They need someone to pitch in
GARY Sanchez remains at the top of the list of Yankees’ middle-of-the-order underachievers, having gone 0-fer during the Subway Series this weekend, hitless in 11 at-bats. Sanchez is currently in the midst of a 4-for53 slump over the last 15 games, recording just one extra-base hit over that time. He’s slashing a lousy .190/.291/.430 on the season.
Alex Rodriguez, a special adviser to Brian Cashman who doubles as a baseball analyst on TV, had this to say about Sanchez attempting to turn it around during his second at-bat on Sunday Night Baseball: “When he’s locked in, when he’s focused, when he’s in great shape, he is still the New York Yankees’ best hitter.”
The 25-year-old catcher, who has faced criticisms for his concentration and conditioning in the past, did get unlucky in the ninth inning, lining a ball right to Todd Frazier at third for what became a game-ending, 5-3 double play. But Sanchez making quality contact has been a rarity during his most recent slump.
Like Aaron Boone said recently, Sanchez has been popping up pitches he usually drives, which seems concerning — just not to the glass-half-full manager, whose unwavering confidence in struggling players has been rewarded before, Dellin Betances being the best example of that.
Still, Sanchez has been off his game since his calf cramped up on May 22 in Texas. Boone has maintained Sanchez is healthy, yet the catcher hit .288/.394/.676 with 21 extra-base hits in 31 games prior to the injury, making you wonder what’s up.
Have pitchers figured him out after all his dominance the previous two years, and even this year after a 2-for-36 start? Is he not right physically? Or is this just a downswing in a long season?
Whatever the case, an even bigger problem for Sanchez on Sunday, as ARod pointed out, was his inability to get on the same page with Luis Severino, who’d just looked flat-out dominant in his previous two outings with backup Austin Romine behind the plate. At one point, Severino put his hand up because he didn’t want Sanchez coming out for a mound visit.
Sanchez has nine passed balls and has thrown out only four of 19 basestealers this season (17%).
So maybe it makes sense for Boone to either move Sanchez to the sixth or seventh spot in the lineup or give Sanchez a similar benching/mental break that Boone gave Didi Gregorius to try to change the tide. Gregorius himself — the AL Player of the Month for April — has batted just .232/.274/.290 with two extra-base hits in 17 games since getting the weekend off in Kansas City May 22-23.
And Greg Bird, coming off right ankle surgery, has been slow out of the gate — posting a .191/.255/.426 line with five extra-base hits in his first 12 games — granted he had a similar return from injury last season before picking it up. Giancarlo Stanton too has yet to go on a hot streak.
Still, the Yankees woke up to a rare off-day Monday sporting the best record in the majors. Rookies Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres have dazzled, and 23-year-old Jonathan Loaisiga may get his shot to do the same on Friday in place of the injured Masahiro Tanaka. It makes Sanchez’s woes easier to deal with — even if A-Rod is already wondering what the future holds for him with Stanton possibly clogging up the DH spot for years to come. The Bombers, of course, selected catchers in the first two rounds of the 2018 MLB Draft. “Well, that’s the conundrum right that the Yankees are in,” A-Rod said. “So you have another nine years left on Stanton — who is a great player today — but it basically locks the Yankees up from that DH spot. So at some point what do you do with Gary Sanchez? What do you do with Greg Bird? You almost have too many players for the position available. So not a problem for today but definitely a problem to look into the next three-four years.” A good problem to have, regardless of Sanchez’s current slide. MEL Stottlemyre is the gold standard as far as Yankees’ mid-season starting pitching call-ups are concerned. In 1964, Stottlemyre went 9-3 after being promoted from Triple-A Richmond, helping the Bombers capture their fifth straight AL pennant before going toe-to-toe with Bob Gibson and the Cardinals in the World Series.
Now, with their already shaky staring rotation dealing with injuries to both Jordan Montgomery (Tommy John surgery) and Masahiro Tanaka (hamstrings), the Bombers have dipped into their farm system in hopes that someone will step up.
Maybe not at Stottlemyre’s level necessarily, but when you’re fighting with the Red Sox to avoid the do-or-die AL wild-card game, you need production every day. Plus, the trade market may not yield the difference-maker they covet behind Luis Severino, so a young guy or two with potential may have to do.
The Yankees already have Domingo German in their rotation. And while he hasn't been able to replicate his sensational starting debut on May 6, the 25-year-old righty has been able to keep the team in games despite making some early mistakes. In his last three starts, German has averaged about six innings.
Then there’s Jonathan Loaisiga, a 23-year-old righty on the 40-man roster who has been pitching at Double-A Trenton and is a strong candidate to make a start for the Bombers on Friday in place of Tanaka, who is expected to miss several weeks.
According to VP of baseball operations Tim Naehring, Loaisiga throws a mid-90s fastball, a power curveball and a changeup. Injuries derailed his career in 2014-15 with the Giants and he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2016 — shortly after the Bombers signed him out of a tryout camp — before pitching 32.2 innings at the lower levels of the Yankees’ system in 2017. This season, Loaisiga opened in A ball before being promoted to Double-A. Overall, he is 6-1 with four walks and 58 strikeouts in 10 minor-league starts.
“He’s an interesting guy because he’s shown the ability to throw strikes and obviously he’s on the 40-man roster, so his name will obviously continue to be discussed,” Naehring said. “It’s a tribute to him coming back from the injury.”
Justus Sheffield, the top pitching prospect in the system, is the most intriguing candidate who could make an impact down the road. The 22-year-old lefty just posted his best start of the season on June 8, throwing six innings of one-hit, eight-strikeout ball for Triple-A Scranton.
Sheffield has struck out 66 in 55.1 innings over 11 minor-league starts in 2018, but he’s also walked 29 in that span. Regardless, scouts believe he has the stuff to be able to pitch in the majors this season if he can harness his fastball command.
“He’s put himself in a good position to be considered and again I would hope that the path that he’s on he’ll continue to improve and at some point be an option for the major-league club — whether that’s in a week or whether that’s in a year,” Naehring said.
ON DECK YANKS
(3-1, 3.59) vs. (3-6, 3.56) (4-4, 4.81) vs.