The New York Yankees are coming off a 2-5 road stand. Not where the Yankees wanted to be with 25% of the season played. They started out very hot, losing only one of their first eight games. But since then their fortunes have changed. They have had too many pitchers not pitching to their abilities, and now they have lost Tommy Kahnle for the season (Tommy John surgery) and Giancarlo Stanton to a grade one hamstring injury.
Tonight they will start a two-game homestand against the lively 11-7 Atlanta Braves. Although the Braves don’t have the best record off the Yankees, their young team is on the upswing while the New York Yankees have been sliding. The Yankees will be looking for Jordan Montgomery to right the ship.
The Yankees starting pitching has been a problem to begin the short season. James Paxton and J.A. Happ have been unreliable. Montgomery and Tanaka have been 50/50. Paxton in the lastest outing was vastly improved from his two starts where he didn’t get past the fourth inning. It appears that the Yankees will use the opportunity of having Thursday off to skip Happ’s scheduled start and move on to Gerrit Cole to open the Red Sox series.
Even Gerrit Cole hasn’t been pitching to his normal dominance. He hasn’t lost any of his games but has struggled at times and seemed frustrated with the outcome of some of his pitches and the calls that he received. The Yankees aren’t worried about Cole because he usually gets better as the season progresses.
That leaves Tanaka, Paxton, and Montgomery who together are 3-4 in seven games started. Unless there is a vast improvement with these three, the Yankees are in big trouble. Gerrit Cole can’t carry the team alone. If they get to the postseason they may, as unlikely as it seems, enlist the services of last year’s best pitcher Domingo German who will be off suspension by then.
Also, if any of the aforementioned don’t improve, the Yankees may be active prior to the August 31 trade deadline to bring in another quality arm.
Injuries and replacements
After a 2017 MVP season-like torrid start for Giancarlo Stanton, he pulled a hamstring running on the cardboard-like base paths at the Tropicana Field. The diagnosis was a grade one hamstring injury. That type of injury can take anywhere from two weeks to eight weeks to heal. The loss of Stanton in the rotation is huge. They started the season for the first time with both Aaron Judge and Stanton in the lineup. The two combined for eleven runs with both near the .300 batting average mark.
It appears since the loss of Tommy Kahnle the Yankees have been taking advantage of Ben Heller’s presence to fill in before Adam Ottavino comes into a game.
The Yankees originally brought up Thairo Estrada to replace Stanton, but yesterday on the off-day they sent him back down to Scranton. All news sources indicate that today, before the game they will have Clint Frazier at the Stadium. Frazier although not the best outfielder, may find himself in the lineup tonight as the DH. Frazier’s quick bat will be an enhancement in an already powerful lineup. Last year in 69 games he hit 12 home runs and had a batting average of .267. This may just be his last chance at Yankee Stardom.
In other New York Yankee news, Aroldis Chapman may be back closing games for the Yankees this week, after recovering from the coronavirus. In his absence reliever, Zack Britton has done a fine job saving all five of his save opportunities. However, he did lose the last game of the Rays series in a non-save opportunity.