Yanks Release Soriano, Clear A Roster Spot

While the eyes of the baseball world were on the Home Run Derby last night, the Yankees were conducting a bit of roster business in preparation for the second half of the season.  Alfonso Soriano was released outright after being designated for assignment on July 6th.  To no one's amazement, nobody wanted to trade for a washed up outfielder with no bat speed.  They also sent Bryan Mitchell back down to Triple-A, leaving them with 24 men on the active roster.

For Soriano, this is a sad way to end his second stint in pinstripes.  He was electric upon his initial return last year, smacking 17 HR in less than 60 games to give fans something to cheer about.  That success did not carry over to this season, as his .221/.244/.367 slash line and career-worst 29.8% K rate said more about what he had left in the tank than any of his words ever could.  I have to think this move will lead to Soriano announcing his retirement after this season.

As for the roster spot, I hope it's for another starting pitcher.  The Yanks cannot continue to let Chase Whitley work as a starter, even with Tanaka out, and that's something I'll discuss in greater detail later this morning.  They should move him back to the bullpen and replace Mitchell with a new 5th starter.

Sunday Roster Moves: McCarthy In, Nuno And Soriano Out

Germany or no Germany, I couldn't very well let the Yankees make a slew of early roster moves today without my 2 cents.  It started when they called up Bruce Billings as a fresh arm for tonight's game, it continued when they announced that they had traded Vidal Nuno to the Arizona Diamondbacks for right-hander Brandon McCarthy a few hours ago, and it got real a few minutes ago when they announced that Alfonso Soriano had been designated for assignment to open a 25-man spot for Billings.

On the McCarthy move, it's a good one.  He's an upgrade over Nuno and will help give a little more length from the back end of the makeshift rotation, although not the type of upgrade the front office was hoping to get from somebody like Jeff Samardzija or Jason Hammels.  Personally I think the value of adding McCarthy gets limited a bit by having to give up Nuno for him.  I think Nuno was a better fit as a multi-use lefty reliever and not being able to move him into that role to help the 'pen is a bummer.

As for Soriano, it was a long time coming and last night's 0-4 game with 2 more strikeouts and a dropped foul pop up was the last straw.  He was a great half-season pickup last year and looked genuinely re-energized playing back in New York, but the Father Time clock struck midnight this year and he never found his game at the plate, whether he was getting regular ABs or not.  Hopefully that roster spot gets used for somebody better than Billings down the road.  Like an actual right-handed power bat.

A Refresher Course On Zelous Wheeler, Newest Yankee Call-Up (UPDATED)

(Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

It took 5 straight losses, 9 of 11, and dropping below .500, but the Yankees finally decided to make a move to attempt to help their floundering offense.  As first reported by Donnie Collins and later confirmed and elaborated on by Chad Jennings, last night Zelous Wheeler was called up from Triple-A to join the team in Minnesota.  He will be available for, and possibly playing in, tonight's game.  No corresponding move has been announced yet, so we still don't know who's gone.  That may be something the team is still figuring out.  Because Wheeler needs a 25 and 40-man roster spot, there could be a couple of moving pieces here.

Cervelli Slated To Be Activated Today (UPDATED)

Nothing official yet.  Won't be until later today.  But all signs point towards Francisco Cervelli being activated off the DL today to rejoin the team at home for the series opener against Toronto.  When that happens, the most likely candidate to give up his roster spot for Cervelli is the current backup catcher John Ryan Murphy.

Murphy has performed admirably in his role as backup to the backup.  He hit .286/.308/.365 in 65 plate appearances, handled his defensive duties well, meshed with his pitchers, and generally seemed to take positively to his second stint in the Majors.  In my eyes, and in the eyes of many others, he did enough to warrant keeping that job for the present and the future.  That said, it couldn't hurt to get him back down to Triple-A for some regular ABs.  If the team does fancy him a bigger part of their future than Cervelli, they need to get Cervelli back into games to build up some trade value for him.  In that sense, this move works for all parties involved and is a positive side effect of having the kind of catching depth the Yanks do.

So welcome back, Frankie.  Try not to sprain, strain, tear, or break anything on your way around the clubhouse today.

** UPDATE 3:19 PM- It's official, according to Mark Feinsand.  Frankie up, John Ryan down. **

Let The Roster Shakeup Commence! Yanks Make 2 Bullpen Moves

Well that's one way to make a statement about the recent poor play from the front office.  The Yankees announced 2 25-man roster moves in preparation for tonight's game.  Alfredo Aceves has been designated for assignment and replaced by lefty Wade LeBlanc, who was claimed off waivers yesterday.  Also removed from the Major League bullpen was Preston Claiborne, who was optioned down to Triple-A SWB while Jose Ramirez was called up.

The writing was on the wall for Aceves after the LeBlanc claim went through.  He had pitched terribly ever since his scoreless 5-inning first appearance and there was really no use for him anymore.  The Claiborne move comes as a bit more of a surprise.  It's not undeserved on his part.  He had given up 4 ER and 4 BB in his last 5 appearances.  But Ramirez has only recently come off the MiL DL and only has 7 relief appearances under his belt for the RailRiders.

Both good moves for the Yankees.  They remove 2 guys who had given up 21 ER in 37 IP and replace them with a versatile left-hander who can be LOOGY insurance for Thornton and a high-ceiling power arm who's been striking out over a batter per inning in Triple-A.  The fun part will be seeing if these are the only roster shakeup moves made.

Tuesday Evening News And Notes

A couple of notes before tonight's game:

- The Yankees called up Scott Sizemore from Triple-A and put him in the starting lineup for tonight, when they play the first of 4 games in the next 7 against left-handed pitchers.  Zoilo Almonte was sent back down to clear a 25-man spot.

- The Yanks also claimed lefty reliever Wade LeBlanc off waivers from the Angels.  He's been working as a long man/spot starter, but could be used as extra insurance for Matt Thornton.

- In a corresponding 40-man roster move, Michael Pineda was transferred to the 60-day DL to open up a spot for LeBlanc.

- Masahiro Tanaka was named the AL Pitcher of the Month for May.  Now I don't have to feel bad for picking him over Betances in the AB4AR monthly awards.

Robertson Activated From The DL

Yankees announce RHP David Robertson activated from disabled list, LHP Cesar Cabral outrighted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) April 22, 2014

With every death, there is rebirth.  With every season-ending UCL tear, there is a reliever returning from a short DL stint with a groin strain.  I honestly don't know if there's any truth to that statement, I haven't checked the numbers.  But the important thing is that the Yankee bullpen, which needs to step up in light of Nova going down, will get its most important piece back tonight.  David Robertson has recovered from his groin strain and has been activated off the 15-day.

Bryan Mitchell was sent back down to Double-A Trenton yesterday to clear a 25-man spot, so no roster move needs to be made today.  Matt Daley and Cesar Cabral were both DFA'd in the days prior as the bullpen got shuffled around, and both have reportedly cleared waivers to return to Triple-A.

Remodeled Bullpen Coming Soon

They haven't been bad often, but when they have the Yankee bullpen has been really bad this season.  The prime example of that is Cesar Cabral, who gave up 3 runs on 3 hits and 3 hit batsmen last night without recording an out.  That was enough of a nothing in his all-or-nothing performance trend to earn him a demotion, which came by way of DFA after the game.  Matt Daley was called up from Triple-A to take his place and could see action as early as tonight.

Because of the rainout earlier in the week, the Yankees will need a 6th starter for tomorrow's game.  All indications are that Vidal Nuno will get that start and when he does it will likely be his last appearance for the Major League club for a while.  David Robertson is scheduled to pitch in an ExST game today and if he does so without any problems, he'll likely be activated off the DL on Tuesday.  With Nuno needing a few days off after making a start, he's a shoo-in to get sent down to Triple-A to clear a 25-man spot for D-Rob.

Report: Yanks Now Planning To Call Up Murphy And Sizemore (UPDATED)

Hey, so you know that post I wrote earlier this morning about what it meant for the Yankees to call up John Ryan Murphy and Russ Canzler?  Yeah forget all that.  Via Sweeny Murti and confirmed by Dan Barbarisi, the plan has changed to replace Canzler with Scott Sizemore.

Sizemore is hitting .344/.436/.500 in 39 Triple-A PA with 4 XBH, 5 RBI, and 16 Ks.  He's played 5 games at third base for the RailRiders, 2 at second, and been the DH for 3.  Originally expected by some (read: me) to be the Opening Day utility infielder, Sizemore ended up falling out of the competition due to some lingering leg stiffness and lack of ST reps.  He has an opt-out clause in his MiL deal that kicks in on May 1st, so it does make sense for the Yankees to see what they've got in him before then.

Not sure how this will change Joe's plans for the infield for the rest of the week.  I have to assume Kelly Johnson stays at first base now, Sizemore and Solarte will play second and third, and Jeter and Anna will handle short.  Murphy would have given them some more third base insurance, so I kinda would have preferred Canzler, but whatever.  It's hard to pick nits when we're talking about Quad-A guys.

** UPDATE 11:52 AM- Confirmed by the team.  Murphy and Sizemore up, Cervelli to the 60-day DL. **

Teix To The DL, Romine Called Up

#Yankees place 1B Mark Teixeira on 15-day DL with right hamstring strain; recall C Austin Romine from Triple-A @swbrailriders.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 5, 2014

The beat guys have all the details, but the team made it official a few hours ago.  Teix has been put on the 15-day DL and Austin Romine has been called up.  It sounds like the team is going to go with the exact plan I described earlier this morning.  Johnson will be the primary first base man, Cervelli will work in some when the matchups are favorable, and Romine will get some time behind the plate.

Early indications are that Teix's hamstring strain isn't that bad and the team is hopeful he can return right after the 15 days are up.  That would be the best possible outcome, as long as he's fully recovered.

Yanks DFA Nunez To Clear A Roster Spot For Solarte

(So long, Scissorhands.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

In retrospect, I think we should have all seen this coming.  As first reported by Mark Feinsand, the Yankees have designated Eduardo Nunez for assignment in order to open up a spot on the 40-man roster for Yangervis Solarte.  It started late last week when Solarte was announced as Joe's pick for the final bench spot, it continued earlier today when Solarte was given Nunez's number 26, and it concludes with this roster move.

The move comes as a bit of a surprise based solely on Nunez's tenure with the team.  As recently as a week ago he looked like the odds-on favorite to win the final roster spot, but I guess his ST performance that was right in line with the consistently below-average production he's had his whole Major League career was the final straw.  The bottom line is the guy didn't hit and didn't field.  You have to be able to do one or the other to stick and the Yankees gave him plenty of chances to prove that he could.  We'll see where Nunez goes now, but this move has to all but signal an end to his Yankee career.

Vernon Wells DFA'd (UPDATED)

Sounds like Wells was removed from roster. RT @VernonWells10: Thank you @Yankees for opportunity to be a part of such a storied franchise.
— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughSL) January 10, 2014

My initial reaction?



Just need somebody to confirm it to really kick off the celebration...

** UPDATE 12:37 PM- Barbarisi is tweeting it as fact and that's good enough for me.  Cue the celebration!

Non-Tender Deadline Wrap-Up

So a lot of stuff happened yesterday afternoon and last night that I didn't get to.  If you were busy like I was, here's what you missed.

- The Yankees non-tendered Jayson Nix, Matt Daley, and David Adams to free up 3 more spots on the 40-man roster.  I bet they'll try to re-sign all of them to MiL deals, but Adams is the only one I'd care about getting back.

- They did sign Russ Canzler to a MiL deal, giving him a second go-round after cutting him in February.  I did a piece on Canzler way back when they first signed him in January and he still profiles as that same type of player.  Has always hit lefties in the Minors and can play some corner IF/OF.

- Brendan Ryan's new deal was formally announced by the team.  Via Joel Sherman, the deal is actually worth $2 million this year and next year with a team option for 2016.  If the Yankees decline, it becomes a $1 million player option, bringing the AAV of the deal to $1.67 mil.  Every little bit helps.

Quick Hit: Chris Stewart Traded

Well I guess that interest in Chris Stewart that was reported over the weekend turned out to be true after all.  As first reported by Buster Olney, the Yankees agreed to trade Stewart to the Pirates earlier this morning.  Jon Heyman confirmed the details of the trade, which will include a player to be named later coming back to the Yankees, and the team has already issued a press release formally announcing the trade.

This move was a pretty obvious one given the current 40-man depth the Yankees have at catcher.  The writing was on the wall for Stewart the minute the team signed Brian McCann.  If the Yanks didn't move him in a trade today he would have been non-tendered.  The PTBNL most likely won't even be a fringe prospect, the real goal here from New York's side was to open up another spot on the 40-man.  That's what was done and kudos to the Yankees for at least getting something back for Stewart.

First Round Of September Call-Ups Have Been Made

As expected, the Yankees made a batch of call ups today as part of September roster expansions.  Dellin Betances, David Adams, Brett Marshall, J.R. Murphy and Cesar Cabral were the 5 announced for today, with Preston Claiborne likely to join in the next day or so.

Betances, Adams, and Marshall don't come as surprises, with all 3 having spent some amount of time on the Major League roster earlier this season and all 3 being on the 40-man roster.  Murphy was a bit more surprising given that he started the year in Double-A and doesn't figure to see much playing time, and Cabral might be the biggest surprise of all.  He missed all of last season with a broken elbow and had worked his way back to Triple-A this year.  As I mentioned on Thursday, he's looking to audition for that LOOGY job in 2014.

Jayson Nix was moved to the 60-day DL to clear a spot for Murphy and in an extension of his bad luck, Melky Mesa was designated for assignment to clear a spot for Cabral.  Mesa would have joined this group today had he not injured his hamstring earlier in the week.  How's that for salt in the wound?

Jeter To Return Today, Claiborne Inexplicably Will Be Sent Down Again

The good news: Derek Jeter is scheduled to make his return to the lineup tonight in Toronto.  He went 1-3 with a single and an error in 7 innings at shortstop on Saturday, completing a 3-game rehab turn that saw him come through with no physical issues.  He still hasn't played a full game at short, and hasn't played more than a few consecutive games, but the Yankees can't afford to wait as long as they probably wanted to with Jayson Nix now on the DL and the team playing without a backup infielder.  Jeter's return allows the Yanks to move Eduardo Nunez back to the bench and back to that utility role for the time being.

The bad news: Preston Claiborne is once again the 25-man roster casualty needed to clear a spot for Jeter.  Despite 3 scoreless appearances in 4.2 IP since coming back up, and despite Joba Chamberlain continuing to be the most unreliable reliever in the 'pen, the decision has been made to send Claiborne back down.  It's a bizarro world call for sure.  There's no value in keeping Joba on the roster anymore, not at the expense of better pitchers.  But whatever, at least The Captain will be back on the field.

Who's Next On The Active Roster Merry-Go-Round?

The Yanks will return to the diamond tonight after their last off-day before the All Star Break.  The expectation is that they will send Ivan Nova back down to Triple-A after his Sunday spot start and recall somebody from the Minors.  As much as a 13-man pitching staff might help against the Rangers and Orioles, a 3-man bench of Austin Romine, Alberto Gonzalez, and Vernon Wells is not an ideal scenario and Nova won't be able to pitch for at least a couple days.  Adding a position player is the right move to make here.  The question is who.

The players who would be ideal call-up options are either hurt (CoJo, Mustelier, Boesch) or ineligible (Neal), and the only other guy on the 40-man roster who could be called up is Ramon Flores.  The Yankees aren't going to make that jump, nor are they going to make a rush move and call up somebody like J.R. Murphy, so what's the play here?  Smart money would be on either the newly-acquired Brent Lillibridge, who can play literally every defensive position except catcher, or lefty swinger Dan Johnson.  Johnson has some power in his bat and would be a nice option to sub for the slumping Lyle Overbay, but I bet Lillibridge's extreme defensive flexibility and right-handedness gets him the nod.

We've already seen the Yankees give 219 combined plate appearances to 7 guys - David Adams, Thomas Neal, Zoilo Almonte, Corban Joseph, Chris Nelson, Reid Brignac, Alberto Gonzalez - that nobody expected to see on the field this season.  In a few hours, we should see number 8.

Yanks Acquire IF Chris Nelson From Colorado

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

This story came out yesterday, but in case you missed it and AB4AR is your number one source of Yankee news, here's the deal.  The Yankees acquired utility infielder Chris Nelson from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for either cash or a PTBNL yesterday.  Nelson, 28, is a former top prospect who had been on the Yankees' radar before.  The present situation in the infield made another righty utility guy a necessity, and that's what Nelson will be brought in to be for at least the next couple weeks.

Mike Eder of IIATMS/TYA broke down Nelson's game in great detail on Monday, but the long and short of it is Nelson is an OK hitter at best (.279/.322/.416 career slash in 664 PA) and a below-average fielder at best.  As is the standard with most former Rockies, Nelson has a pretty big home/road split and defensive metrics have never rated him positively as a shortstop, second, or third baseman.  It is that positional versatility and right-handedness that made this trade happen more than anything Nelson has actually done.  With Youkilis on the DL and Nix and Nunez not doing much, the Yankees are painfully thin on the infield right now and even thinner at right-handed bench bats.  They called up Corban Joseph initially to replace Youkilis, but his lack of skill at third forced the Yanks to look elsewhere.

As far as roster moves go, Francisco Cervelli was put on the 60-day DL to open up a 40-man roster spot, and it would make sense for CoJo to get sent back down to SWB so he can continue to play every day and get ABs.  It's not a flashy move, or one that will return too many dividends.  It's simply the Yanks putting a bandage on their infield wound for the time being.

Nova Injury/Roster Move Recap

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

Just a quick update on all the moving parts that resulted from Friday night's injury madness, in case anybody missed anything.

First, Ivan Nova has been put on the 15-day DL with what the team is officially calling "right triceps inflammation."  While sounding painful and causing concern about lingering issues moving forward, this is much better news than something in the elbow, and early indications are that Nova could be ready to pitch again by the end of his 15-day stint.  Whether he gets his rotation spot back when he's ready is a topic for another day.

In his place for now will be David Phelps, who pitched the 4 innings of relief after Nova left on Friday night and is as close to being fully stretched out as he can be.  Vidal Nuno, the crafty left-hander, was called up to take Nova's spot on the 25-man roster and will serve as a sort of lefty swingman in the bullpen.  Derek Jeter was moved to the 60-day DL to free up a 40-man spot for Nuno.  Austin Romine has also officially been added to the 25-man in place of the injured Francisco Cervelli, although there's been no word from the team on when they expect him to play in place of Chris Stewart.

David Adams Release Reaction

(Photo courtesy of Jordan Megenhardt/MLB.com)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

The Irrational Fan's Take:

'"What are the Yankees doing??  Why would they get rid of Adams?  He's only 25 years old and he's coming off the best year of his career.  He hit .306/.385/.450 and he can play second base and third base.  The Yankees are going to need infield depth this season and possibly next depending on what happens with A-Rod and Cano and they just gave away one of their top young players at those positions to clear a roster spot for Vernon Wells!  That guy Brad V. from IIATMS/TYA ranked Adams 14th in his Top 30 Prospects this year, so he's gotta be good.

Not to mention the fact that Adams and Corban Joseph could have made a nice lefty/righty platoon DH on the bench if Hafner got hurt this season and then transitioned to second in 2014 if Cano doesn't get re-signed.  I don't get it.  How can they start playing Adams at third base last season and then just dump him for a player they didn't even need?  This is why the Yankees never develop any good young position players.  They never give them a real shot.  They've got a bunch of kids in the Minors who can play and now they're getting rid of them to get older.  Horrible move.  Cashman should be fired right now."

The Rational Fan's Take: