Pinstripe Problems: How to fix the Yankees (2023 Edition)

 

"Frustrated" Manager Aaron Boone

Boone recently met with Hal and Cashman and said they are all "disappointed" with how the season has gone.  Glad that Hal is finally starting to understand what he didn't about two months ago when he went on the Michael Kay show saying "I don't understand why the fans are frustrated."  The frustrations back then were only the start, as when those comments were made the Yankees were in third place with some potential positives (I.e. Nestor and Rodon coming back), which is somehow a situation almost any Yankee fan would take right now.  The Yankees are on 2-10 over the last two weeks, dropping 8 straight games with the last three being to the hated rival Red Sox.  

On top of being a very bad baseball team, the Yankees don't play a brand of baseball that is fun to watch.  There are some players worth watching, such as Gerrit Cole, Aaron Judge, Anthony Volpe, Clarke Schmidt, Mike King, and Gleyber Torres, but overall the Yankees roster is an old lineup that strikes out a ton and makes errors in the field.  The Yankees also currently have players on the 40-man roster that honestly have no business being on a Major League team with the near MLB-ready talent that the Yankees have, such as Billy McKinney, Luis Severino, and Jake Bauers.  These spots are preventing the Yankees from calling up some young prospects that would at least make the team entertaining and give fans a reason to watch every day.  Let's start with some moves the Yankees should make in the next two days, and what the roster and rotation should look like the rest of the way.  In the second edition (coming Tuesday!) we'll be looking at what moves the Yankees should make this offseason and what the ideal, realistic 26-man roster should be for opening day 2024.

The Yankees have not won a baseball game in over a week (unless you count my MLB the Show save where we're definitely winning the chip this season) and seem to find new ways to embarrass themselves.  The only silver lining in this recent stretch of bad baseball is that we've finally seen a glimpse of honesty, with IKF admitting that the other teams in the AL East are better than them and Boone admitting the Braves' lineup balance and talent is something the team should look to employ.  

The Yankees at this point aren't playing for the postseason and should take this opportunity to evaluate the prospects they have in AAA.  The Yankees should make the following moves:

• DFA Greg Allen, add Austin Wells to the 40-man and call up to the MLB
• Option Rortvert to AAA, call up Everson Pereira
• DFA Abreu, add Will Warren/Clayton Beeter to 40-man and call up
• Sevy to 60 Day IL (Phantom injury), recall Randy Vasquez to MLB
• Shut down Judge for the year, add Florial to 40-man, and call up to MLB
• DFA Jake Bauers/Billy Mckinney, call up Oswald Peraza
• Shut down Rodon, Rizzo, Nestor, and Stanton for the rest of the year

To put it frankly, Greg Allen doesn't play and Abreu, Rortvert, and Sevy have all been bad for the Yankees all year.  Obviously, they've had a couple good moments each, but for the most part, they've been a negative to this team.  Sevy going on the phantom IL gives him a chance to try to work with Matt Blake and figure out what he needs to work on to have a chance to get a contract from any team this coming offseason.  Judge, Stanton, Rizzo, Nestor, and Rodon all have injuries they should not risk provoking, as all of them will be back in 2024 for this team.  The worst thing that can happen at this point is Aaron Judge missing time in 2024 because he was playing meaningless games in September.

Austin Wells is a 24-year-old first-round pick who catches and plays the corner outfield.  With the ABS (automatic ball strike) system coming to MLB soon, catcher framing will no longer be a necessary skill. Wells would immediately be an offensive upgrade over both Higgy and Rortvert (as well as Trevino when he comes back next year) and can help bring some much-needed power into the current lineup. Wells is also a lefty and provides some much-needed lineup balance to this team, as well as can utilize the short porch in right field to terrorize opposing teams the way the Yankees have been this season.

The corresponding move to open up the starting catcher spot would be sending Rortvert to AAA, and calling up Everson Pereira, one of the top Yankee prospects who has raked in his minimal time at AAA.  Pereira is already on the 40-man roster and doesn't need a corresponding move (like Wells does) and would immediately be an upgrade over any of the players the Yankees' have trotted out into left field this year.  Pereira also is an actual left fielder, ending this gimmick the Yankees' have been trying to get away with of playing people out of position in left field (Oswaldo Cabrera, Jake Bauers,  Giancarlo Stanton, etc.). 

The Yankees can decide between Will Warren and Clayton Beeter who'd they rather give some run at the MLB level, as both have struggled since being promoted to AAA but both have the stuff to succeed at the big league level.  To make room on the 40-man roster, the Yankees should DFA Abreu, whose bullpen spot would immediately be taken by whichever of these two prospects the Yankees decide to promote.

We mentioned the reason for not DFA-ing Sevy above, as he has given a lot to this organization and deserves a chance to soak up as much knowledge and advice as he can from Matt Blake and his staff. Putting Sevy on the 60-day IL opens up his spot on the 40-man roster, which Estevan Florial can take.  Additionally, putting Sevy on the IL allows the Yankees to recall Randy Vasquez, as if there is no corresponding injury move, the Yankees would have to wait 15 days after sending him down to recall him.

Lastly, the Yankees need to call up top prospect Oswald Peraza.  He needs to get an extended run at the Major League level, as the Yankees have only given him minimal opportunities in which he's struggled to hit, but still got on base at a decent clip.  He's not lighting up AAA like he did last year but is still hitting .260 with an OPS north of .800, as well as providing above-average defense as SS and 2B, and probably 3B as well.

After making these moves, the Yankees should be giving these young pitchers an extended run in games and let them try to work their way out of jams, as well as play these position players every day to evaluate them for the 2024 season.  They can help the Yankees get an accurate idea of which positions need to be addressed this offseason, and which these prospects are ready to be filled.  After these moves, I would like to see this be the rotation the rest of the way:

1. Gerrit Cole
2. Clarke Schmidt
3. Mike King
4. Randy Vasquez
5. Jhony Brito/Will Warren/Clayton Beeter

Cole is contending for the Cy Young and has been the best pitcher in baseball this season while Clarke Schmidt has been a pleasant surprise this season and has had one bad start (against the Braves, the best team in baseball) since early May.  Randy Vasquez has pitched well and should have the opportunity to compete for a starting spot next year by pitching every fifth day in the MLB.  Mike King, an extremely valuable fireman, has three plus pitches and came up the system as a starter.  With his stuff and control, Mike King could definitely be a number 2 starter one day and needs to be stretched out and learn how to attack hitters who will see him multiple times in the same game.  The last spot should be up for grabs between Jhony Brito, and whoever is called up between Warren/Beeter.  Brito has had some solid starts and some really bad starts, so if the Yankees believe he would be better served as a follower/long reliever and see what Warren/Beeter can do with the opportunity I would understand. 

The lineup I would like to see more or less every day for the rest of the season would be the following:

1. Anthony Volpe, SS
2. Oswald Peraza, 3B
3. Austin Wells, C (DH when not catching)
4. Gleyber Torres, 2B
5. Everson Periera, LF
6. Estevan Florial, CF/RF
7. IKF, DH
8. DJLM, 1B
9. Harrison Bader, RF/CF

When Austin Wells doesn't catch, Higgy would hit 9th sliding DJLM and Bader up in the order one spot each.  The lineup is still very righty-heavy, but having all the young players at the top of the lineup gives them as many ABs as possible to help their development and evaluate them as players.  Ideally, Florial mostly plays in CF but Bader is too good at CF to be forced to play a corner outfield spot full time, and Florial has the arm to play RF as well.  There will be growing pains with this team but at least they can work through the growing pains in these meaningless games and be ready to compete in the 2024 season.

Overall, the 2023 season was a massive disappointment but there is still time for the Yankees to get something positive out of this season.  They need to admit they were wrong about the Albert Abreu's and Jake Bauers on this team and inject some youth and excitement. This does that while also giving the front office an opportunity to see who looks like they're ready to stay at the MLB level and who could benefit from a little bit more time in AAA.