Ronald Torreyes Archives - Page 2 of 9

Update: Sabathia placed on 10-day DL with knee inflammation

August 13, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

6:05pm ET: Brian Cashman said Sabathia told the Yankees his knee was bothering him following his start yesterday. “Part of the program. No surprises,” said Cashman added. Doesn’t sound like it’ll be a long stint on the disabled list, but we’ll see.

4:59pm ET: The moves have been announced. Sabathia is going on the 10-day DL with right knee inflammation. Also, Luke Voit has been optioned to Triple-A Scranton, and both Kontos and Torreyes have been called up. Jordan Montgomery was transferred to the 60-day DL to clear a 40-man roster spot for Kontos.

4:43pm ET: CC Sabathia is being placed on the disabled list, reports George King. There is no word on the nature or severity of his injury yet. Sabathia does have a degenerative right knee condition, so that’s always a possibility. He missed two weeks with a hip strain back in April. George Kontos has been called up to fill the roster spot.

Sabathia started yesterday and was marvelous, holding the Rangers to one infield single in six shutout innings. If he got hurt during that start, there was no obvious play in which he suffered the injury. Sabathia retired eight of the final nine batters he faced and looked in control all afternoon. Weird.

Depending on the severity of the injury, it is possible Sabathia will miss only one start. The Yankees would need a spot starter for this Friday’s game against the Blue Jays, then, thanks to two off-days next week, they can push Sabathia’s spot all the way back to Tuesday, August 28th. Sonny Gray seems like the obvious rotation fill-in.

Sabathia is no longer the workhorse ace he was in his prime, but he does have a 3.32 ERA (4.38 FIP) in 119.1 innings this season. He is ninth in the AL with a 132 ERA+, tied with Charlie Morton. Sabathia has been awesome all year and he’s a very important part of the rotation. Losing him for more than one start would be quite the blow.

As for Kontos, the Yankees acquired him from the Indians in a cash trade earlier this month. He’s allowed one run in 4.1 innings with Triple-A Scranton since the trade and has a 4.68 ERA (5.92 FIP) in 25 big league innings with the Pirates and Indians this year. Kontos is the new last guy in the bullpen.

Word from Scranton is Ronald Torreyes has been called up as well, which means another move is coming in addition to the Sabathia/Kontos thing. I’m not sure what it is but I really hope Giancarlo Stanton’s hamstring has not gotten worse. That would be devastating. Stay tuned for updates.

DotF: Torreyes returns, Gleyber continues rehab in Tampa loss

July 23, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

The Yankees have announced a few roster moves:

IF Ronald Torreyes has been activated off the Triple-A Scranton temporary inactive list and sent to High-A Tampa. He’d been away from the team since June 26th because he went home to be with his wife, who had a medical issue. Now he’s back and going to Tampa for what amounts to a rehab assignment. Glad Mrs. Toe is apparently doing okay.
1B Brandon Wagner has been promoted from High-A Tampa to Double-A Trenton. Wagner hit .270/.376/.510 (154 wRC+) with a farm system leading 20 homers in 87 games for Tampa. Nearly 5,000 players have played in the minors this season and only 18 have more homers than Wagner. Thirteen of the 18 are older than him.
C Keith Skinner has voluntarily retired. He was the team’s seventh round pick in 2016. Skinner hit .218/.298/.267 (68 wRC+) in 72 career minor league games.

The Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders had a scheduled off-day.

Double-A Trenton Thunder (4-0 loss to Hartford)

CF Trey Amburgey: 0-4, 1 K
DH Gosuke Katoh: 0-4, 3 K
1B Ryan McBroom: 2-3, 1 BB, 1 K — 6-for-15 (.400) in four games since being sent back down from Scranton
SS Kyle Holder: 1-4
RHP Domingo Acevedo: 7 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 WP, 5/7 GB/FB — 61 of 86 pitches were strikes (71%) … strikeouts are still down quite a bit from his career norm, though he’s starting to string together some really good starts, so that’s good

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2018 Midseason Review: The Depth Players

July 19, 2018 by Steven Tydings Leave a Comment

Austin and Drury: Scranton Bash Brothers (Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

A team is only as good as its weakest link, so the saying goes. The Yankees have had a series of bench players, mop-up relievers and forgettable characters so far this year. Why not grade them?

Ronald Torreyes

The skinny: Torreyes got the chance to start plenty of games at second base until Gleyber Torres was called up and Toe did nothing but rake in that interim. It was mostly singles, but he finished April with a .390/.405/.488 line. He has been sent down and called up twice with the Yankees not having room on their infield for even semi-regular time. Gotta love Toe.

Best game/highlight: He’s had a trio of three-hit games this season, but one of his one-hit games stands out. On Apr. 19, he knocked in a run early before walking and scoring the go-ahead run in a 4-3 win vs. Toronto.

Midseason Grade: A

Brandon Drury

The skinny: The Yankees acquired Drury with the idea he’d be their starting third baseman, but vision problems and the emergence of Miguel Andujar have kept him away from the big league club. He has just eight hits as a Yankee thus far, though he excelled in Scranton. Hopefully, he’ll receive a larger chance now that his vision is better and he can make an impact in the second half.

Best game/highlight: In the second game of the year, he drove in two runs while going 2-for-3 with a walk. His double in the second inning came mere inches away from going out of the park.

Midseason Grade: C/Incomplete

Tyler Wade

The skinny: Wade’s first stint with the Yanks in 2018 was seriously disappointing. Though he provided the Yankees with stable defense at second, he simply didn’t hit. He had a real chance to win playing time at second base to start the year and blew it. His second opportunity in replacing Gleyber has been much better with six hits in his last 13 ABs with some good defense as well. He’s going to play a role down the stretch, even if it’s just as a pinch runner.

Best game/highlight: Last week, Wade came a triple short of the cycle, knocking his first career home run to right field at Camden Yards. It’s surprising a player that fast doesn’t have a triple in his career yet.

Midseason Grade: D

Clint Frazier

The skinny: Frazier is a victim of the Yankees having one of the best outfield rotations in baseball. He’d be starting in a corner for most other teams. When he’s been with the big league club, he’s shown strong patience and sports a .390 OBP. He was robbed of a game-winning home run by the monstrosity that is Tropicana Field. He’ll get an opportunity soon if he’s not traded for a top-line starting pitcher.

Best game/highlight: His first game of the year came on May 19 in Kansas City and he lined a double, drew two walks and scored a run. Always nice to see him show off both a strong approach and his Legendary Bat Speed.

Midseason Grade: B+

Tyler Austin

The skinny: Austin was the fill-in first baseman for Greg Bird for the first month and a half and was perfectly adequate. He hit eight home runs and put up a .471 slugging percentage. However, he didn’t get on base often enough and was prone to prolonged slumps. The 26-year-old remains a solid contingency plan waiting in Triple-A, though you’d rather see Bird out there for sure.

Best game/highlight: He has two two-homer games this year and the second one was an impressive day in Kansas City. He drilled a pair of two-run shots to knock starter Eric Skoglund out of the game and begin a blowout win.

Midseason Grade: B-

Billy McKinney

The skinny: Two games. Four at-bats. One hit. One injury. That’s a basic summary of McKinney’s big-league career thus far. He was called up for Game No. 2 after Aaron Hicks went down with an injury and was sidelined himself in his second start by banging into the left field wall at Rogers Centre. Not ideal. He’s been good once again in Scranton.

Best game/highlight: Obviously, it’s his one full game where he recorded his first career hit. March 30 in Toronto, a win to boot.

Midseason Grade: Incomplete

Luis Cessa

The skinny: Anyone else forget Luis Cessa was in a mop-up role in mid-April? He apparently threw four innings that month before suffering an oblique strain. He came back up in June, threw two innings of relief and then had a forgettable spot start in Philly. He then started in Baltimore during last Monday’s doubleheader with further detail below.

Best game/highlight: July 9 in Baltimore wasn’t a pretty day for the Yankees, but Cessa helped them salvage a win against the last-place O’s with six shutout innings. He put on six baserunners but pitched well and had two double plays turned behind him. Not bad!

Midseason Grade: B

David Hale

The skinny: Hale was up and down as a mop up reliever, taking almost exclusively the lowest leverage innings and saving the rest of the bullpen, all before receiving an unceremonious DFA. He threw exclusively multi-inning outings and also had one game with the Twins. While his last outing was impressive, he won’t be making another with the Yankees this season as he has signed with the Hanwha Eagles of the KBO.

Best game/highlight: He saved the best for last in relief of Sonny Gray. He threw 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball against the Blue Jays in a 6-2 loss. While he gave the team a chance to win, it was more important that he simply absorbed innings.

Midseason Grade: A

Gio Gallegos

The skinny: Like Hale, Gallegos has come up to take on mop up innings. In four multi-inning outings, he hasn’t come in with a leverage index higher than .30. It’ll be tough for him to earn any sort of permanent role with the Yankees this season, so it’s the up-and-down role the rest of the way. He’s one of three Yankees with a save as he threw three innings to close Cessa’s win in the doubleheader.

Best game/highlight: In Cessa’s other start vs. the Phillies, Gallegos came in out of the bullpen and dazzled hitters with his stuff. Three innings, two hits, no runs and six strikeouts. Six! It was his best outing as a Yankee. Two of the Ks were the opposing pitcher, but he also punched out Cesar Hernandez and Rhys Hoskins.

Midseason Grade: B

Jace Peterson

The skinny: McKinney, Hicks and Jacoby Ellsbury all were on the disabled list in early April, thus giving Peterson a shot. He got a chance to play three games (two starts) in the outfield, going 3-for-10 with a walk over 10 days. He joined Baltimore afterwards and, funny enough, has played as many games against the Yankees as he has for the Bombers.

Best game/highlight: He manned left field in his first Yankee start on Apr. 7 and saved the game with a nice catch to rob Pedro Alvarez of two go-ahead RBI in a game the Yankees would go on to win.

Midseason Grade: B+

Shane Robinson

The skinny: With the Yankees still short on outfielders and facing lefties in Boston, Robinson got the call-up in place of Peterson. He went 1-for-3 with two walks and a stolen base in his two games in pinstripes.

Best game/highlight: He pinch ran for Tyler Austin and stole second base on Apr. 11 in Boston. I guess that counts as a highlight?

Midseason Grade: Incomplete

DotF: Drury plays first again, McKinney homers again in win

June 28, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

IF Ronald Torres was placed on the temporary inactive list, the team announced. Conor Foley says Torreyes returned to New York to be with his wife, who has a medical issue. “It was more important for him to get to his wife,” said Triple-A Scranton manager Bobby Mitchell. Hope everything’s okay.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (6-3 win over Lehigh Valley)

3B Tyler Wade: 1-4, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K
CF Clint Frazier: 2-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K
1B Brandon Drury: 1-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB — third straight game at first base … Ken Rosenthal says Drury is being called up to face all those Red Sox lefties this weekend
LF Tyler Austin: 1-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB — he was removed for a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning … manager Bobby Mitchell told Conor Foley that Austin’s back flared up and he’s going to see a doctor, which presumably takes him out of the running for a call-up against all those Red Sox lefties this weekend
RF Billy McKinney: 2-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI — here’s video of the double … back-to-back games with a homer … now has eleven homers in 42 games this season … set a career high with 16 homers in 124 games last season
LHP Nestor Cortes: 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 7/8 GB/FB — 57 of 87 pitches were strikes (66%)
RHP Tommy Kahnle: 1 IP, zeroes 2 K — nine of 13 pitches were strikes … 20/5 K/BB in 12.2 innings since being sent down … supposedly he’s still sitting 95-96 mph though
RHP Cody Carroll: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HB, 0/3 GB/FB — eight of 12 pitches were strikes

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Games 68 & 69: Let’s Play One and a Half

June 18, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Rather than enjoy an off-day, the Yankees are in Washington today to play a doubleheader against the Nationals. Except it’s not really a doubleheader. It’s a one-and-a-half-header. The Yankees and Nationals are completing their May 15th suspended game tonight, then, a half-hour after that, they’ll make up their May 16th rainout.

The suspended game is currently tied 3-3 in the middle of the sixth inning. The top of the sixth just ended, and, when they begin tonight, Bryce Harper will lead off the bottom of the sixth. Also, the Yankees technically don’t have a pitcher in the game! Brett Gardner pinch-hit for Masahiro Tanaka in the top of the sixth. Aaron Boone said this afternoon Chad Green will “start” the suspended game. Sixth inning of a tie game with the middle of the order due up? That’s a Chad Green situation all the way.

How did they get here? Tanaka allowed a solo homer to Anthony Rendon in the first inning and run-scoring hits to Andrew Stevenson and Pedro Severino in the second to put the Yankees in an early 3-0 hole. The Yankees stormed back thanks to Tyler Austin, who hit a two-run opposite field homer against Gio Gonzalez in the fourth, and a sac fly in the fifth to tie the game 3-3. Here are the current lineups:

New York Yankees
1. CF Aaron Hicks
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. LF Giancarlo Stanton (due to lead off the 7th)
4. C Gary Sanchez
5. SS Didi Gregorius
6. ~~1B Tyler Austin~~ 1B Neil Walker
7. 3B Miguel Andujar
8. PH Brett Gardner (will be replaced by Green)
9. 2B Gleyber Torres

Washington Nationals
1. SS Trea Turner
2. RF Bryce Harper (due to lead off the 6th)
3. 3B Anthony Rendon
4. LF Matt Adams
5. ~~2B Howie Kendrick~~ ???
6. 1B Mark Reynolds
7. ~~CF Andrew Stevenson~~ ???
8. C Pedro Severino
9. RHP Wander Suero

Austin is in Triple-A and has been replaced in the lineup by Walker. Boone could’ve replaced him with Greg Bird, but chose not to. Kendrick is injured and Stevenson is in Triple-A, and I have no idea who is replacing them. Everyone on each team’s 25-man roster is eligible to play in the suspended game provided they were not removed from game already. Example: Gio Gonzalez started for the Nationals, was pinch-hit for by Moises Sierra, who was then replaced by Suero. Gonzalez and Sierra are no longer eligible to play in the suspended game. Also, there is no 26th man for the suspended game. Only tonight’s makeup game.

It is disgustingly hot and humid in Washington today. Real feel temperature is over 100° right now, and by the end of the night, it’s expected to get down into the low-90s. Gross. At least there’s no rain in the forecast. The suspended game will resume at 5:05pm ET and you can watch on YES locally and MLB Network out-of-market. The second game will begin 30 minutes after the suspended game ends, and that will also be on YES locally and MLB Network out-of-market. Enjoy the game and a half.

Injury Updates: Gardner is dealing with inflammation in his right knee and is day-to-day. He went for an MRI yesterday that came back clean, and he is expected to be available to pinch-hit in tonight’s game … Jacoby Ellsbury saw a back specialist last week and is getting ready to “ramp up” baseball activity. We’ll see.

Roster Move: Welcome back, Clint Frazier. Frazier has been called up and Ronald Torreyes has been sent down, the Yankees announced. Didn’t see that coming. I thought Clint would be the 26th man tonight, but he’ll be available for the suspended game as well. (He was on the original roster for the suspended game anyway.) With Gardner banged up, it makes sense to carry another outfielder for the time being … Gio Gallegos will be the 26th man tonight.

Update (6:42pm ET): The Yankees dropped the completion of the suspended game earlier this afternoon. Now here are the lineups for the makeup game tonight:

New York Yankees
1. CF Aaron Hicks
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. SS Didi Gregorius
4. LF Giancarlo Stanton
5. 2B Gleyber Torres
6. 1B Greg Bird
7. 3B Miguel Andujar
8. C Austin Romine
9. RHP Sonny Gray

Washington Nationals
1. RF Adam Eaton
2. SS Trea Turner
3. CF Bryce Harper
4. 3B Anthony Rendon
5. LF Juan Soto
6. 1B Mark Reynolds
7. 2B Wilmer Difo
8. C Pedro Severino
9. RHP Erick Fedde

First pitch is scheduled for 6:45pm ET and Gallegos has been activated as the 26th man.

Yankees activate Greg Bird, option Ronald Torreyes to Triple-A

May 26, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

As expected, the Yankees have activated first baseman Greg Bird off the 10-day disabled list, the team announced. Aaron Boone confirmed yesterday the plan was to activate Bird today. To make room on the roster, the Yankees optioned utility man Ronald Torreyes to Triple-A Scranton. That part is not so expected.

Optioning Torreyes does make sense given the roster. The Yankees have Gleyber Torres to back up Didi Gregorius at shortstop, and Neil Walker can play the three non-shortstop infield positions. They have coverage all over. Also, Tyler Austin has authored a .273/.340/.591 (147 wRC+) line against southpaws. He can spell Bird against tough lefties.

On the other hand, I thought Austin was the obvious odd man out when the time came to activate Bird. He’s limited to first base only and he’s essentially unplayable against righties (.200/.250/.467 with a 43.8 K%). Furthermore, the Yankees are due to see a lot of right-handed pitchers the next two weeks. Doesn’t seem like Austin will play much.

Torreyes is basically the perfect utility infielder. He gets the bat on the ball consistently and he’s capable defensively all over the diamond, and he doesn’t have to play regularly to stay sharp. We’ve seen Torreyes sit for a week, then come off the bench and get three hits. I’d rather have Torreyes on the bench than Austin, personally. (Or, you know, the Yankees could just do away with the barely used eighth reliever and keep both guys.)

That all said, this move has zero long-term consequences, and I imagine Torreyes will be the first guy called up when the Yankees suffer their inevitable next injury. Heck, he could be back after the minimum ten days if Austin doesn’t play much and his performance suffers. Not the move I would’ve made. Not a huge mistake either.

As for Bird, his next game will be his season debut after having ankle surgery in Spring Training. He’s missed an awful lot of time with injuries in recent years and we still don’t know what he can do with regular playing time. Is he the guy who hit .190/.288/.422 (86 wRC+) last year? Or the guy who hit .261/.343/.529 (137 wRC+) in 2015? Hopefully he stays healthy and we find out this year.

It’s too early to worry about how the Yankees will handle their looming infield logjam

April 24, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

The Yankees made it clear during Spring Training they were not comfortable going into the 2018 season with rookies at second and third bases. They traded for Brandon Drury and signed Neil Walker, pushing Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres to Triple-A. And now, less than four weeks into the regular season, Andujar is the starting third baseman and Torres is the starting second baseman. Go figure.

Injuries and poor performance have pushed Andujar and Torres into starting duty, and while Gleyber’s big league career is only two games old, Andujar has made a real impact over the last ten days or so. Enough of an impact that you can’t help but wonder how he and Drury will coexist once Drury returns from the disabled list. Look at the all the infielders the Yankees have at the moment:

Miguel Andujar
Tyler Austin
Greg Bird
Brandon Drury
Didi Gregorius
Gleyber Torres
Ronald Torreyes
Neil Walker

Eight infielders deserving of spots on the big league roster, and that list doesn’t even include Tyler Wade, who was sent to Triple-A to make room for Torres on Sunday. Of course, not all eight are available right now. Bird is rehabbing from ankle surgery and is still a few weeks away. Drury is slated to begin a rehab assignment Wednesday and is probably at least a week away.

Gregorius isn’t going anywhere. Torreyes probably isn’t going anywhere either. He’s quite valuable as a utility guy who can come off the bench and produce at a moment’s notice. Torreyes is perfect for the reserve infielder’s role. All those other guys though? That’s where it gets complicated. Some things to keep in mind about the infield logjam:

1. It’s too soon to cut Walker. Walker hasn’t hit much so far — he’s sitting on a .183/.246/.217 (25 wRC+) batting line at the moment — but the track record is there and it’s worth being patient with a switch-hitter who can play the three non-shortstop infield positions. Maybe Walker is the new Chris Carter, that cheap late offseason pickup who seems like a good fit and just never gets it going. It could happen. It’s too early to say that though. Way too early, I think.

Besides, the Yankees probably won’t cut ties with Walker until Bird returns at the earliest. Let’s be honest here, Bird has had lots of trouble staying on the field the last few years, and the Yankees aren’t really in position to give away first base depth. Perhaps Adam Lind will show enough in Extended Spring Training to warrant a longer audition, and make the Yankees feel good enough about unloading Walker. Eh. I think Walker’s roster spot is safe for the foreseeable future, like it or not.

2. Austin will have to keep hitting to stick around. Through 21 games Austin is hitting .296/.377/.611 (168 wRC+) with four home runs, which more or less matches the best case scenario for Bird coming into the season. Bird got hurt, Austin took his spot, and he’s taking advantage of the opportunity. Good for him. It was hard to see where he fit in the organization before these first few weeks.

Austin’s performance has been very good but the underlying skills are unchanged. He’s a first base only guy and his defense isn’t very good at all. Furthermore, he’s a right-handed batter with a history of struggling against right-handed pitchers, and a defensively limited righty platoon bat isn’t exactly a hot commodity. Austin has hit righties very good so far this season, but:

Austin vs. RHP: 9-for-34 (.264) with three homers
Austin vs. non-Marco Estrada RHP: 6-for-29 (.216) with no homers and 46.9% strikeouts

Austin had the two-homer game against Estrada in the opening series and he took him deep this past weekend too and hey, those games and those homers count. They helped the Yankees win. (The Yankees actually lost both Estrada games, but not because of Austin.) The point is Austin’s early season numbers against righties are skewed. Estrada is a finesse guy who doesn’t crack 90 mph often. Righties with velocity have given Austin a hard time.

As good as Austin has been, his roster spot very well might be in jeopardy once Bird returns in a few weeks. If he slows down at all, especially while seeing more time against righties, the Yankees could go back to the original plan and stash him in Triple-A. Austin is going to have to maintain this pace to force the Yankees to keep him on the roster. A great performance in early April won’t have an impact come roster decision time in mid-to-late May.

3. The Yankees are carrying eight relievers. It seems Drury is expected back reasonably soon — again, he’s tentatively scheduled to begin a minor league rehab assignment Wednesday — and when he does return, the Yankees do not necessarily have to send down Andujar or Torres (or Torreyes). They can send down a reliever. Maybe Jonathan Holder, maybe Domingo German, maybe the recently acquired A.J. Cole. A reliever. Doesn’t matter which one.

By time Drury returns the Yankees will be approaching the end of his 18 games in 18 days stretch, and once this stretch ends, the Yankees will have four off-days in the next two and a half weeks. Carrying an extra reliever may no longer be necessary. Demote a reliever, activate Drury, and the Yankees are rolling with a seven-man bullpen and four-man bench. Crazy idea, I know. But it just might work.

Fitting Drury onto the roster won’t be a problem. Divvying up the playing time? That’s another matter. That’s something Aaron Boone and the Yankees will have to figure out. Perhaps that means moving Torres and Walker around, and maybe even Drury as well. He’s played second base and the corner outfield spots in the past. I know this much: However the playing time gets distributed, fans won’t be happy. Some who isn’t playing should be. Such is life.

4. This will all work itself out. As a wise man once said. Remember when the Yankees had too many outfielders in Spring Training, then Jace Peterson and Shane Robinson started the 9th, 10th, and 11th games of the regular season in the outfield? The infield logjam will work itself out like that. The Yankees appear to have too many bodies for two few infield spots, then, before you know it, Peterson will be starting at third base or something.

Does it look like the Yankees will have to make some tough infield decisions once Drury and Bird return? Yes, absolutely. Andujar and Austin have played well, Torres is a top prospect who deserves a long look, Bird and Drury have a chance to be really good, and Walker’s track record is tough to ignore. It might take some creativity to get everyone playing time, but having too many good players is never a problem. And besides, baseball has a way of making sure too much of anything never lasts.