Granderson activated from DL

The Yankees activated Curtis Granderson from the disabled list and optioned Vidal Nuno to AAA Scranton. Curtis will start tonight in Left Field and batting 4th hopefully with his much needed power on display against the Mariners Ace, Felix Hernandez. In case you don't remember Granderson was hit by a pitch two pitches into spring training by Blue Jays pitcher J.A Happ. Granderson had a mixed season last year, his Batting average and Slugging percentage were suprisingly low considering his 43 Home runs, but he still walked a lot and I would hope that he will improve on his contact rate. Some people think that Granderson is absolutely worthless because he struck out 195 times last year, but honestly I subscribe to the idea that most players make 300-450 outs a year, so does it really matter how they are made? Some people have actually suggested that the Yankees are better off without Granderson, which is completely absurd; Ichiro has a sub .300 OBP and an OPS of .650 and if you ask some people that's apparently better because Granderson strikes out a lot.

Nunez to the DL

The Yankees list of wounded has increased again as they have placed Eduardo Nunez on the DL today due to his left ribcage issue, the team announced. Infielder Alberto Gonzalez will be recalled from Triple-A to take his roster spot. Mark Teixeira has been transferred to the 60-day DL to clear a 40-man roster spot.
The problem was thought to be minor but it ha lingered and the Yankees would like to have a backup infielder, the good news though is that its retroactive to last Sunday so hopefully he only has to spend a little more than a week on the DL. The Yankees acquired Gonzalez a few days ago in a trade with the Cubs for a player to be named later or cash considerations. The Tex thing isn't a huge deal as at this point he wasn't likely to come back until June anyway and just started swinging a bat.

Yankees intend to call up David Adams

When Kevin Youkillis went down with a back injury the Yankees called up Corban Joseph before trading for Chris Nelson to get some infield help. The man playing third base for the AAA Railriders was David Adams was not called up because he had been released to free a 40 man spot and because it was in spring training he could not be called up for thirty days after he had resigned. For those of you asking why he was released it sounds like the Yankees basically had already set up with him that he would resign after his release to clear a 40 man spot and if they had DFA him he could have been picked up off waivers. Kind of a weird situation but Adams had missed most of spring training with a back injury and so he wasn't going to be useful early in the season and the Yankees must have assumed Youk could be healthy for a month and a half, way off on that one. A report out right now is that the Yankees will bring up Adams as soon as he is eligible, which will be this Wednesday  May 15th. Adams has been manning third base regularly but has gotten time at 1st and 2nd this year as well, as well as hitting .325/.411/.494 with two home runs and nine RBI in 23 games at Triple-A this season. The Yankees intend to play him regularly when they do call him up and it will be interesting to see where they play him, it would make sense if he played at 1st with Nelson/Nix at third, but if that was the case I expect that Adams would be playing 1st more in Scranton rather than the two starts he has there this season. We will just have to wait and see what happens, but if Adams gets the call then it probably is the end for Ben Francisco as a Yankee. Fun fact May 15th is also David Adam's Birthday, so getting a call up and start would be a good birthday present.

The end of Derek Jeter?

Derek Jeter’s 2012 season cannot be undersold he was absolutely amazing, I don’t think anybody thought that at age 38 he would possibly hit as well as he did, I did not even realize until I saw the stats but his 216 hits in the 2012 season was the second most in his career as in only once in his 18 year Major League baseball career did he have more hits than in 2012 and that was way back in 1999 when he had 219. That being said everything changed when Jeter broke his ankle in the ALCS, let’s be clear this happened because he played through the pain his ankle had been bothering him all September and instead of resting he got a cortisone shot to keep playing because the Yankees needed him too. Derek said he would be back by opening day and that seemed unlikely because he was coming off a BROKEN ANKLE, and sure enough despite the possibility being raised during spring training Derek wasn’t ready. Then it turned out that he had fractured his ankle in his attempt to be ready and now will be out until at least the all-star break but no return date has been set.

 There are a huge number of problems with this injury beyond the fact that Derek Jeter is not playing with the Yankees and they really could use his bat right now. The biggest problem that comes up is “Can he play Short stop?” I mean Derek hasn’t had good range in years and it’s been especially bad the last three years and now he has a broken ankle on top of that. It would be one thing if Nunez was still throwing the ball away every other play, but his fielding has been pretty good and if we are being honest definitely better than Jeter’s. It’s a monument to Jeter that he has been able to play Short stop for 18 years and it’s the only place he has ever fielded, but I honestly do not think that he can play there on that ankle. The Yankees will probably try him out at Short a bit but I expect that he will mostly DH when he returns, but what about next year? I don’t know if Derek will pick up his player option for next season and it is technically possible that Derek could retire at the end of the year, I expect that he will want to play more after the season and what if he doesn’t want to DH 100 games or if the Yankees say he needs to change positions and he won’t do it, what happens then?  In 2014 the Yankees cannot have the left side of their infield feature a shortstop with a broken ankle and a 3^rd baseman who has had two hip surgeries and both Jeter and A-Rod will likely need to DH frequently anyway. Also Jeter’s speed will likely be completely gone, it happens to most people who break an ankle and it does make me wonder how well Jeter will be in taking the extra base, I expect that he will push himself to do it but it’s very possible that he just won’t be able to anymore.  As of right now this doesn’t impact the Yankees as they need to actually be close to getting The Captain back before we can truly wonder where he will play and what his impact will be, but it’s still in the back of my mind.This off season contract negotiations could end up being a lot more stressful than the one that caused so much controversy in the 2010 off season.

Preston Claiborne called up

Well with Joba Chamberlain going on the Disabled list with an oblique injury the Yankees decided to call up Preston Claiborne and designated Cody Eppley for Assignment to clear a 40 man spot.
Some people were surprised that  top relief prospect Mark Montgomery but apparently the Yankees liked the fact that Claiborne has some more experience in AAA. I don't expect that Claiborne will be anything important, his 10.1 Strike out to walk number is great but its way above his career norm and his overall numbers aren't exactly eye popping. He will likely only be with the team until Joba is back, but its possible that if he impresses he could stay on the roster over somone like Adam Warren or Vidal Nuno.
Eppley's Designation for Assignment isn't a huge surprise as he was not mentioned as an option to be called up by Brian Cashman and unfortunately he is just not a great bullpen piece, as he is a side arming right hander which limits his usefulness to right handers. I wrote this piece last year about Eppley who ended up having a pretty good year with the Yankees last year, mostly paired up with  Clay Rapada. Eppley was great to get ground balls but he really had no future as anything other than an up and down guy. He actually broke camp with the team pitching in two games before being sent down for Phil Hughes, but he was pretty awful in the small sample size. Its possible that Eppley will clear waivers and remain with the Yankees, but having previously proved himself as a useful bullpen piece some team will likely pick him up even if its just to try and put him right back onto waivers to keep him in their system. Best of luck to Claiborne who will apparently wear number 38, which had been Eppleys number

On the newest Podcast we talk about Yankees who did well in April, Yankees who struggled and those who we are still waiting to see how they turn out. Also how the Yankees have exceeded expectations in April and how the league looks so far and the Trade for Chris Nelson. Right after we did this Joba was put on the DL and it sounds like Preston Caliborne will be called up. I don't know the corresponding 40 man move but probably Cody Epply considering that they didn't call him up. Also we specifically talk about Pineda in the podcast and it was reported that he was around 93-95 in his rehab.

Yankees acquire Chris Nelson

The Yankees acquired Infielder Chris Nelson from the Colorado Rockies for cash considerations or a player to be named later. Corban Joseph was sent down to AAA and Francisco Cervelli was placed on the 60 day Disabled List. I had mentioned the possible trade earlier as the Yankees really needed to make a move because the timing meant they did not have a viable third base option to call up in the wake of Kevin Youkillis going on the DL. Apparently the Yankees had interest in acquiring in acquiring him during the winter meetings after Nelson he hit .301/.352/.458 (105 wRC+) in 377 plate appearances in 2012 . He can play Third, Second and short and I expect that he will be the everyday third baseman over Jayson Nix,he also bats right handed. He hit .242/.282/.318 (51 wRC+) in 71 plate appearances before the Rockies took him off the roster, but Nelson is a career .279/.322/.416 (86 wRC+) hitter over the length of  four big league seasons, and the right-handed bat doesn’t have a massive left/right (84/87 wRC+) or home/road (97/72) split.

Nelson was once the 26th best prospect in the game according to Baseball America as a Shortstop in 2005, but he never lived up to the hype. He is a pretty average fielder and does not steal or run bases particularly well, he is also out of minor league options but the Yankees need somebody who can play the infield and Nelson is exactly that. Nelson fits the roster better than Joseph but I do not know how long he will be on the roster as it is possible that the Yankees will give Ronnie Mustelier a shot after he finishes rehabbing.