Talkin' Baseball (MLB Podcast) - New York Yankees | Profile & Projection | 637

Episode Date: March 23, 2023

The New York Yankees won the AL East on the back of Aaron Judge's 62-homer season. After adding Carlos Rodon to the rotation, what is their ceiling with a bunch of injuries slated to start the season?Use code JOMBOYPRESEASON for 15% off your next purchase at SeatGeek* https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/JOMBOYPRESEASON*max discount $50, expires 3/31/2023 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey, oh. Thank you. Trevor Ploof in the stands. Hey! What's going on, everybody? Welcome back to another talking baseball team profile and projection. Today, we are doing the New York Yankees. Brought to you by Seat Geek-Code Johnboy preseason.

Jake, the Yanks. You familiar? You should probably get familiar. Sammy Adams or whichever one of the rapper sings that song. I'm very familiar with this team, James. You could say the roots of the company come from this team. And last year, this team was 99 and 63. They lost in the ALCS to the Houston Astros.

Who would have known they would be there? They got swept 4-0. So this off-season, who did they add? Tommy Canley returns to the Yankees. Turn down more money from Boston. That's a Yankee. He'll be in the pen. Hopefully he's out with an injury to start the season.

And Carlos Rodon, same song, different chorus with the injury thing. And hopefully it's just the start of the season. But an impact starter to pair at the top of the rotation, his numbers the past couple years, are insane. That was their big move. They've got a couple MLB minor league invite guys. We'll see if a Raphael Ortega or Treves Willie Calhoun can break. camp with the team.

Who the Yankees lost? It's actually an interesting little laundry list. Ben Intendi, they got him at the deadline. Jameson Tyone had been streaky yet consistent for them the past couple years. Heavy. Matt Carpenter came a couple of the best months of baseball you'll see from a hitter. He's gone. Miguel Castro.

Eraldus Chapman. Chad Green, the goose. And Marwin Gonzalez, he went to Japan. Lucas Lickie's gone. Tilo. written remains unsigned. So parts in, parts out. The biggest Judge and Rizzo, they re-signed them. That was a huge part of their offseason, but technically no transaction listed there. Trev, after all

of it, the Bronx Bombers, what's the lineup look down look like in the boogie down? Like many of these teams here at this type, or this spot in the rankings, I'm a looking and I'm a liking. We got DJ Lemayhew. He's me playing third base, hitting at the top of the order. Then you got judge who is he going to be in center field that we're doing maybe because i saw our kf out there the other day shopping him anthony rizzo he resigned i love that he's meant to be a yankee he's meant to be a yankee john carlo stanton my guy then we have glabretaurz is waldo cabrero

will be kind of mixing and match in there he's a switch hitter aaron hicks will find himself in left also a switch hitter i love erin you know what i love erin hicks as waldo parraza me Volpe? Who's playing shortstop? We know yet? We don't know yet. Then we got, he got Shioca and Jose Trevino, split in the catching duties. As you mentioned, maybe Willie Calhoun on the bench. Josh Donaldson's still there.

IKF still there. Bader's hurt. He'll be out some time with that oblique. So there's a lot of depth here. I do like that. There are some question marks. But again, I like the lineup a lot and how could you not? James, what about that starting pitching? Well, the rotation took some hits, like Jake said, with Rodan going out. You have Garrett Cole as the ace.

He'll be there. He's been pretty consistent since he got signed. Luis Severino is going to be in the starting rotation. His hopefully first full season since 2018, 2018. That's crazy. And because Rodon and Montas got hurt and are out, The two guys that were kind of fighting for the fifth spot, get the four and the five in Domingo Hermann and Clark Schmidt,

both having good springs and enjoying that. But that's how the rotation and Nestor, I didn't say Nestor Cortez, who made his first start back from getting injured. Got Cy Young votes last year. He'll be there as well. So that's the five. And then in the bullpen, you got a lot of names.

You got Clay Holmes, Yonathan Loisaga. Nicaraguan King Michael King That's a big piece that's back Just a normal king Normal King Wandi Peralta is a big one

Ron Maranaccio Trevino's there He got hurt Canely's there He's starting the season on the injured list And then you got some Weissard crook guys That you don't have to know about

If you're not a Yankees fan Yeah Trev you're New York Yankees You know you You started asking us some Q&A before the TPP. We'll let you steer the ship because this is obviously something that the three of us are quite passionate about this team

and we've had a whole offseason to talk about a lot of it. Yeah, no, this is essentially a question and answer for me to you guys about this. First thing I said was, okay, we got Clay Holmes listed as a closer on our sheet. Is he going to be closing every single game at are we going to get some committee type? stuff. And I think the answer you got for me is to start the season, this guy's going to be it. And I was watching the highlights on him. Well, no. I forgot. He's not. He's not. You said he was. No, I said he's not. I mean, the most recent quotes from Boone are that it's closer by committee. Boone said if there's a lane of Springer, Bichette, Vladdy, in the seventh, Clay's going to get that lane. High leverage. Okay. They also say they're not going to do a six-man rotation. And then they do it and they call it something else.

So they kind of play this weird game with semantics and terminology. Like, I think he might do, they might do that once or twice. Okay. They say it's closer by committee, but it's probably not. So closer by committee doesn't have to mean,

like they're just switching closures all the time. Like, you're right. So like if they do find themselves in that situation, where, you know, the top of that Blue Jay's lineup is coming up and you need them to get locked down and then you can rely on the guys to finish off the lower end of the lineup, that's kind of.

what they're thinking, but most of the time we'll have Clay out there, I'm assuming? It's, the Yankees have talent in their bullpen. Jonathan Loisago had a tough start to last season. He found it down the end. Michael King and Clay Holmes are sneaky, a massive part to the Yankees great start last year.

If you remember, the Yankees were on a borderline historic pace. We were talking about 1998 and how many wins into 100 will they get, and then they had the worst August in history. Mike King became a two-inning shutout guy, which is very unique and can change the way your bullpen works. Jonathan Loisaga, you know, he originally looked like the next heir to the throne on the closer committee when it was Chapman back there.

So I think it depends what it looks like. If, you know, Jimmy mentioned that Blue Jays lane that they're going to see a lot, the top of that lineup with all the righties, well, guess what? I think if Clay Holmes and Jonathan Loisga and Mike King are all thrown the pill, well, I think Clay Holmes would stay in the ninth and enclosure, and they would let Johnny or King go at that role.

I do think for years they've been a little bit tied up in the bullpen financially with Chapman and Zach Britton. And, you know, as modern bullpins evolved and kind of, you know, a lot of teams had that number one gunner that, hey, Liam Hendricks, get us out of whatever we need. Chapman was not built for that. So I do think the Yankees want that mindset out there. But if Clay Holmes looks like Clay Holmes did in the first half last year,

I do believe he's going to be in somewhat of a traditional closer role. There's no one to burn him out like they did last year. Shoof. By overusing him before you get to the break and all that stuff. His turbo sinker, I forgot how much depth it has. I was watching highlights. It's something else, man. That thing is a buzzsaw coming through the zone.

So he looks like he could be that guy that locked down every day closer but I understand the different lanes and the trust you have in other guys. Another position I want to ask you guys about because I'm really very curious about this. JD, our guy, my hitting coach? Like I'm looking at the athletics roster projection. It's different from the roster projection that we have on our sheet. Is JD going to get a crack at 3B to open up the year and moving DJ over a second base? What's that whole situation like?

It's more than that. They have eight infielders and one outfield. Yes. So we're waiting on a trade that like even the beat reporters right now, I don't know when this comes out, but right now on the 20th are kind of like a trade. Even the beat reporters that are following the team every now are like, a trade has to happen.

Like IKF has to be traded basically if anyone would want him because they just have too many infielders for not enough spots. No one's going to eat J.D.'s money. No one's going to eat even eat half of his money. So I think he's on the team until they get to halfway through and let him go, or he plays good enough that he's there. But DJ Donaldson and Glaber are in a rotation between, like, DH bench, second base, third base.

And then hopefully they have an everyday shortstop, be it Volpe or Paraza. If it's Volpe, a trade has to happen, because then Parazza needs to find that bad somewhere. If it's Paraza, Volpe probably starts at AAA, and as Waldo Cabrera is the utility guy, which makes... You played well last year.

ICF redundant, so he needs to... get traded. So yeah, it's like the least we've ever known about what the Yankees' defensive roster looks like two weeks before the season. I mean, there's depth, but too much of the same thing, essentially. We got a, but so, okay, Jose Al Tuva goes down. Is that an ICF situation? Or somebody else. I mean, that looks like it opens a lane up to be a trade partner right there. It takes two sides to make a trade, and the Yankees have been looking for a trade all offseason, and that trade hasn't happened.

So I will wait to see if anything does happen. I have come to grips with, I think the Yankees are going to roll with this formation, because as well, the Cabrera can't play anywhere. I don't like saying that about a lot of guys, because I think, as you know, a lot better than me, Trevor Plouf, to play every position on a major league baseball field is very hard to do.

To be able to play a real shortstop, that is very hard to do. To be able to play a real center field is really hard to do. I think this kid can do it. So he's going to move around everywhere, and I think he's going to get a lot of run in the outfield, because as we just talked about, the Yankees are still looking at at bats there.

Donaldson, he's going to get a crack at third base. He's getting paid, I think, 22-mill this year with a 7-mill buyout into next year. Treve, you know the money talks, And he did look good defensively last year. So if he can do anything else at the plate, he can be a solid bottom of the lineup guy. I'll tell you what, Yankee fans aren't buying his stock right now.

And maybe, hey, if he's, we heard a rumor he was banged up last year. You hear a lot. You need to see it. And we will see it with Josh Donaldson. DJ LaMayhew, it should be the lead-off hitter unless we get to Anthony Volpe, which I'd love to get to Anthony Volpe, but we've got eight other guys in the way currently. So DJ needs to be in this lineup.

He's actually had a nice spring. He looks healthy. And he's sneaky was another key cog in the Yankee success. And then you look at Glaver Torres, who currently plays second base only, that yeah, Trev, there's some real questions with this team. Who's going to be out there regularly? And we've been laughing, you know,

when Bader went down, that the Yankees felt like, they were prepared for infield injuries and they're just waiting for it and it hasn't happened. And yeah, the roster's in a funky spot that I genuinely hope me, James and BBD are running to the mics in the next 10 days as we record this that the Yankees have shook up their roster. But it's it's hard to believe in that. Yeah, I love it.

This is good. This is good information for me. And I have one last one on the roster. Yeah. I think this is important. Bader goes down. you don't want to have judge in center field every day which means they'll have to DH some days

which means John Carlos Stanton would have to play the outfield what is that looking like? What are the games we're looking at for like a John Carlo outfield or does that not happen? Oh yeah, that's great. Boone actually gave like an answer with a number. They want them to play around 40 games. 40 to 60.

40 to 60. Those are all judge DH days. No, judge will play center or left. Stan will play right. Okay, so are they counting like left field as like an off day for his body or something? Because that's what I'm, they want to curtail the workload in the outfield, but only centerfield? For judge, I think they'd be worried about center field and left field. They, they treat that as a different position than right field at Yankee Stadium.

Okay. They would like to follow that. They'd love to follow that with the D.H.A. But then you're either benching Stanton or you're going to see some fun. Yankee lineups early. Like right now, if you wanted to D.H. Judge, A, you're going to have a Donaldson or a DJ or Glaber on the bench. So you're there. And then the rest of your outfield is probably going to be Aaron Hicks and Oswaldo Cabrera, which if we see the Hicks as Waldo Stanton outfield, I just don't know.

So, yeah, the Yankees line up's a little funky right now. They got good pieces. It just makes no sense. Like, as Waldo Cabrera, shouldn't be a starting outfielder because his biggest tool is that he can play seven positions. on the field. He should be your, you know, the Zobris that spells everybody for one day. The problem is DJ is currently that for the infield.

So you're not going to have two roving guys. And then you, IKF is also going to be that too. If he's around because they're paying him $6 million. So they're just, they're a mess right now. But they're a mess in terms of organization. It may not hinder results. They won 99 games last year. They were rolling back pretty much the same team.

Once Rodon's healthy and base. healthy. It's a better team than they had majority of last year. And hopefully they just don't get stuck with problems and they make moves when they need to when you have. If Hixie's doing Hixie struggles again or if Donaldson can't hit again, like they can't dig in so deep like they did last year with those three, including ICF, and then have no real backup plan. That's the worry. You think Judge goes in there and says, I don't need a DH, man. Just like keep me in the outfield because that's best for our team. And do they listen to him if he says that?

Yeah, he's one of those guys that rarely wants a day off. At this point in the contract, too, I mean, you know, he's turning 31 this year. It's not like we're talking about 34, the Story Ellie O'Brien, where you're starting to feel it a little more in the hips. But yeah, for anyone his size to play center field every day is a gauntlet. that that really shouldn't be on the table, and that's why they traded for Harrison Bader. And that's why, you know,

I think you'll see that one or two times a week. I will be surprised if they run, you know, there was about two months, maybe even three, where he was kind of the Yankees' everyday center fielder, that I think they just can't fall into that again. It's a nice thing to have, and he plays a solid center field.

The numbers didn't necessarily love him, but he was chasing the home run race and him diving for a single in the fourth inning is not worth him potentially getting injured like he did previously on a dive. So he plays a little more conservative that it's just not where the Yankees will be optimal. Like we're in these great teams right now, right?

We're in the top five teams of baseball. And we should be talking about an optimum lineup. And that's where Yankee fans are playing scared right now because I think Anthony Volpe should beat. Like if the playoffs started tomorrow, So I think I'd want Anthony Volpe at shortstop. And that might be really unfair to Anthony Volpe. And yes, I'm hitting the pay a little hard because that is how it's set.

Maybe second. I got to learn that. We don't know. Volpe? Volpe. Yeah. I got it. Volpe's easier.

So he's fun now. He's kind of like a nickname thing. Okay. There's three kids we should be excited about. As Waldo can play anywhere. And let's see where he sinks in. He showed enough last year. Paraza.

I mean, we got a cup of coffee from the kid that was really nice and we should be excited about him. Volpe's a super prospect who every time you see him, he impresses. And Yankee fans haven't really been able to get truly excited about them because we don't know what kind of opportunity they're going to get. So that's kind of the, there's like a, it's not a great cloud hovering over the Yankee. It's just like when you see those weird. There's no clarity for you guys right now.

Like this is, we're talking about roster crunch and Bader's hurt and Volpe is probably like, You guys aren't even thinking about him really starting yet. You haven't crossed over there yet. So once those two guys are on the freaking roster, we're talking about even more roster. Yes, a trade has to happen. I'm hoping a trade happens and that allows ICF or Volpe to be on there. He's going to be up in as soon as his service.

It's either he makes the opening day roster or service time has gotten and he's up. But then where do you slot him? And then as a team that's trying to win the World Series, three rookies getting starts that doesn't add up if that was any other team i'd be like that's not actually a formula because not all three are going to all hit and play good at once so sure i don't even know if i want that i want one or two but it's it's it's fucking confusing well we keep saying we keep saying i kf is the guys can be traded but a guy one of those guys besides probably volpe could be packaged in it as well this is coming out in three days so

By the time this comes out, we could have answers, huh? Well, and that's where Glaver Torres. We'll see where this season goes, but Glaver being only being able to play second base at this point in his career. And, you know, he has good value. He's got two years left at the deadline. He would have a year and a half left. He ended up having a really solid season for a second baseman last year

that you wonder if the target turns to him, because we know he was almost traded last deadline, right? He was very much rumored in the Pablo Lopez. trade that a lot of people thought was going to get done with the Yankees. So with their infield glut, is that the word? Yeah. Yeah, going back to trades and you have to have two teams that want to trade. I don't know.

I've heard ICF rumors for a while, and I'm not sure if a team would slot them at shortstop or their util, even though the Yankees say they want to do that. Glaber Tories is a guy that has value that we'll see how this Yankee season goes. But yeah, like every door you keep trying to open, you end up in a weird thing where, okay, say they call up Volpe, nice, the kid's on the team. Are him in Paraza fighting for innings at short? That's not a formula. Yeah, that's like a sick trial by fire thing that's either really cool or you're going to

break one of them basically. Like one of them's going to end up getting hurt. So I don't know, man. I don't know. Yeah, also, you know, if you're a naysayer on the Yankees, they had an amazing first half last year. Yeah. I don't know what the Pythagorean Theory theorem record was.

They played like well above their level because they had some, their pitching was like beyond. It was almost unsustainable where you're like, this is going to fall off. It fell off big time where they were horrible in August. And then in September, really good. They're like really, really good. All judge. Just all judge in the pitching.

The offense had like a 220 batting average if you take away judges at bats. And I think their floor is second place. It could be third. I guess the raised jays. Yeah, I think they're on it. Their floor is third place in the east. And ceiling is obviously winning the east. But it's not going to be the same formula as last year. And last year they just played out of their fucking minds. the first two months.

And then they were like, all right. And it was a lot of judge having a historic season. And they were like a legit 500 team in the second half. Well, they had. Even with judges. August. August is one of the worst months in franchise history. 10 and 18.

Yeah. That they basically, it was a perfect storm. They had some players banged up. And they kind of in their actions, they told the team that, you know, these games don't matter as much, and you saw it fall apart. So I'm interested to see if they come up against a situation like that again and see how that feels.

But yeah, I mean, we went over all the question marks and the doom and gloom. I mean, you know, Jimmy says that last year's formula might not work. If Cole, Savvy, Nestor, and Rodon are all twirling it by the end of April, guess what? That's a pretty good formula. if Aaron Judge is any level of Aaron Judge in his career 977 OPS with Rizzo, Stanton, some combination of Glaber and DJ, you're going to win ball games.

It's just that ALEAS, man. I mean, if the Blue Jays fully click, the rays are going to raise, do the Orioles take a leap, pesky Red Soxed? Like, if you're the Yankees and some of these questions aren't getting solved and New York is starting to get loud, that, yeah, something. dramatic would kind of have to happen, whether trade or injury or what.

And right now, Yankee fans are just a little unsure about it. All right. So we think this team got better. They're starting pitching. When everyone's healthy, this roster is better than it was last year. You can expect, I mean, I'm buying Josh Donaldson's stock. If they give him consistent at bats, he's going to be a better hitter than he was last year. I just don't think there's any doubt about that.

So your hitting was great last year. Starting pitching was great last year. Relief pitching was great last year. You're kind of running the same guys out there except you got Rodon. 94 and a half is the draft king's over under. And last year, we won 99 games. Are we calling this an easy over? Yeah, because in 2021, they were just so not great to watch and not good.

And they won 93 games then. So I still think they're very good. And like Jake said, if Rodon is back after April, and Nestor and Sevy and Cole are doing 80% of what they did last year, you're going to win games. And then you have the offense. It's just how does the offensive and the defensive formula work? That's what you're going to find out.

But yeah, I'd take the over on that. I don't know how much over I'd go. Like, I think it's a good line. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, I mean, the Yankees, their last four full season. So if you take out 2020, 100, 103, 903. 92 99.

And again, being a little bit of Yankee vans, that 92 win season was like ugly. So I take the over on it. You know, plus our whole East Coast, we're playing less ALE East games this year. So we're golden. But yeah, I think the Blue Jays are either going to be on their butts or ahead of their butts.

Ahead of their butts. Okay, I see this as an easy over. Okay, like I said, you guys are basically the same team, but you add it, Rodon, and you're going to get a better JD, and I think some of these rookies are going to be good. But as a gambling, man, I know when it looks too easy, you got to run the other way. I'm taking the under, boys. Wow. Also, it's a team, though, you know they're going to make trades. I don't really have a reason for why I'm taking the under other than the fact that I know when it looks easy, it's not.

Take it. Raphael Ortega 15 homers if the Yankees let him play Oh Where's he gonna play? Centerfield We got outfield spots, man Okay

Sure Trade for Ian Hap Whoa That's the Yankees Boom boom Boom 93 win Yankees ALEs champs

It's gonna be a slog Stanton bounce back season It's gonna be a slog Josh Donaldson traded as a deadline to the Dodgers. Oh, and they fix them. I'd love that for every party involved.

Because they would fix him. And then I'll hang out with them. Ooh.