News:
Most of the time, roster crunches work themselves out.
In 2024, that might not be the case for the Yankees. The first move was easy, as Oswald Peraza was demoted to make room for Jazz Chisholm Jr. However, it won’t get easier from here.
Utilityman Jon Berti is about to begin a rehab stint, as is 1B Anthony Rizzo. Rizzo can replace Ben Rice, who has options and hasn’t hit much lately. Berti? Good luck with this one. From a management standpoint, the Yankees can do the easy thing: Demote Oswaldo Cabrera and keep everyone else. Berti would, in theory, be taking most of Cabrera’s playing time and the Yankees can justify it by saying DJ LeMahieu is their only viable defensive first baseman after Rizzo. Berti has never played the position and Cabrera has 28.1 innings there.
Is that what I would do? No.
Beyond that, OF Jasson Dominguez is finding his groove. While we have to factor in a potential adjustment period, it is hard to argue that Alex Verdugo is a better option.
As messy as that is, the pitching staff could be messier. Scott Effross, Nick Burdi, Lou Trivino, Clarke Schmidt, Ian Hamilton, and Cody Poteet are potential MLB options, and Luis Gil will come off the injured list at some point. Schmidt will be promoted as soon as he is ready. The others? They will be in a logjam. The Yankees can demote Will Warren (when Schmidt is ready) and DFA Tim Mayza. Unlike Effross and Hamilton, Trivino is out of options. Once his rehab is over, a roster move must be made. It’s a situation where the Yankees bullpen hasn’t been top-notch, but some of their scrap heap pickups (Tim Hill, Michael Tonkin) have pitched well enough to keep their jobs. Jake Cousins is pitching too well (and missing bats) to send down.
My not-so-educated guess? They will demote Warren for Schmidt and DFA Mayza for Trivino. Effross, Burdi, Hamilton, and Poteet may have to “wait their turn”. Hamilton has yet to start his rehab stint, so we don’t know what to expect. Keeping Poteet stretched out in Scranton would be prudent. Effross’ rehab ended a while ago. The Yankees aren’t convinced he is ready to contribute, but he is pitching well lately. They have the ability, through options, to keep Gil down in Scranton beyond his IL stint. They can use it as a reset and give him a few innings there to ensure he doesn’t go cold.
Yes, one position player and pitcher will be promoted on September 1st. That helps but doesn’t completely relieve the jam.
Scranton (69-52) (Lost to St. Paul, 8-7)
3B Caleb Durbin: 1-for-4, 2 RS, BB
The pesky Durbin is 15-for-55 (.273) in August with more walks (13) than strikeouts (8).
DH Jasson Dominguez: 2-for-5, RS, SB (10), CS (1)
Dominguez’s two singles were hit at 108.3 and 108.2 MPH and he has four multi-hit efforts in his last 7 games. By the way, Dominguez is now 97-for-116 (83.6%) stealing bases in his minor league career. I have written a lot about his stats since his latest comeback without mentioning his overall season for Scranton: He is hitting .304 with a .786 OPS in 125 PA.
2B Jorbit Vivas: 2-for-4, RBI, RS, BB
1B T.J. Rumfield: 3-for-4, 2 2B (24), RBI, 2 RS, BB
Rumfield has six doubles in his last 10 games.
CF Taylor Trammell: 1-for-5, 3B (1), 3 RBI, RS
Trammell has 20 RBI in 18 August games.
C J.C. Escarra: 2-for-5, 2B (9), RBI, K
Escarra has a 7-game hitting streak (10-for-27 with four doubles)
LF Jahmai Jones: 2-for-5, 2B (3), RBI, 2 K
RF Greg Allen: 0-for-2, HBP, 2 BB
SS Kevin Smith: 1-for-5, 3 K
LHP Edgar Barclay: 5 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 3 HR
RHP Ron Marinaccio: (L, 1-3) 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
RHP Scott Effross: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Last 6 games: 8.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 K
Somerset (59-56) (Lost to Portland, 3-1. They are now 4.5 games out. Before this series started, I said the Patriots needed to take 5 out of 6 to make the race interesting. So far, they are 2-1. 4 out of 6 would be acceptable, but the calendar is starting to run out (22 games left))
CF Spencer Jones: 0-for-4, 3 K
.248/.329/.419 in 453 PA (20 doubles, 3 triples, 14 HR, 63 RBI, 59 R, 21-for-29 SB, 10.4% BB, 37.1% K).
C Rafael Flores: 0-for-4, 2 K
1B Tyler Hardman: 1-for-4, SB (9), K
RF Grant Richardson: 0-for-4, 2 K
CF Cole Gabrielson: 1-for-3, RS, BB, 2 K
2B Anthony Seigler: 2-for-4, 2 2B (20), SB (21)
.217/.328/.395 in 349 PA (20 doubles, 11 HR, 39 RBI, 47 R, 21-for-24 SB, 13.8% BB, 18.1% K; .240 BABIP). Moving Seigler to 2B is doing the job to keep him healthy, at least. He is four games away from his first 100-game campaign.
LF Jared Wegner: 0-for-4, 3 K
SS Alexander Vargas: 2-for-3, 2B (5), SB (7), HBP
Vargas is 17-for-58 (.293/.359/.500; 2 doubles, 2 triples, 2 HR) in August. Entering tonight, he was hitting .301/.347/.504 (138 wRC+) in 121 PA since June 7th (yes, he missed time due to injury)
3B Max Burt: 0-for-3, 3 K
RHP Zach Messinger: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
Messinger had to push himself through 90 pitches tonight. Season: 3.40 ERA (132.1 IP, 107 H, 67 R, 50 ER, 8 HR, 44 BB, 123 K). In his last 6 starts: 1.98 ERA (36.1 IP, 27 H, 10 R, 8 ER, 1 HR, 13 BB, 23 K). No, it isn’t lost on me that his hot stretch comes with a reduced K%.
RHP Leonardo Pestana: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K
RHP Danny Watson: (L, 1-5) 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, HR
RHP Eric Reyzelman: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Since promotion: 2.87 ERA (15.2 IP, 12 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 HR, 9 BB, 24 K)
Hudson Valley (62-54) (Swept a doubleheader against Wilmington)
Game 1 (Won, 7-6)
CF Brendan Jones: 1-for-4, SB (4), K
SS George Lombard Jr.: 1-for-4, RS, K
1B Josh Moylan: 1-for-3, RS, BB
LF Garrett Martin: 2-for-3, HR (10), 3 RBI, RS, BB, K
This was the appetizer (scroll down to Game 2 for more)…
RF Coby Morales: 1-for-4, 2 RS, SB (3)
DH Dylan Jasso: 2-for-3, 2B (5), RBI, RS
3B Kiko Romero: 0-for-2, BB, K
C Edison Vivas: 2-for-3, 3 RBI, K
With Omar Martinez on the IL, Hudson Valley needed another catcher. Enter the 18-year-old Vivas, who entered this game with 27 games of professional experience (26 in the DSL, 1 in the FCL). He hit .217/.333/.253 with no homers and 8 RBI in those games. So, naturally, he is promoted to High-A and has a solid debut. I have zero information on him. His signing bonus isn’t listed, so they signed him for a small number. Additionally, I searched my website for his name and this is the first time I have typed it. In other words, I won’t pretend to know who he is.
2B Brenny Escanio: 0-for-2, BB, K
RHP Brian Hendry: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
If you forgot about the 24-year-old, it is understandable. This was his first appearance since April 25th. He hasn’t allowed an earned run in his professional career (12 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 7 BB, 17 K). He was the Yankees’ 10th-round pick in the 2023 draft out of Oklahoma State.
RHP Sebastian Keane: 1.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, HR
RHP Matt Keating (W, 4-3): 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K
RHP Blane Abeyta: 2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Game 2 (Won, 6-0. Three pitchers combined on a 7-inning no-hitter)
2B Roc Riggio: 0-for-2, RS, SB (24), BB, 2 K
Riggio didn’t finish the game last night and missed Game 1 today. However, he was back out there in Game 2.
LF Brandon Jones: 0-for-2, RS, SB (5), BB
With Tampa/Hudson Valley: 12-for-38 (.316/.544/.553; 3 doubles, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 11 R, 10-for-10 SB, 19 BB, 11 K). This is how you make an early impression.
3B Josh Moylan: 0-for-3
CF Garrett Martin: 2-for-3, 2 HR (12), 4 RBI, 2 RS
Martin has a 3-HR, 7 RBI day. It pushes his season to .210/.310/.436 in 289 PA (13 doubles, 3 triples, 12 HR, 41 RBI, 45 R, 13-for-15 SB, 9.7% BB, 28.0% K).
1B Dylan Jasso: 1-for-3, RS, 2 K
DH Coby Morales: 2-for-3, 2B (1), RS, CS (1)
Morales is 6-for-14 since his promotion and is hitting .256/.362/.326 in 398 PA overall (10 doubles, 1 triple, 4 HR, 50 RBI, 56 R, 34-for-42 SB (80.95%), 12.6% BB, 28.9% K). He is 22 years old, so there is room for growth. He spends time at 1B/LF/RF.
C Antonio Gomez: 1-for-3, RBI, K
Gomez has a 7-game hitting streak (8-for-23) and a 17-game on-base streak (21-for-56 (.375); 8 doubles, 1 triple, 2 HR, 6 BB)
RF Anthony Hall: 0-for-2, K
SS Brenny Escanio: 0-for-2
RHP Trent Sellers: 4.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K
At this level: 2.28 ERA (75 IP, 39 H, 27 R, 19 ER, 3 HR, 34 BB, 88 K). As a starter: 0.69 ERA (26 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 29 K). The walk rate has fallen considerably as a starter.
RHP Mason Vinyard: (W, 6-2) 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
3.07 ERA (41 IP, 29 H, 20 R, 14 ER, 2 HR, 21 BB, 55 K). I told you to pay attention to Cole Ayers last night because, amongst a group of potential Somerset call-ups, the Yankees chose him. That is nothing against Vinyard, Keating, or whoever you think of.
RHP Thomas Balboni Jr.: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
If you are going to finish off a no-hitter, you may as well do so in style. With Enyel De Los Santos‘ stint being among the quickest in history, Balboni is left carrying the torch for the deadline deal with the Padres (for Brandon Lockridge).
Tampa (48-66)
Their game against Ft. Myers was canceled due to inclement weather. It won’t be made up.
FCL (35-22)
Their season is over.
DSL Yankees (17-36)
Their season is over.
DSL Bombers (30-25)
Their season is over. The Bombers had a good season but it wasn’t enough to make the playoffs.