Pinstripe Alley Dec 6, 2019
Yankees mailbag: Gerrit Cole, Winter Meetings predictions, Gio Urshela
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports The answers to this week’s mailbag are in. Hi, everyone, and happy Friday! We have a solid mailbag for you this week: six questions and answers. I’m taking next week off because of Winter Meetings coverage, but keep the submissions coming. You can always send them to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com. Wombat21 asks: There has been a lot of advocating for both, but is it more important to bring back departing free agents (Dellin Betances, Didi Gregorius, Austin Romine, Brett Gardner) or to get the big fish in Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strasburg? Let...
Pinstripe Alley Dec 3, 2019
Could the Yankees turn Miguel Andujar into an outfielder?
Photo by Jim McIsaac/ Putting one of the possible answers to the third base question to the test Few things drive debate in Yankee discourse like what to do with Miguel Andujar. A lost season on the heels of a Rookie of the Year finalist year in 2018 puts pretty big error bars around his 2020 projections. Furthermore, the emergence of Gio Urshela as an equally good hitter and better defender casts some doubt on whether Andujar has a position to play on next year’s Yankees. One of the solutions to this logjam could be setting Andujar in the outfield. There’s certainly a spot for...
Pinstripe Alley Nov 23, 2019
The juiced ball casts doubt on how the Yankees will perform in 2020
Photo by Tim Warner/ Career years from a number of players could be tough to repeat with a normalized baseball The two players we’re probably going to remember the most from the 2019 New York Yankees will be DJ LeMahieu and Gio Urshela. The former was a bona fide star in his first season in the Bronx, getting MVP votes and the only A+ in our own season review report cards, while Urshela was a delight in a career year of his own. We’re all expecting big things out of them in 2020. Brett Gardner and Gleyber Torres were also pleasant surprises, in one particular area. They both hit for...
Pinstripe Alley Nov 23, 2019
Yankees 2019 Roster Report Card: Gio Urshela
Photo by Alex Trautwig/MLB Photos via Urshela burst onto the scene and became one of the Yankees’ best stories in 2019. When the Yankees traded for Gio Urshela in the summer of 2018, it barely made a ripple. Acquired as minor-league depth, Urshela never played for the Yankees that season, but re-signed with the organization on a minor-league deal after a productive two months at Scranton. Not a part of the 40-man roster and a primary third baseman who had a Rookie of the Year finalist ahead of him on the depth chart, it looked like Urshela would just be the fail safe in case of...
New York Daily News Nov 20, 2019
What’s Miguel Andujar’s future with the Yankees look like?
Everyone is wondering where Miguel Andujar will play next season. After suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in March, the 2018 American League Rookie of the Year runner up was all but forgotten this season when Gio Urshela proved to be a tremendous third baseman. With Yankees GM Brian Cashman...
Pinstripe Alley Nov 19, 2019
How the Yankees’ infield defense could change in 2020
Photo by Elsa/ The Yankees’ defensive alignment might be optimized if they let Didi Gregorius go. The Yankees’ infield defense in 2019 was one of the team’s unexpected strong suits. Gleyber Torres continued to take steps forward, Gio Urshela announced his presence, and DJ LeMahieu became the super-utility man that the Yankees’ infield desperately needed for years. That’s without even mentioning the contributions of Didi Gregorius, the team’s sure-handed shortstop, who contributed when healthy. However, the team’s infield defense was almost a little bit better without...
Pinstripe Alley Nov 19, 2019
Which teams are most likely to trade for Miguel Andujar?
Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports These four teams are among the most likely to swing a trade for the Yankees’ young third baseman. At last week’s MLB general managers meetings, Yankees GM Brian Cashman made it clear that Miguel Andujar was a popular topic of conversation. Gio Urshela established himself as a solid starting option at third base in Andujar’s absence last season, and now other teams have come calling about 2018’s Rookie of the Year runner-up. ”I’m definitely getting a lot of interest in Miguel Andujar while I’m sitting down here,” Cashman told Michael Kay...
