A weekend series postponed due to the coronavirus and three other boys on the injured list. Nice job perfect record from both 2020 and the Yankees, Friday.
Yes, hours after Major League Baseball announced the sideline of the planned Subway Series at Citi Field thanks to some positive COVID testing for the Mets, the Yankees placed key players James Paxton (linear flex arm for left) and Gleyber Torres (penalty left quad and hamstring from left) as well as relief Luis Avilan (inflammation of the left shoulder) on the injured list.
Godskes. If Eric Cressey’s first season as a strength / conditioning guru got worse, it would be celebrity coach Marty Miller (Google him if you do not remember).
The best news for the Yankees is that the Rays, which last week circled around their work at Yankee Stadium, will only appear three times on their schedule, August 31 through September 2. The next-best news? The next time they play, whether Monday (in a possible make-up or two against the Mets) or Tuesday (at the Braves), they hope to have Aaron Judge, no small addition, off the injured list.
The bronze medal for positive pinstriped spin on this dirty day comes in the form of grid depth: The Yankees are not quite unpacked yet. They have in-depth internal options to fill that final void.
Whether anyone from the ranks of Tyler Wade, Thairo Estrada, Jonathan Loaisiga or Clarke Schmidt will turn that intrigue into usefulness will help determine the success of this ambitious group amid this atypical campaign and judge whether the Yankees should leave the organization go, with the Aug. 31 trading date killing, for help.
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Let’s start with Schmidt, because he’s the man we’ve seen the least of, as never before in the big leagues. The pick of the Yankees ‘first-round amateur draft pick of 2017 has increased since he appeared on Spring Day 1.0, raising his stakes sharply, and it would not be surprising that he takes Paxton’s place in’ the incipient rotation of the Yankees. The right-hander has worked on the alternative side of the Yankees in Scranton.
After all, other than trying to defend their AL East crown and grab the No. 1 postseason seed, the Yankees want to set up a playoff rotation as formidably as possible. If Paxton could not make it back in time, with barely five weeks left in the regular season, then the Yankees would have Gerrit Cole, Masahiro Tanaka and more question marks than an episode of the old TV show “Batman” with The Riddler. Maybe Jordan Montgomery can continue with his way back from the 2018 operation Tommy John, or maybe even JA Happ can rediscover enough magic. Definitely Schmidt has the downside of starting and winning in October.
Third-year veteran Loaisiga, meanwhile, has started two games this season – serving as a sort of opener-plus, a total of 5 ¹ / ₃ innings – and racking up a 2.77 ERA. He remains a man whose swing-and-miss game wound people up despite mixed results and a long history of injuries. You may remember that in his big-league debut two years ago, Rays manager Kevin Cash, who got short for the Yankees, said Loaisiga looked like “a young Mariano Rivera.”
After the infield move, the hope is that Torres – who had recorded a rather miserable 2020 season – can return to the minimum 10 days, which would bring him back to his doubles partner DJ LeMahieu (spread left thumb). For now, the Yankees will likely turn to Wade (who slipped from second to shortstop over Torres’ crash) and Estrada, both of whom inspired the hope as small leagues that they could contribute at this level.
The 25-year-old Wade (.274 / .351 / .370 in the minors), up and down since Joe Girardi’s final year in 2017, will have the chance to earn his bona fides for a long time; if he delivers on shortstop, he could turn to second if Torres comes back quickly. We know he can run; everything else is to be determined.
Or, if Wade falls, the Yankees could stick with the 24-year-old Estrada (.280,337 / .389 in minors) upon activation of Torres. Veteran Jordy Mercer, meanwhile, stands as an option at replacement level if the kids can’t get through.
These are (sorry) your next men up, and they could be less. The Yankees certainly hope they make things better.
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