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AL Notes: Yankees’ Rotation, Royals, Perez

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Some notes on the Yankees and Royals to kick off Sunday morning:

  • Jordan Montgomery is the “overwhelming favorite” for the fourth spot in the Yankees’ rotation, notes George King III of the New York Post. That’s not especially surprising, given that the lefty’s Tommy John procedure is now 21 months behind him. The 27-year-old’s strong 2017 rookie season positions him well to step up in the wake of injuries to Luis Severino and James Paxton. The final spot in the rotation is still entirely up for grabs, although King feels Jonathan Loaisiga is the early frontrunner. Surprisingly, King notes that right-hander Clarke Schmidt could be in the fifth starter mix after turning some heads early in spring training. The 24-year-old was the Yankees’ first-round pick out of the University of South Carolina in 2017, but he’s made all of three career starts above High-A, thanks largely to rehab from a Tommy John of his own. That, coupled with Schmidt’s roster status (he needn’t be added to the 40-man until after this season), would seem to make him a long shot for a season-opening role.
  • One pitcher who might not be as strong a contender for the Yankees’ final rotation spot is Luis Cessa, whom King says the club “seemingly likes…in the bullpen.” That jibes with a similar report from Bryan Hoch of MLB.com earlier this week, although Hoch’s report came before news broke of Severino’s season-ending Tommy John surgery. From the outside, it appeared that blow could have changed the calculus on Cessa’s potential usage, but it seems he’s still more likely to occupy a bullpen role in 2020. The 27-year-old has started 19 of his 86 career MLB appearances, but he was used exclusively as a reliever in 2019.
  • Salvador Pérez logged four innings behind the plate in the Royals’ spring training game Friday (h/t to the Associated Press). That marked his first catching action since his Tommy John surgery last March. “It was kind of like Opening Day — once you catch the first pitch, it’s a regular game,” Pérez said postgame, via the AP. “I blocked some balls, threw to second base between innings. It was all great.” At last check, the 29-year-old was on track to be ready for Opening Day. In 2018, Pérez hit just .235/.274/.439 (89 wRC+), but he’s long shouldered extremely high workloads behind the plate in Kansas City.

Latest On Yankees’ Rotation

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The Yankees’ rotation looked set when the month of February started, but the back surgery left-hander James Paxton recently underwent threw a wrench in their plans. They’re now lacking an obvious answer after Gerrit Cole, Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka and J.A. Happ. The team will give plenty of hurlers chances to emerge as its No. 5 during spring training, though, as Bryan Hoch of MLB.com relays.

General manager Brian Cashman on Wednesday named five pitchers – Luis Cessa, Deivi Garcia, Jonathan Loaisiga, Michael King and Jordan Montgomery – as candidates to take the last spot in New York’s rotation. The leader may be the 27-year-old Montgomery, who had an impressive rookie campaign in 2017 but hasn’t been much of a factor since then because of injury troubles. Montgomery underwent Tommy John surgery in June 2018 after throwing a mere 27 1/3 innings that year, though he did make a late-season return to a major league mound in 2019. Manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday that Montgomery’s now “in a good place” with respect to his health.

As for Montgomery’s competition, Cessa and Loaisiga have each garnered a decent amount of experience at the game’s highest level. Cessa’s heater checks in around 95 mph, but it hasn’t led to great results in the majors. He’s the owner of a 4.50 ERA/4.98 FIP with 7.37 K/9 and 2.91 BB/9 in 232 career innings. Most of his work (67 of 86 appearances) has come as a reliever. Cessa is out of minor league options, so he could end up in another organization if he doesn’t make the Yankees this spring.

Loaisiga can throw even harder than Cessa (96-97 mph), and he’s a former top-100 prospect, but his MLB production hasn’t been special, either. While Loaisiga recorded a tremendous strikeout rate of 11.18 per nine in his first 56 1/3 innings as a Yankee from 2018-19, he walked almost five per nine and only registered a 4.79 ERA/4.33 FIP. Moreover, the right-hander dealt with shoulder problems last season.

Neither Garcia nor King has appeared in the majors yet, but there’s plenty of promise in the two cases. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked the 20-year-old Garcia as the game’s 42nd-best prospect Wednesday, calling the 5-foot-10, 163-pounder  “a diminutive firecracker righty with a beautiful curveball.” However, because of his size, there are questions about Garcia’s durability. He also didn’t put up great numbers last year as an extremely young Triple-A pitcher, as he managed a subpar 5.40 ERA/5.77 FIP with 10.13 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 over 40 innings at the level.

King, 24, racked up a combined 62 2/3 innings in Triple-A from 2018-19, pitching to a sterling 2.30 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in that span. He even made a one-appearance MLB debut last season, and currently ranks as the Yankees’ 19th-best prospect at MLB.com.

Considering how volatile the back end of most teams’ rotations are, it’s entirely possible (maybe even likely) that more than one of the above hurlers will start games for the Yankees as they await Paxton’s return. The World Series hopefuls figure to get Paxton back early in the summer, so those who wind up filling his spot could be on borrowed time in that role.

Yankees Place CC Sabathia On 10-Day Injured List

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The Yankees placed lefty CC Sabathia on the 10-day injured list for the fourth time this season, the team announced. Jonathan Loaisiga has been recalled from Triple-A.

This news hardly comes as a surprise after Sabathia exited Friday’s start after three innings. Right knee inflammation is the diagnosis, but it’s certainly worth wondering if Sabathia will be healthy enough to pitch again, in this the final season of an epic career.

The 39-year-old Sabathia finally showed signs of slowing down this season as he’s struggled to stay healthy and productive. At 5-8 with a 4.93 ERA/5.97 FIP across 20 starts and 100 1/3 innings for the Yanks this year, he’s posted just 0.5 rWAR and 0.3 fWAR on the year.

Loaisiga, 24, has 3 starts and 3 relief appearances under his belt so far this year. A lackluster 5.12 ERA/5.50 FIP can be traced to 4.7 BB/9 and 1.9 HR/9 in the small sample. He hasn’t done much more in Triple-A in an injury-shortened season, though believers can point to 11.2 K/9 to 2.5 BB/9 in Scranton Wilkes-Barre as a sign of returning to form.

Latest On Yankees Pitching Plans

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The Yankees rotation has long been a source of worry for fans of the club. While the concerns haven’t stopped the Yanks from dominating the AL East, the staff isn’t without question marks. MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch is among the reporters to pass along the latest from the team (in this report and these tweets).

Of most immediate concern was the news that veteran southpaw CC Sabathia will return to the active roster on Sunday. He’ll return following a brief respite for his problematic knee and look to improve upon his 4.78 ERA.

Even if Sabathia is able to get some positive momentum going, he doesn’t seem like an optimal postseason starter. The same holds for the club’s other aging lefty rotation piece, J.A. Happ, whose season-long struggles are well-documented. He’ll be looking for a turnaround outing today.

It’s interesting to think about the possible ways the Yankees could best utilize these veteran southpaws. Perhaps the most intriguing concept is some kind of piggyback arrangement involving a pair of high-octane young righties who may not quite be capable of handling full starter’s duties this season. Jonathan Loaisiga is just returning from injury and hasn’t yet established himself in the bigs, while Luis Severino is still working back. There’s optimism Severino will be a factor next month, though even a minor setback could end his season and he may not be able to ramp up fully so late in the year.

There are also at least some questions involving the late-season handling of the emergent Domingo German. As Hoch explains, German did not reach 100 frames last year and has never thrown more than 123 1/3 in a professional season (a high-water mark he reached in 2014). The club is not going to let him throw an unrestrained volume of innings this year, but also has decided not to publicize the limits.

Indeed, skipper Aaron Boone says that the organization has not “even honestly gotten deep into those conversations yet” as to when and how to pull back on German’s usage. Boone suggests that the return of other hurlers will help the club manage the 27-year-old’s workload. Fortunately, with a big division lead to work with, it seems the Yanks aren’t worried that they’ll miss out on any key innings. “[W]e feel like he’s strong right now and still has a lot left in the tank,” says Boone.

There is still one other intriguing possibility to keep an eye on as well. Tommy John rehabber Jordan Montgomery has thrown a two-inning sim game. Could he be an option late in the year and into the postseason? “We’ll see,” says Boone.

Yankees Announce Series Of Pitching Transactions

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The Yankees announced a series of pitching transactions today. Recently acquired southpaw Joe Mantiply was designated for assignment, removing him from the 40-man roster. Also departing the 40-man is southpaw Daniel Camarena, who was released.

Those 40-man spots went to a pair of other hurlers. The club activated righty Jonathan Loaisiga from the 60-day injured list and selected the contract of righty Adonis Rosa. The Yanks had already optioned Mantiply and righty Brady Lail, opening the two active roster spots that have now been filled.

What’s most significant here for the division-leading Yankees is the return of Loaisiga. He has battled shoulder troubles this year and hasn’t yet been a consistent piece at the MLB level. But the talent is obvious and the Yanks have plenty to gain by getting him up to speed down the stretch. He is not fully stretched out as a starter, so the club seems likely to utilize him in some sort of relief role, perhaps of the multi-inning variety.

Yankees Acquire Kendrys Morales

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The Yankees announced that they’ve acquired first baseman/designated hitter Kendrys Morales from the Athletics in exchange for cash or a player to be named later. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, New York transferred righty Jonathan Loaisiga from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list.

Kendrys Morales | Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Morales, 35, was designated for assignment by the Athletics yesterday. Oakland had picked him up early in the season after losing first baseman Matt Olson to a hand injury for more than a month. However, the veteran Morales struggled quite a bit in limited time with the A’s, hitting at a .204/.310/.259 clip and connecting on just one home run. With Olson and fellow first baseman Mark Canha healthy in Oakland alongside designated hitter Khris Davis, there simply wasn’t a place on the Athletics’ roster for the struggling Morales.

That’s not necessarily the case up in the Bronx, however. While Luke Voit has solidified himself as the team’s primary first baseman, the outfield/designated hitter mix is considerably less certain. Morales could see fairly regular time at DH in the short term, leaving the Yankees with a starting outfield of Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks and Clint Frazier, while Cameron Maybin shifts into a reserve role. Although Morales’ 2019 production has been nonexistent, he’s just a year removed from a respectable .249/.331/.438 batting line and is a combined .270/.330/.465 hitter dating back to the 2009 season — when he first established himself as a Major League regular.

Of course, that alignment isn’t anywhere near what the Yankees had envisioned heading into the season, but the team’s jaw-dropping list of injuries has been well documented by now. Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Miguel Andujar, Greg Bird, Troy Tulowitzki and Didi Gregorius are all on the injured list, while Aaron Hicks was only just activated from the IL and has yet to make his season debut. To their credit, despite that slate of injuries, the Yankees are hitting .253/.333/.430 (104 wRC+) as a team and rank right in the middle of the pack in terms of total runs scored among MLB clubs.

Jonathan Loaisiga Shut Down For Four Weeks

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Even as the Yankees welcome injured players back to the roster — Aaron Hicks was activated for his season debut today — new injuries continue to pile up. The team announced today that right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a shoulder strain, and manager Aaron Boone announced to reporters that Loaisiga won’t throw a baseball for at least the next four weeks (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch). The 24-year-old is dealing with a strain of his right rotator cuff.

Loaisiga had been slated to start tonight’s contest, but that start will now fall to right-hander Luis Cessa. Righty Chance Adams was recalled from Triple-A in place of Loaisiga, so he’ll be on hand as an option for some length in the middle of the game as well, should the need arise. Loaisiga joins James Paxton, Luis Severino and Jordan Montgomery (still recovering from 2018 Tommy John surgery) as rotation options on the injured list.

While Loaisiga has yet to establish himself at the MLB level, he’s nevertheless a well-regarded prospect. Baseball America currently ranks him as the No. 94 farmhand in all of baseball, and he owns a career 2.88 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9 in his minor league career. Injuries, though, have been a persistent factor for Loaisiga, who has never thrown more than the 84 2/3 innings he tossed last year in any single professional season.

Following tonight’s spot start from Cessa, the Yankees’ rotation will include Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ, Domingo German, CC Sabathia and a yet-to-be-determined fifth option. Presumably, Cessa and Adams will both be candidates for that spot, as will the recently optioned Nestor Cortes Jr. As for the team’s injured starters, Severino has yet to begin a throwing program following his latest shutdown, while Paxton has played catch but not embarked on a minor league rehab assignment. There’s hope that Paxton could return before month’s end but no indication that a return is imminent. Montgomery isn’t expected back until later midsummer.

Loaisiga’s injury is the latest in an ongoing series of physical ailments that have tested the Yankees’ depth at virtually every spot on the roster so far in 2019. Of course, the Yankees have largely passed any such test with flying colors; the team is eight games over .500 — just a half game out of the AL East lead — and carries a +36 run differential despite the interminable onslaught of health troubles they’ve faced.

Yankees Activate Aaron Hicks, Place Jonathan Loaisiga On Injured List

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May 13: The Yankees announced that Hicks has been reinstated from the injured list. To clear a spot on the roster, fellow outfielder Mike Tauchman has been optioned to Triple-A.

The Yankees’ total count of players on the injured list won’t decrease, however, as the team announced that scheduled starter Jonathan Loaisiga has been scratched and placed on the 10-day IL due to a strained right shoulder. In his place, righty Chance Adams has been called up from Triple-a.

May 12: The Yankees will activate center fielder Aaron Hicks from the injured list Monday, manager Aaron Boone announced (via James Wagner of the New York Times). It’ll be a long-awaited return for Hicks, who has been on the shelf since early March with lower back issues.

Hicks’ injury was one of the earliest hits the Yankees took amid an absurd run of early season ailments. Since Hicks went down, the Yankees have dealt with key injuries to fellow foundational players in Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Luis Severino, Miguel Andujar and Dellin Betances, among others. Even though the Yankees have largely been without everyone from that group and haven’t been able to simultaneously deploy their top outfielders – Hicks, Judge and Stanton – the club has still stormed to a 23-16 record.

The Yankees were 90-plus-win title contenders in each of the previous two seasons, thanks in no small part to Hicks, who broke out in 2017. The former Twin, 29, combined for 8.2 fWAR over 942 plate appearances the past two years on the strength of a .255/.368/.470 line (127 wRC+), solid defense and quality baserunning. The switch-hitting Hicks’ 2017-18 output led to a seven-year, $70MM extension from the Yankees in late February, but he hasn’t taken a big league at-bat since reeling in that payday.

With Hicks set to man center upon his return, veteran Brett Gardner will return to the corner outfield. Gardner has struggled mightily over the past couple weeks, though, and could be in line for reduced playing time with in-season pickup Cameron Maybin playing well and fellow recent addition Mike Tauchman performing better than expected. Clint Frazier has been the most effective regular of the bunch this year, but like Gardner, he has been mired in a slump of late.

Call-Ups: Tim Collins, Joe Harvey

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We’ll cover a few of the day’s notable call-ups in this post:

  • The Cubs will promote lefty Tim Collins to take the roster spot of injured starter Jon Lester, according to Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com (via Twitter). Collins inked a MLB deal late this spring after being cut loose by the Twins and was optioned to open the season. He’ll try to help settle a relief unit that has sputtered out of the gates. Collins didn’t exactly excel last year with the Nats, but did make it his way back to full health and back up to the majors after several lost seasons. He has racked up an impressive number of strikeouts in 2019, with 13 in 9 1/3 spring innings and three more in 2 2/3 at Triple-A.
  • Joining the Yankees roster is right-handed reliever Joe Harvey, per a club announcement. The club dropped Jonathan Loaisiga back to Triple-A on optional assignment to clear active roster space; Harvey already owned a 40-man spot. With a pair of off-days in the upcoming schedule, Loaisiga can get some work in at Triple-A while the MLB club enjoys an extra reliever. Harvey will get his first taste of the majors at 27 years of age. Last year, he worked to an impressive 1.66 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 54 1/3 innings over 38 appearances at the highest level of the minors.

AL East Notes: Orioles, Yankees, Royals, Loaisiga, Hicks, Morales

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It’s an open question as to what the Orioles’ front office will look like beyond 2018, though ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick writes that it seems both executive VP Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter will both stay in their jobs for the remainder of the season.  Beyond that, “any and all options are on the table,” including the surprising possibility that Duquette and Showalter could both be retained.  Even with John and Louis Angelos (the sons of owner Peter Angelos) taking a larger role in team business, there remains a perception around the league that the family will still have a strong voice in baseball operations.  “As long as the Angelos name is attached to it, you know you’re going to have to run the team not the way you want to run it but the way someone else thinks it should be run,” one personnel executive tells Crasnick.  This could mean, if Duquette is replaced, that the O’s could lean towards an experienced general manager who has been out of baseball for a while and thus has less leverage to demand more authority, or perhaps the team could hire an executive who has experience in Baltimore and knows how the organization operates.  Crasnick suggests that candidates like farm director Brian Graham or Phillies assistant GM Ned Rice could fit the latter description.  The whole piece is well worth a full read for a look at how the Orioles operate, and what changes could be coming on and off the field in the coming weeks and months.

Some more from around the AL East…

  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman “wouldn’t comment” to media (including the New York Post’s George A. King III) on a recent report from MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi about the Yankees’ interest in Mike Moustakas as a possible first base option.  King did note that the Royals recently had scouts watching not just the Yankees, but also New York’s Double-A and Triple-A teams as well, so Kansas City seems to be checking out both Major League and minor league players in the organization.  In terms of what the return could be on a potential Moustakas trade, King doubts that the Yankees would part with current first baseman Greg Bird for just two-plus months of Moustakas’ services.
  • An MRI revealed inflammation in Jonathan Loaisiga’s throwing shoulder, as reported by MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch and others.  The Yankees right-hander will meet with doctors in New York on Monday to further access the problem.  Loaisiga made his Major League debut earlier this season and pitched well in four starts, posting a 3.00 ERA with 10.5 K/9 and a 2.63 K/BB rate over 18 innings.  That performance did much to elevate his value, particularly with the Yankees short on rotation depth options.  Loaisiga had been sent down to the minors last week but was expected to be recalled for a start on Monday when the Yankees had a double-header against the Orioles,
  • Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks was taking some grounders at second base prior to Friday’s game, George A. King III of the New York Post writes.  It isn’t very likely that Hicks will actually see time at the keystone with Gleyber Torres on the DL, as New York already has Neil Walker, Brandon Drury, and Tyler Wade (all of whom were also participating in the fielding drills) on hand to play the position.  It could be that the Yankees were simply exploring all options, perhaps with a very long view towards maximum roster flexibility during a playoff series, or something of that nature.  Hicks also did some warmups as a first baseman last season, underscoring his athleticism and versatility.
  • Kendrys Morales had a measly .499 OPS in his first 109 plate appearances this season, but has since posted an .899 OPS over his last 129 PA.  While a swing tweak or perhaps simple reversion to the mean could be behind the turnaround, Sportsnet.ca’s Ben Nicholson-Smith writes that Morales’ hot streak coincides with his decision to stop wearing glasses at the plate.  Morales had produced strong hard-hit ball numbers all season long, though he is now putting the ball in the air with far more regularity since losing the frames.  It isn’t likely that Morales has revived his value enough to become a legitimate trade chip for the Blue Jays, as he is limited to a DH role and is still owed roughly $17MM through the 2019 season, though it is a bit of a relief for Toronto given that Morales looked like a release candidate through the first six weeks.
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