The Yankees may also be limited participants in the Crochet sweepstakes, as Jon Heyman of the New York Post hears from a source who says the Bombers “are not that into” Crochet as a trade target. Since Heyman also wrote a couple of weeks ago that the Yankees “very much like Crochet,” this could indicate a change in New York’s plans, or perhaps the Yankees’ interest has been tempered by Chicago’s asking price. The White Sox are understandably asking for a huge return for Crochet in any trade, and Chicago’s particular interest in Spencer Jones as part of a Crochet trade package may have clashed with New York’s inclination to keep one of its top hitting prospects.
Yankees Rumors
Yankees Sign Thomas Pannone To Minor League Deal
Left-hander Thomas Pannone has signed a minor league deal with the Yankees and has been assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He had previously been with the Cubs on a minor league deal but was released earlier this week.
Pannone, 30, was working out of the rotation for Triple-A Iowa prior to his release and was putting up decent numbers, so it’s possible that he triggered some kind of opt-opt. After signing a minor league deal with the Cubs in the winter, he logged 90 2/3 innings over 19 starts with a 4.37 earned run average, 22% strikeout rate, 8.1% walk rate and 42% ground ball rate. The run-scoring environment in the International League has been pretty strong this year, with pitchers in the IL having a combined 4.90 ERA. Pannone’s 4.37 mark is 12th out of 29 qualified pitchers in that league.
The Yanks have a strong rotation at the major league level right now but their depth has taken a few hits. Though Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, Nestor Cortes, Marcus Stroman and Luis Gil have the five big league spots, guys like Clarke Schmidt, JT Brubaker, Cody Poteet and Clayton Beeter are all injured. Schmidt went on the injured list in late May due to a lat strain and still hasn’t begun a rehab assignment. Poteet landed on the IL about a month ago due to a right triceps strain and he hasn’t started a rehab assignment yet either. Brubaker was rehabbing from last year’s Tommy John surgery but was recently shut down with an oblique strain. Beeter has some kind of shoulder issue and might be done for the season, per Greg Joyce of the New York Post on X.
Since Pannone has been in decent form this year, the Yanks will bring him aboard to replace some of that missing depth. He has 118 2/3 innings of major league experience with the Blue Jays and Brewers with a 5.46 ERA in that time. He also spent parts of 2022 and 2023 in Korea, tossing 165 innings for the KBO’s Kia Tigers with a 3.49 ERA. If Pannone is added to New York’s roster at any point, he is out of options.
Current And Former Top Prospects To Watch As The Trade Deadline Approaches
Last week, MLBTR's Anthony Franco ran through a handful of under-the-radar trade candidates for teams on the hunt for bullpen help. It was a simple enough premise. While there's rightly a heavy focus placed on high-quality relievers on bad teams (e.g. Mason Miller, Tanner Scott, Carlos Estevez), MLB teams will be casting a wider net than just those obvious trade candidates.
I wanted to do something similar with hitters -- and may still do so -- but as I parsed through some potential options, I was also struck by the likelihood that there are a number of current and former (more of the latter) top prospects who increasingly look like they'll have an uphill battle to earning a role with their current club. Oftentimes, this is due to other prospects leapfrogging them on the depth chart, the team extending a current key player and/or injuries. While today's front offices tend to hoard depth as much as possible the finite number of minor league options a player possesses can put an inherent clock on that depth's shelf life.
Not all of the players highlighted in this exercise are teetering on being out of options, nor is this intended to be an exhaustive list of names in this situation. (If there's anyone you feel I missed, by all means, let me know in the comments and bring them to the discussion!) I'm also not going to focus much on former prospects who've already been passed through waivers/released or those who are performing poorly enough in the minors that they're now DFA candidates themselves.
The aim here is to find some interesting, controllable names still on the 40-man roster who have decent minor league (and in some cases, big league) track records but lack a clear path to an everyday role on their current roster. That sort of player ought to have appeal to rebuilding teams or retooling sellers who are looking to take another shot at contending as soon as next year. Here are a few situations that seem worth monitoring as the deadline draws near:
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Yankees Notes: Stanton, Soto, Brubaker
Giancarlo Stanton hasn’t played since June 22 due to a left hamstring strain, and the slugger said at the time of his 10-day IL placement that he figured to be out for around four weeks. That timeline look to be pretty accurate, as Yankees manager Aaron Boone told MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch and other reporters that Stanton is “really close” to being activated from the injured list. While Stanton won’t be ready on Friday for the Yankees’ first game of the second half, Boone said Stanton’s return isn’t expected to last much beyond that point, and Stanton might not even require a minor league rehab assignment.
Considering how injuries have often wrecked havoc on Stanton’s career, missing “only” a month counts as a relatively good outcome for the former NL MVP. Leg and hamstring injuries in particular have plagued Stanton, and (as Hoch noted) this is the eighth time Stanton has visited the injured list during his six seasons in a Yankees uniform.
These injuries started to impact Stanton’s production in 2022-23, but he got off to a nice start this year, hitting .246/.302/.492 with 18 homers in 281 plate appearances. Usually hitting either fifth in the lineup or as the cleanup hitter behind Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, Stanton provided some pop to a New York batting order that has been lacking in consistency apart from those two superstars. In the 19 games since Stanton hit the IL, the Yankees have gone 6-13, and enter the All-Star break a game behind the Orioles for the AL East lead.
The trio of Soto, Judge, and Stanton is a fearsome sight for opposing pitchers, but beyond Stanton’s hamstring issue, Soto is also not exactly 100 percent as he continues to play through soreness in his right hand. Soto has been bothered by the injury since hurting his hand on a slide into home plate in a June 28th game against the Blue Jays, even he has continued to mash at the plate.
“I’ve been grinding through it,” Soto told Hoch and other reporters today. “It’s right there. It’s been good so far. I’ve just got to make sure I hit the ball.” The star outfielder is still planning to play in the All-Star Game, which Boone said is fine with the team as long as Soto is comfortable.
In other Yankees injury news, JT Brubaker’s recovery from Tommy John surgery has hit a roadblock in the form of an oblique strain. Brubaker suffered the injury during his Triple-A rehab outing last Thursday, and has been shut down for the time being.
It’s another tough blow for Brubaker, who hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2022 and missed all of the 2023 season recovering from his TJ procedure. New York acquired the right-hander from Pittsburgh at the start of this season with an eye towards using Brubaker as rotation depth once he was healthy, and he has tossed 13 2/3 innings over five rehab games to date. The severity of the strain isn’t yet known, but given how more serious types of oblique strains can linger, it is possible that Brubaker might not be able to return to action this season.
Yankees Designate Cody Morris, Reinstate Scott Effross
The Yankees announced a pair of roster moves, including the news that right-hander Cody Morris has been designated for assignment. The 40-man roster spot was required since right-hander Scott Effross was reinstated from the 60-day injured list, and then optioned to Triple-A.
Morris was acquired from the Guardians last December in exchange for Estevan Florial, and though Morris has been called up a couple of times this season, he has yet to make his official debut in a Yankees uniform. At the Triple-A level, Morris has a 4.25 ERA over 36 innings for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, with a glaring 16% walk rate undermining a solid 25.8% strikeout rate.
The control problems have been apparent during Morris’ brief run in the big leagues, as he has a 13.% walk rate over 31 2/3 innings with Cleveland in 2022-23, albeit with a 3.41 ERA. The ERA breaks down as a 2.28 mark over 23 2/3 frames in 2022, but then a 6.75 ERA in eight innings last season, as Morris also missed time early in the season with a teres major strain. Morris also had an inflated walk rate during his time with the Guardians’ Triple-A affiliate in 2023, which likely made him an expendable arm for the Guards in the offseason.
Morris has worked primarily as a reliever over the last two seasons, though usually in multi-inning fashion given his past usage as a starting pitcher. This ability to eat innings out of the pen could make him an interesting candidate to be claimed off waivers, if a rival club is able to overlook his walks (or, thinks it can harness Morris’ control). Morris has never been outrighted before in his career, so if clears waivers here, he’ll have to report to the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate in the event that the Yankees outright him off the 40-man roster rather than release him entirely.
The Cubs sent Effross to the Yankees at the trade deadline in 2022, and while his tenure in the Bronx had strong immediate results (a 2.13 ERA in 12 2/3 innings), Effross’ career was then put on hold by Tommy John surgery that October. He also underwent a back surgery this past February that delayed his return even further, but Effross has posted a 3.86 ERA and very strong secondary metrics in 9 1/3 innings over eight appearances during his rehab assignment. Effross looks like an intriguing secret weapon to join New York’s bullpen at some point in the second half, which will be a boost to a team that figures to be looking for relief help anyway at this year’s deadline.
Yankees Place Jose Trevino On 10-Day IL With Grade 2 Quad Strain
TODAY: Trevino has been diagnosed with a grade 2 quad strain and will be out for “some time,” Aaron Boone told reporters (including Brendan Kuty of The Athletic) this afternoon.
July 13: Catcher Jose Trevino has been placed on the Yankees’ 10-day injured list due to a left quad strain, the team announced prior to today’s game. Carlos Narvaez was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move, and will now share catching duties with Austin Wells until Trevino recovers.
The injury occurred late in Friday’s 4-1 Yankees win over the Orioles, when Trevino slid home while scoring a run in the ninth inning. Manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Greg Joyce of the New York Post) today that a timeline isn’t yet known for Trevino’s return, as the catcher has returned to New York to undergo testing.
The lefty-righty platoon of Trevino and Wells have split the playing time almost as evenly as possible this season, as both players entered Saturday with exactly 59 games and 186 plate appearances apiece. Trevino has been the slightly more productive of the two at the plate, with eight homers and a .244/.303/.411 slash line to Wells’ five home runs and .219/.312/.369 slash.
This translates to a 103 wRC+ for Trevino and a 97 wRC+ for Wells, and while Wells has been a strong defender in his own right, Trevino has continued to post his typical elite framing and blocking numbers. While the Yankees might’ve preferred to see a former top-100 prospect like Wells have a bigger breakout in his first full Major League season, Trevino’s steady veteran presence and glovework has been a big boost to the team.
More will be known about Trevino’s recovery timeline once tests are complete, but if he is going to miss an extended period of time, it’ll put more pressure on Wells and rookie Narvaez to keep things steady at the catching position. (Narvaez was briefly called up to the 26-man roster earlier this season but didn’t receive any in-game action, so he has yet to make his MLB debut.) Ben Rice could be an option for some catching duty, though Rice has only caught one inning in his own rookie season, and New York will need him more pressingly at first base while Anthony Rizzo is out. Depending on how long Trevino is out, the Yankees might now consider adding some veteran catching depth at the trade deadline, or perhaps sign an experienced backup to play ahead of Narvaez.
Latest On Garrett Crochet’s Trade Market
The White Sox’s reported desire to deal dominant youngster Garrett Crochet this summer has made the southpaw one of the most intriguing players to watch in the days leading up to the trade deadline on July 30, and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale noted this morning that Chicago still intends to deal the lefty this summer even as rival GMs express uncertainty regarding whether or not a deal will come together. Nightengale goes on to note that while the Padres made a “recent” offer to the South Siders for Crochet, White Sox brass “quickly dismissed” the proposal.
This isn’t the first report to suggesting that the White Sox have been dismissive of offers from rival clubs, as reporting earlier this month suggested the Dodgers have also put forth an offer that was ultimately rejected. Still, it’s somewhat notable that San Diego’s offer for the lefty’s services was turned down given the fact that the Padres were reportedly the “most aggressive” team in their pursuit of the lefty’s services as recently as last month. It’s certainly possible that other clubs have become more aggressive in their pursuits of Crochet since then, but the news is nonetheless the latest signal that the price for the youngster’s services will be steep.
An exorbitant asking price is somewhat understandable given Crochet’s unique combination of youth, dominance, and team control. The 25-year-old has pitched to a 3.02 ERA in 107 1/3 innings of work this year with even stronger peripheral numbers, as he leads the majors with a whopping 150 strikeouts. That’s good for a 35.2% strikeout rate, and Crochet complements that heavy dose of K’s with a microscopic 5.4% walk rate and a strong 45.7% groundball rate. A starting pitcher with that sort of elite talent is extremely hard to come by in any case, much less at an age when some pitchers have yet to even establish themselves at the majors and with team control that runs through the end of the 2026 season.
While there’s been questions about whether or not Crochet will be able to remain in the rotation down the stretch after already more than doubling his total number of innings as a professional in the first half, the lefty would surely be a valuable asset even in a bullpen role for the second half this year before returning to the rotation in 2025. Given that, it’s hardly a surprise that Crochet is reportedly receiving widespread interest from clubs around the league. That should allow the White Sox to set the asking price on his services quite high, particularly given the fact that they could try to deal him again this winter if talks end up stalling out.
One clue as to where the Sox may set the bar regarding Crochet is that Nightengale suggests Chicago is “insisting” on Yankees outfield prospect Spencer Jones as part of the return for the lefty’s services in negotiations with New York. Jones, the Yankees’ first round pick in the 2022 draft, was a frequently discussed prospect this winter as the club resisted requests for him to be included in deals with various trade partners throughout the winter. He entered the season as a consensus top-100 prospect in the sport, with some services even ranking him in the top 30 or higher. A slow start to the season at Double-A saw most outlets settle on placing Jones in the top-75 range earlier this year, though he’s heated up in recent weeks and may have seen his prospect stock start to rebound a bit. Either way, reporting last week indicated that the Yankees remain unwilling to part with Jones, suggesting that a deal between New York and Chicago is unlikely unless one side or the other folds regarding the hulking outfield prospect.
Yankees Promote Jorbit Vivas
12:55pm: The Yankees have formally announced the moves. Davis is headed to the IL with a bout of the stomach flu. His stint is retroactive to July 9, meaning he’ll be eligible for activation a week from now.
11:51am: The Yankees are calling up infield prospect Jorbit Vivas for his major league debut, reports SNY’s Andy Martino. He’s already on the 40-man roster, so only a 26-man roster move will be necessary. That’ll come in the form of a 10-day IL placement for infielder J.D. Davis.
Vivas, 23, came to the Yankees alongside lefty Victor Gonzalez in the offseason trade that sent infield prospect Trey Sweeney to the Dodgers. The 5’9″, 171-pound lefty hitter has primarily split his time between second base and third base in the minors. He’ll give the Yankees an option at both positions. Second base has been Vivas’ primary position (and the one at which he’s more well regarded defensively), but the Yankees have particularly struggled with regard to production from the hot corner this season.
In 169 plate appearances at the Triple-A level in 2024, Vivas has turned in a .258/.404/.424 slash. He’s swatted five homers, six doubles and a triple — chipping in nine stolen bases in 13 attempts. Vivas has also shown strong bat-to-ball skills and an incredibly disciplined approach, drawing a walk in 17.2% of his plate appearances against an 18.3% strikeout rate.
Baseball America ranked Vivas 14th among Yankees farmhands on their updated ranking of the team’s top-30 prospects just three days ago. MLB.com ranks him 15th in the system. BA’s scouting report suggests that his power is presently well below average but could still grow to the point where he can reach double-digit homers in a given season. (Being a lefty hitter at Yankee Stadium won’t hurt in that regard.) Still, Vivas’ most highly regarded tools are an above-average hit tool, average speed, a solid glove at second base and his terrific strike zone awareness.
Yankees second basemen this season have posted a collective .224/.296/.336. Most of that has been Gleyber Torres, who struggled mightily in April, rebounded in May/June, and has again fallen into a woeful July slump. At third base, the combination of Jon Berti, Oswaldo Cabrera and DJ LeMahieu has posted an even more bleak .236/.297/.314 slash. Given the dearth of production at both spots, Vivas should get the opportunity to spell both Torres and LeMahieu, who currently occupy the regular roles at those two positions.
Yankees Have Discussed Jazz Chisholm
The Yankees have had some discussions regarding Jazz Chisholm Jr., writes Jon Heyman of the New York Post. It’s not clear how serious New York’s interest is or whether they’ve been in contact with Miami’s front office.
Chisholm will be the subject of ample trade chatter over the next three weeks. Craig Mish of the Miami Herald wrote earlier in the week that there’s increased belief around the industry that he’ll be dealt. The Marlins probably won’t take many players off the table as they continue the rebuild they truly commenced with the Luis Arraez trade at the start of May. Thanks to a brutal series of injuries that has decimated their rotation, Chisholm is probably Miami’s most valuable deadline trade chip.
[Related: Top 50 Trade Candidates]
The lefty-hitting Chisholm connected on his 12th homer of the season in today’s loss to the Astros. He’s carrying a slightly above-average .255/.324/.419 slash line through 377 plate appearances. Chisholm has stolen 18 bases but been thrown out on eight occasions. He’s walking at an average 8.5% clip while striking out just over a quarter of the time.
It might not be dominant production, but Chisholm at least looks like a solid everyday player. Some teams could still view him as an upside play at age 26. Chisholm was a staple on top prospect lists thanks to his evident combination of athleticism and raw power potential. He’s shown glimpses of that ceiling at the big league level — most notably during an All-Star 2022 season in which he hit .254/.324/.535 over his first 60 games. Chisholm’s seeming breakout year was cut short by a stress fracture in his back. He has been a good but not elite player over the past season and a half, hitting .253/.314/.436 with 30 longballs and 40 steals over 755 plate appearances.
That more recent stretch has coincided with a position change. Chisholm was a middle infield prospect who broke into the majors as a primary second baseman. The Marlins moved him to center field when they acquired Arraez going into ’23. Defensive metrics are mixed on his outfield work. Defensive Runs Saved has rated Chisholm 14 runs below average in more than 1500 center field innings. Statcast has him as a neutral defender.
While the Yankees don’t necessarily need outfield help, they should be looking for ways to deepen the lineup. New York has Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo in the corner positions. Aaron Judge has played mostly designated hitter since Giancarlo Stanton landed on the injured list, drawing Trent Grisham into the lineup in center field. Playing Grisham regularly isn’t ideal, but Stanton could be back around the deadline (thereby pushing Judge back to center).
Miami hasn’t played Chisholm for a single inning on the infield dirt since 2022. Manager Skip Schumaker flatly shot down the idea of getting him infield reps after the Fish designated Tim Anderson for assignment at the start of July (X link via Isaac Azout of Fish on First). Other teams may be more willing to rotate Chisholm into the middle infield, at least on occasion. Heyman suggests that if the Yankees were to make a serious run at Chisholm, it’d likely be with an eye to the infield. Neither Gleyber Torres nor DJ LeMahieu have gotten things going offensively, leaving the Yankees without much production from second or third base.
Chisholm is under team control for two and a half seasons, so Miami should net a significant return if they do move him. He’s making just $2.625MM this year, a little less than half of which has yet to be paid.
Yankees Sign Tim Mayza To Minor League Deal
The Yankees have signed left-hander Tim Mayza to a minor league deal, according to a report from Brendan Kuty and Katie Woo of The Athletic. The lefty will presumably be assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre shortly.
Mayza, 32, was recently released by the Blue Jays as he’s had an awful season thus far. He made 35 appearances for the Jays, logging 24 2/3 innings with 8.03 earned runs allowed per nine. His 9.9% walk rate on the year is passable but he has only struck out 13.2% of batters faced and his ground ball rate has been subpar at 39.1%.
Despite the recent struggles, it’s easy to see why the Yanks would be interested. Mayza underwent Tommy John surgery late in 2019 and missed all of 2020, but has was quite good between that absence and this year’s dip. Over the 2021-23 period, he made 193 appearances for the Jays with a 2.67 ERA, 24.9% strikeout rate, 6.3% walk rate and 58.3% ground ball rate. He earned four saves and 56 holds for the Jays in that time.
All those numbers have moved in the wrong direction here in 2024, but there are reasons to suspect he’s not been as bad as an 8.03 ERA would suggest. His .367 batting average on balls in play and 54.8% strand rate have both been on the unfortunate side of average, which is why his 4.91 FIP and 5.08 SIERA paint a rosier picture of his work this year. The lack of strikeouts and ground balls this year undoubtedly exacerbated that bad luck a bit, but expecting some better results going forward is within reason.
The Yanks have been trying to solve the left-handed relief portion of their roster this season. Victor González was recently bounced off the roster after some shaky outings. Caleb Ferguson has held onto his spot despite a 5.46 ERA this year. They recently bought low on veteran groundballer Tim Hill and have also given limited looks to Anthony Misiewicz and Josh Maciejewski.
If Mayza can turn a corner and show that the first half of 2024 was just a bad stretch, there’s a path for him to get into that mix. The Yanks can get an up-close look at him for the next few weeks while they also assess who could be available on the trade market prior to the July 30 deadline.
Mayza is making $3.59MM this year but the Jays are on the hook for that since they released him. If the Yanks add him to the roster at any point, they would only have to pay him the prorated version of the league minimum for any time Mayza spends on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Jays pay. Mayza crossed over five years of service time earlier this year and can no longer be optioned to the minors, but if he gets a 40-man roster spot at some point, he can be retained via arbitration for the 2025 season.
