Anibal Sanchez continues to prepare himself for the 2021 season. This upcoming Saturday in Miami, he will throw a bullpen session for a few teams, per Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (via Twitter). The Phillies were linked to Sanchez this winter, while the Nationals have more recently expressed an interest in bringing the 37-year-old back to DC for a third season. Given the level of comfort between the two sides, the Nats certainly make for a logical match. Their need is clear enough with Patrick Corbin and Jon Lester on the injured list as part of the COVID-19 protocols. The team has not revealed whether either player tested positive or if they are currently out because of contact tracing protocols. Either way, the organization lacks rotation depth. It’s worth mentioning that one of the reasons that Sanchez didn’t sign one of the Major League offers he received this winter was because of concern about COVID, however. Even so, given the need for pitching around the game and Sanchez’s 15-year career as a Major League starter, a signing shortly after Saturday’s bullpen certainly seems on the table. Let’s check in elsewhere around the game…
- There are few issues more central to the Astros’ future than Carlos Correa’s impending free agency. The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan addresses some of the complexities facing the Astros’ future at short. If Correa were to leave in free agency, prospect Jeremy Pena “is an excellent defender and he’s improved enough offensively in the last two years that he has everyday player potential,” writes Kaplan. Pena has not yet appeared above High-A, so his performance this season will provide a key data point. Given the plethora of shortstops about to hit the open market, however, the Astros could considering trying to snag one of them as a one-year stopgap as the Twins did this winter with Andrelton Simmons and the Blue Jays did with Marcus Semien. Banking on one of those players being available at that price point is risky, however. Still, now that Francisco Lindor has tied his long-term future to the Mets, there may be even more uncertainty for those shortstops behind him in the pecking order. To dig in further, definitely check out Kaplan’s full piece here.
- Thinking about that future shortstop market, one has to wonder if the Yankees might be a prime player in next year’s shortstop market. Questions persist about Gleyber Torres’ ability to stick defensively at shortstop, per Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. The Yankees chose to bring back DJ LeMahieu this winter, thereby blocking Torres’ most natural position and locking him into shortstop. That said, there are always ways to re-assemble a roster, especially with a player as malleable as LeMahieu. Still, keep an eye on the 24-year-old Torres this season. If he’s not able to pick up his defensive play, the Yankees might find themselves in a position to exploit a robust shortstop market next winter.
I want Anibal Sanchez with every NL east team. That would be awesome.
Bruce Chen was close.
Kelly Johnson not only played with every AL East team, he played for them consecutively.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, Torres CANNOT play shortstop, he sucks! Last night’s loss is just one more example, as if we needed another one.
do NYY fans over criticize all of their players or is it just Torres and Frazier?
@darkside
Instead of making snide remarks it may behoove you to check the facts occasionally, just so you don’t always come off as a maroon. Hope this helps.
yes, i have checked the facts. the facts are the consistent comments on every Torres related article acting like he’s destroying the team’s chances of making any news simply because he’s a bad SS.
Don’t all true fans over criticize all of their players? Part of being a loyal fan.
I mean Torres is bad at defense and you can’t be saying anything as a Philly fan, they have some snarky fans.
Is Frazier a player or just a perennial hypothetical trade chip?
Now that he’s a starter, no. And Gardy isn’t going anywhere. It’s Gleyber’s turn now. Followed by Sanchez once he slumps.
Some fans had been saying for years that Jeter couldn’t play D but I guess winning rings trumps all. They’ll quiet down if Torres hits like he’s capable of.
We don’t criticize Frazier?
when he was ticked about being sent down for no darn good reason everyone was defending the decision.
DarkSide830
do NYY fans over criticize all of their players or is it just Torre
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I don’t see any unreasonable about being critical of Torres’ fielding. As a RS fan, I have an issue with Bogaerts’ fielding. That doesn’t mean I don’t like him as a player. It only means he has limitations and issues staying at SS in the long-term.
DarkSide watch some Yankee games. You’ll walk your statement back after a few.
i know what I need to know about Torres. maybe the defense isnt great, but every darn article he’s mentioned in Yankees fans are all over the dude. every team in baseball would make room for him as a starter, his bat is that good. the fact is he has to play SS and the team isnt completely rearranging itself just to prevent that.
Back to back nights with subpar play. One leads to 2 runs the other leads to a run. Hard to overlook. I still hope he improves though
It’s always a wild ride when a ball gets hit to him and he has to make a throw to first
Amazing how Jeter’s poor defense was never questioned.
Jeter didn’t play poor defense, he just didn’t play great defense. I think there’s a distinction. I think the idea is that Torres plays poor defense. Maybe like Devers on the Red Sox. Games are never decided on one play, it just looks that way in the moment. Buckner is nearly inconsequential to the 1986 Game 6 outcome.
No, Jeter played poor defense. Guy was terrible at SS.
No one despises the yankees more than I do, but he was not terrible. Jeremy Giambi was safe at home and his “home run” caught by Jeffrey Maier was an out and both were terrible calls by the umpires in his favor and Nomar was better and I could go on and on but he was not a terrible shortstop. OMG, I’m defending Jeter. The world has officially ended.
Poof.
I’m his biggest fan and have personally met the man several times. It was universally accepted across Yankees boards that he had good instincts but lacked range and had mediocre arm strength hence his signature jump throw.
@whyhayzee- nah you got it all wrong Jeremy Giambi was out because he was too fat to slide at home plate, and Jeffrey Maier is a legend in NY so I really don’t know what your talking about? It was a homerun I was there. But does anybody on this site really understand you? Smh
Jeter perfected the jump throw. Good defender. Just not great. Back in his day being a good hitter helped u with gold gloves for some reason
It might be useful to differentiate between the 22 year-old Jeter and the 40 year-old Jeter. Earky on, he was like Bogaerts. Limited range, but he made all the plays he could reach.
What’s interesting is that, from 2004-2010, he was 21st in UZR/150, easily had the highest negative DRS, and won 5 GGs.
Agree Giambi was out. Not sure the ball Maier caught was a HR. If not caught it would have hit the wall, maybe bounced over, or maybe bounced back towards the infield, leaving Jeter on third if not an inside the park HR .The problem was the Orioles very poor outfielder, Tarasco, misjudged the ball and didn’t even jump. He would have looked very foolish if Maier hadn’t bailed him out. To cover his embarassment, he claimed interference–interference with a ball he wasn’t going to catch.
Not sliding was smart, it’s proven to be slower. Posada swipe tag touched his leg while his foot was in contact with home plate. I have the recording at 200 frames per second in hi def resolution and it’s clear as day. Plus I was there, I was the bat boy. Or something. Good lord.
Smh? Really? Mgsidtsjabbeeanwwwwngas.
No, it wasn’t a home run. It was fan interference. If a fan sticks his hand out over the fence so it’s above the field and catches a ball as it’s coming down, that’s fan interference. What did Maier do? He reached out above the field, caught the ball, and pulled it out of play. The empire who ruled it as a home run, Richie Garcia, later admitted it was fan interference. Also, it doesn’t matter if Tarasco gonna catch it or not because fans are not supposed to reach out past the yellow line. Even if it bounced off the wall and Jeter would’ve ended up on second or third, Maier still altered the play and made it a home run. It’s possible Jeter reaches base but the Orioles are able to prevent the Yankees from driving in him.
goastros123
it wasn’t a home run. It was fan interference.
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That’s how you can tell a True Believer. If Yanke4life thinks that was a HR, then there is no discussing it with him.
But more interesting is the fact that he thinks he knows it was a HR because he was at the game. He might be the only one in the country that thinks a seat that could be 400 feet away give you better input than a zoom-in camera that let’s you see it like you are 4 feet away.
@JoeBrady I stopped caring for GG once they gave Rafael Palmeiro one when he only played 1B for 28 games that season.
Jeter had no range. He made the routine plays just fine
Torres is bad at short. I’d love for the Yanks to go after Trevor story and slide gleyber over to 3rd or 2nd and slide dj over to 3rd. Urshela could be a super utility man. Slight upgrade over wade lol
@gotham. Well the Yankees have one less option with Lindor off the board. They are probably stuck with Torres this year since they want to be under the luxury tax. Next year Corey Seager, Carlos Correa, and Trevor Story highlight the free agent SS class. I think the smart and cheaper play here is to scoop up Andrelton Simmons who won’t come with a qualifying offer (if that’s even a thing next year or not). It’s the Yankees though and I fully expect one of Seager/Correa/Story to sign with them.
If the Nats do get Sanchez that would be great for our clubhouse but what would happen when everyone gets back?
If your the Yankees do you trade Torres for a pitcher or move him to second? This is why all off season I kept saying Yankees needed Lindor. I really like Voit so I’m torn because it’s obvious someone will eventually be the odd man out.
Idk why you asked me lol since I’m talking about the Nats. But if I were Cashman I would trade Torres for Story because Story is really good and if people are worried about Coors he still goes to a hitter friendly park. The problem is do you want to trade a talented hitter for a possible rental. Yanks would probably have to go over the budget to resign him. This idea is crazy but maybe Baez if the Cubs are out of it. Or they wait it out to sign a SS next offseason
Certainly interest is a player like Story is warranted if you’re the Yankees, but why make a trade when he will be available either in July for much less than Torres, or wait until the offseason to make that move.
If they have to play the season without an acquisition like Story, then there will be plenty of SS types available at the trade deadline that they can bring in late in games for defense.
For all those worried about how Story might transition being a Rockies player to another part like the Stadium as far as offense….you just have to look at DJ for your answer…besides, its his defense first, and offense second you’re looking at as compared to Torres.
How Cashman will navigate the budget is yet to be seen, but most probably, Voit will continue to spark trade rumors.
PS: Seager would be my first choice at SS and would look great in pinstripes but my bet is that he re-signs with the Dodgers.
The Yankees have a budget?
Because Yankee fans are unaware of the non-Yankee world around them.
Er, because New Yorkers are unaware of a world outside their confines.
Trade Torres for anyone.. DJ stays at 2b with his gold glove
@nitemare- your name says it all really. Torres is going nowhere. Worst case scenario Voit is traded when healthy, DJ plays lst and Gleyber goes back to 2nd where he belongs. I think a Voit for Story trade definitely could have legs before the deadline if Gleyber’s defense doesn’t improve at shortstop.
You’re way overvaluing Voit if you think he can headline a Story trade.
Why would the Rockies want about for story? If they trade him they’re gonna want younger players, probably prospects.
@mlbnyyfan if possible, trade Stanton. That opens up DH at bats for Voit which allows DJ to slide to first and Torres to second and sign a shortstop in the offseason
Yanks could move DJ to 1st, Torres to 2B, and sign a SS. Or move DJ to 3rd, keep Voit at 1B, and look for a trade partner for Urshela. Or deal Torres outright. Lots of possibilities. Interesting to see what they lll do
DJL’s bat and stellar D has way less value at 1B so I don’t really understand why some are saying that is a solution. The Yankees are going to live or die with this ensemble with no “cap” room this season. Making moves for the sake of it doesn’t improve the team.
@Yankeesbleachercreature
1) There is no salary cap in baseball.
2) there are luxury tax thresholds that the Yankees have never cared much about
3) the idea would be to use DJ at first and second and allow Voit to play first and DH and Torres to play second and DH
4) DJ’s bat and glove combined with versatility is where the real value lies
5) the real issue here is the juggle of outfielders if they have an infielder like Voit having to DH often
6) the solution- trade Stanton for a bag of balls and eat salary and then sign a shortstop and make the position shifts
1) “Cap”
2) They definitely do this season.
3) DJ is one of the best at 2B. Moving him to 1B makes him less valuable.
4) DJ’s best value is at 2B so why not maximize that instead of shuffling him to less defensively demanding position.
5) They can cut or trade Bruce once Voit returns. They also have Mike Ford waiting in the wings.
6) Trading Stanton for nothing along with money is a bad move. He happens to be on a stacked team and would be playing LF for many others right now. He’s also very valuable when healthy.
Maybe the Yankees will give Correa the contract he’s looking for. I’m sure they’ll get a good shortstop next off-season.
If Yankees sign a shortstop hopefully Seager they another lefty to balance the lineup
F Correa and the horse he rode in on. Want to part of that clown in NY.
If they pursue a SS, Seager would be. EDT fit but I doubt Hal will pony up the cash and instead will force Cashman to find a bargain bin alternative.
I would laugh if he signed with the Yankees. Would they boo him or cheer?
They would forget all about it the minute he signed there. Just like Springer and Marwin
You do realize that there is a very high chance they’ll go over the threshold next year with big arbitration raises due.
I don’t have any expectation that they’ll
go over the threshold with Hal running the show. I’ve resolved that we can’t expect that any longer because he cares more about the bottom line than he does winning.
Re: big arb raises, one easy solution there is to stop paying unproductive chumps (see Gary Sanchez) and oft-injured chumps (see Aaron Judge) and either cut bait or trade them. They’re not doing enough to help us win, especially the ones who can’t stay on the field.
Don’t whine about Stanton, it’s pointless because we are stuck with him. We are not, however, stuck to Judge. He’s the new Mr. Glass and needs to go. We also need to stop signing bums like Hicks to long term deals. Waste of $$ that could be better allocated elsewhere.
I’m fine if we pass on one of these SS in free agency…Seager has had his share of injuries too. Maybe we wind up dealing Torres, although I’d rather see him shift to 2B where he belongs, deal Voit, and move DJ to 1B where he’s going to wind up anyways in a couple years when he starts regressing defensively.
I’m 80% sure that they’ll go over especially with full stadium attendance next year.
If Sanchez, Torres, and Judge stays healthy and plays up to their potential, they’ll be well worth their arbitration salaries. I’m willing to let that play out until their respective free agencies. They’re also a BIG part of the Yankees’ branding especially with Gardy on the way out.
Hicks play really good D and anything extra he provides with his switch-hitting bat justifies his affordable $10M salary. He’s not part of the problem.
I don’t know why so many Yankees fans gripe about the offense when it has always been starting pitching that is their weakness.
Agreed. Do not need another player with injury history
Torres is not the SS period. As shown in game w Toronto 2 errors & not able to make play in the hole & throw off – range & smooth isn’t up to what a prime SS for a prime franchise requires.
The log jam infield wise is crazy if Yanks land a top SS mid season – come on Cashman THINK & deal ! Gotta get to WS this year!
Been writing here since they moved him to SS that Gleyber cannot play that position at the ML level. Were he not playing for DA YANKEES, fans and the media would be dumping on him – and if he were playing for another ALE team, DA YANKEES bully “fans” would have been slamming him for 2 years now.
He was a decent 2B. The problem is – he’s not all that great of a hitter or baserunner either, so it’s not like a team will trade much to get him to play 2B. Most teams either have guys that good at 2B or prospects about to come up.
Gleyber’s future is quite probably some sort of utility guy that gets 350-400 PA’s a season. Eduardo Escobar couldn’t play SS for the Twins, He did well.
“Gotta get to WS this year!”
yankeemanuno23;
DA YANKEEE’S ain’t getting to the WS this year, or anytime soon. That is an unathletic roster full of DH’s (not as bad as the White Sox though). Many of the players are older and get injured for extended periods. They don’t play fundamental baseball – they play HR derby trying to hit routine fly balls to RF in YANKEE Stadium……which are HR’s there.
Their roster is pathetic. They’re up against the luxury tax. Who is going to give much for Sanchez, Hicks, Stanton, Gardner, Tauchman, etc. In most cases other teams would want the Yankees to pay most of their salaries. They have few real prospects on the near horizon. In fact, they’re much like the Mets – overpaid, over-publicized, overrated.
Truth be told, Mr. Cash’s time has come. He’ not succeeding in implementing new wave scouting, training, and constant improvement policies as the quality franchises are doing (he’s been piddling around for 4 years now). They need a new baseball ops head – one that will being in a new manager, coaching staff, farm director, head of scouting, etc. Up against the luxury tax, they can’t even continue putting duct tape on that roster by overpaying free agents anymore.
If I was the Yanks GM I’d be on the phone to Colorado asking about Story. I know, luxury tax, blah blah blah. If the Yanks are serious about winning a championship this year, Torres can’t be the shortstop. If they’re willing to take the chance on Torres making an error in a big spot, then they’re not serious about winning.
Hot Take: Yankees sign Story And move Torres to CF And Hicks as the new Gardner
Holy cow! If the Yankees make that deal…..well as we say down here in bayou country..” laissez le bon temps rouler”.
Y’all are crazy!
COrrea always really beats down our Yankees so the only hope for us Yanks is if we sign him.
Would it be that awful to trade Torres for a pitcher like Castillo. The Yankees need a more rounded complete team. Too many strike outs year after year. I blame the Yankees regime for over 20 years for going for more home run hitters instead of contact ones. It goes back to the Yankees bringing in Giambi instead of keeping Tino. A few years ago they got the wrong outfielder Stanton instead of Yelich. I still think the Yankees should of brought back Didi. This insisting on stay under the tax is why they kept Torres, Sanchez, Judge because they are still cheap.
I would’ve signed Didi before I re-signed DJ. Didi is a much better fit, and not nearly as expensive in the long run.
And I agree on Torres/Castillo. Offense is not an issue for the NYY. I’m not bagging on Torres, the player, but as a SS, there were options out there that were cheap and a good fit (Didi, Simmons). And they really need a 1A like Castillo to go along with Cole.
@jakethe snake. Very interesting. To get rid of Sanchez judge and hicks. But the Yankees are stuck with Stanton. I’d like to hear who you would have on the team if you got rid of all the players that “are a waste of money”
If the Yanks are in a luxury tax problem, Iglesias wouldn’t be a bad option in 2022. Gleybar moves to 2B and then decisions around the infield have to be made. That can be done after the 2021 season. Then whatever money is left over goes to pitching.
Many Yankee fans don’t want to see a trade involving Voit, Frazier, Judge or Gleybar. The guy to deal is Stanton and that is close to impossible.
IMO, Urshela should be at SS over Torres. Either have DJ or Gleybar slide to 3B while the other plays 2B. Urshela is slick. Range might be an issue but watched him enough in Cleveland and for a second in Toronto to know he can field.
Torres problem shows signs of being more than a bad defender. Anyone else see similarities between his multiple short steps before a throw to 1st and the hesitation Knoblauch developed when his throwing issues began? Concerned that the errors are more mental than ability-driven.
As an Astros fan, I’d be fine with the someone like the Yankees overpaying for Correa. I love the guy, and I hope he figures out how to stay healthy, but there’s no reason to think he will. RIGHT NOW. If he puts up another good season this year, but is limited to 120ish games again, what do teams offer him? My money is still on Miami as his next stop.
You have to imagine the Yankees are absolutely in the SS market this off-season. Sure, Jeter was an offense first SS, but he was a liability in terms of limited range only.
Torres on the other hand, has issues with fielding both grounders and throws, while also suffering from a lack of range. Torres’ arm strength is sufficient, but not if he takes forever to transfer and deliver his throws.
I would be ok with trading torres for the right price. He is by no stretch a bum he has a lot of upside maybe at 2nd base but DJ is there and I’d take him over Gleyber Wish the Yankees would have got Didi back
It’s game 6 of 162