- tell me how great he is (i’m sure you’d be thrilled in the genius acquired him as well)! Tanaka and Paxton were tied at 45th. Pitchers ahead of em include:
1. Boston’s number 5 starter eduardo rodriqueuz- ranked 40
2. Patrick corbin at 15.
3. #36 clay bucholz
My point is sometimes stats are meaningless. Aces- though are not and the yanks don’t have em unless Seve or another guy has a great full year and locks down a team in October
again i hope you are right- but am betting you are wrong.
Yes genius let’s bet. I noticed you and other dreamers aren’t so active now that the yankee staff is somewhere between Detriot’s and a AAAA TEAM.
And if they do, so what? He’s getting less money this year than last year. Everyone knows he’s a backend SP at this point. He still can throw a solid game.
Hicks just can’t stay healthy, every year it’s something.
every year and now 7 more for good measure…..
Since Bernie, the Yankees have had bad luck in centerfield.
They signed a seven to get him expecting one or two good/great years and then to trade him after with a little money. Gardner could possibly be gone also with a semi prospect and a little money. CC will retire after the year, and be replaced by a Roark type cheap. I think they are trying to stay below the luxury tax to sign Trout.
I think there be an element that they are playing towards- the 28 man roster 14 pitcher max opposed to the 40 man roster…. ♂️