The Yankees announced today that outfielder Willie Calhoun has been placed on the 10-day injured due to a left quad strain. Infielder/outfielder Oswaldo Cabrera was recalled in the corresponding move.
Calhoun, 28, signed a minor league deal with the Yankees this winter and had his contract selected just over a week into the season. Since then, he’s received 149 plate appearances in 44 games. He’s kept his strikeout rate to a 13.4% level while walking at a 9.4% clip. His .239/.309/.403 batting line amounts to a wRC+ of 96, indicating he’s been 4% worse than the league average hitter.
That might not sound like a significant loss, but it actually could be for the scuffling Yankees. They have dealt with injuries to a number of players, including superstar Aaron Judge, who has been out of action for almost three weeks now. Several other players have also dealt with their own injuries or underperformance. Aside from Judge, the only other Yankees to have produced a higher wRC+ than Calhoun in more plate appearances are Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres. The team’s collective wRC+ of 96 is right in line with Calhoun’s and places them 19th out of the 30 clubs in the league.
The Yankees haven’t yet made any announcements about how long they expect Calhoun to be out, but it seems there’s a decent chance it won’t be a minimum stint of 10 days. The outfielder told Chris Kirschner of The Athletic that he felt his quad “pop” while running to first base in yesterday’s game. He’s going for an MRI today and will be receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection in the coming days. There should be more specificity forthcoming but it seems the issue is potentially significant.
As for Judge, manager Aaron Boone provided an update today to members of the media, including Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. Judge made an excellent catch at Dodger Stadium on June 3, crashing into the right field bullpen gate and hitting his foot on the concrete pad beneath. He was diagnosed with a bruise and ligament sprain in his right big toe and is coming up on three weeks of missed time. Boone says Judge has now advanced to pool/balance/strength work and could resume throwing and light hitting in the coming days. That seems to be encouraging progress but there’s still not much clarity on his timeline.
He’s following up his MVP campaign with yet another excellent performance here in 2023, having hit .291/.404/.674 for a wRC+ of 189. However, that production has come in just 49 games since he missed time earlier with a hip strain and now this toe issue. As mentioned, the club’s offense has been subpar overall this year but they are still in the postseason hunt. They currently sport a 41-33 record, enough for them to currently be in possession of a Wild Card spot, though each of the Astros, Angels and Blue Jays are within one game in the standings.
$290 million buys a 96 wRC+. I think it’s time for a new architect.
Pretty sure every team has a bench player making more than the league min with less than a 96 wRC+.
The team is at 96 wRC+.
Well $290MM doesn’t buy much these days with inflation.
Fair enough.
It’s not the amount of money as much as it’s how the money is spent.
As rich as the yankees are they should have the best front office, best scouting and player development departments, the best coaching staff from rookie level to the majors, and the best strength and conditioning department. But instead Hal cuts costs by making players pay for their own wifi.
Not to mention the almost 300 million payroll is spent on staff that’s either unproven, aging, or has an injury history. Yet Hal will tell you every chance he gets that he spends money, yet never takes blame for spending money unwisely, while simultaneously working to institute a salary cap so he can save money.
Hal is a money man. He’s most interested in making as much as he can. When the fans wake up and stop spending Hal will sell the team. Only then will the Yankees have a chance to return to glory.
Sad but true,
Hal’s biggest problem is, that unlike his dad, he is not a fan and doesn’t have a feel or passion for the game. The Yankees are just another investment, like a boat or a widget factory or a hotel. Nothing more, nothing less.
No that’s Hal’s second biggest problem. His biggest problem is having so much faith in Cashman. He was George’s yesman. The Boss would say go get that guy and Cashman would hop to it with a spring in his step. Hal has mistaken his 10 years with his dad as experience at the top running the team. Cashman seems like one of those sleazy weasels that will do whatever they have to in order to keep their job. The Rodon signing should be enough to finally show he has no idea how to put a team together. I didn’t like the Judge signing one bit either but at least I understood the reasoning behind it. There is no excuse for Rodon. All of baseball knew someone was going to get burned and of course it was Cashman. Rodon could be the 2nd coming of Greg Maddux when he takes the mound but 5-10 starts a year of ace level production will still only get you 7-8 wins out of the 100 needed. That money should have been spent elsewhere. Cole is already expensive and a fine true #1. They needed 2 solid #3 types that stay healthy for that money. $40m on one oft injured player is bad enough. 1/3rd of the luxury tax on 2 is just stupid…
They need to leave Oswaldo in the minors longer bring up Peraza instead.
Bring up Jasson Dominguez.
Not ready whatsoever he’s struggling in double A
Buy OP read somewhere on the internet that he was the next big star so just call him up r. Maybe they could trade Stanton for McClanahan on Tampa and start Dominguez……..
I hope my sarcasm and mockery of stupidity is evident
Hitting 203 in AA lol
He’s drawing a lot of walks and opposing teams are afraid to pitch to him. Moreover he’s git speed and power. Not too shabby for a 20yo in AA, a level that makes or breaks 4-5 years older.
To AAA?
But it’ll never be the Yankees hottest hitter in AAA, Estevan Florial.
Ca$hman would rather lose than admit he was wrong on this MLB-ready talent.
@CTbronx7- Yes, the Yankees should release Cordero and bring up Florial.
Bring up Aaron Hicks
Wil Myers signing incoming I bet
1. Volpe sucks. This was the cause of Hal Steinbrenner. He wanted Volpe to be the Shortstop because the kid has a young Jeter look. Hal chose to avoid all Shortstops from the last two free agencies and instead wanted to make a big ordeal of signing judge to calm the fanbase. He paraded this deal for almost 2 months afterwards as if it was an achievement when in actuality it should never have gotten to the point it did. It was your homegrown player for crying out loud. Leave it to Cashman to almost f up the deal.
2. Hal then adds nothing in terms of offense but touts Donaldsons return to glory. Moron. How is it that the fan base knows more then the owner?
3. Now Hal is confused why the fan base is upset. This dude is an idiot. Please for the love of God sell the team to someone who knows what they’re doing. And fire Cashman.
Harsh but fair, Mr. Malkovich.
Well,even John Malkovich wouldn’t have said it better…Peraza for shortstop and volpe for second base, eventually…
I do blame Hal. He did it out of panic and in hopes of generating a buzz. Volpe was batting. 251 in AA and should have started the year there. Peraza should have gotten promoted to Yankees SS and instead got screwed.
Exactly, but Hal thought he could market Volpe with the Jete look more than he could Peraza.
So once again this idiot chose money over winning.
He complains that he spends money every year, and that even with the spending you shouldn’t have to spend 300 million to win championships.
I’d agree with that in part.
1. You do have to spend money wisely regardless of the amount. He never addresses this because A. He’ll look like a failure and B. He thinks the fanbase is dumb enough to buy the excuse that he “spends 290 million”, just not correctly.
2. The teams that have small payrolls are in and out of Contention. They spend 4 or more years at the bottom collecting high end draft picks.
3. Smaller payroll small market teams also are ahead of the curve when it comes to player development, coaching, conditioning, and front office management. What those teams lack is a checkbook.
4. What you’re looking for is a big checkbook with A+ player development, management and coaching across the board. The Yankees could have that, but the owner knows absolutely squat about hiring good management.
If you took a comb to the Yankees development department the only player they have grown into stardom is Judge and I don’t know how much of that was due to coaching or development.
Look at San Diego. They have a great balance of scouting and development mixed with deep pockets. I can’t believe I just said that, but it’s true. They can draft both internally and internationally, while able to trade, retain and sign big money free agents. Now can they get it done? We shall see.
Look at Atlanta for another example. 5 straight NL east titles from 18-22 and a world series. Excellent drafting, scouting and development.
The Yankees should have looked at David Stearns when he stepped down in Milwaukee to replace Cashman, but instead they signed Cashman to an extension. That should tell you that the owner is the problem. People need to stop attending games. Make those screen shots look horrible on TV.
Tampa is an example of a small market team that’s not in yearly contention. They have years where they are superior, but then fall off for a few seasons.
Now if there was any GM I believe the Yankees should have pursued at all costs it would be Erik Neander out of Tampa. Like i said above, Tampa lacks the wallet. Give Neander Hal’s checkbook and you’ll have a dynasty again.
But sadly we have an owner who is dumb as dirt and still can’t fathom why fans are upset from his latest interview with Kay.
Chris Paul and Josh Donalson are done,,,sorry Warriors, sorry yankees
Only 4 years and $128 mil left on Stanton’s deal after this season (assuming they buy out the last year of his contract).
Gee, who would have predicted that Judge would have difficulty staying on the field after signing the big contract? (Everybody)
Could you imagine calling off work, and telling your boss you have a sprained big toe?
No, I cannot imagine that. Because if I’m taking off for anything medical, or even if I’m just “not feeling work” that day, I just say I’m taking sick days. My boss doesn’t need or deserve anything beyond that. And they 100% will never get me to make an actual phone call to tell them that.
If Cole gets on the shelf you can forget about contending this year. They’re on the edge right now.
Why do the Yankees have so many injuries year after year?
Mostly bc they have an older roster – Donaldson, DJL, Stanton, Rizzo, and Kahlne. Severino and Bader have extensive injury histories. Judge’s bummed toe was a fluke injury. Jury still out on Rodon and Montas. Then when these guys go down, the media covers it non-stop bc they’re the NY Yankees with a very high payroll. Most other teams have tons of injuries as well.
Judge’s bummed toe wasn’t a fluke. Judge’s bummed toe was because he ran into a wall to make a catch. The same chemistry that makes him a great player caused this injury.
Many players play with a Toe injury. You’re the Yankees captain. Get back on the field.
I didn’t know it was safe to do so.
Where dd you get your medical degree?
Where did you do your residency?