Yankees: A Week In Review
The first look at Andrew Benintendi in Pinstripes at Yankee Stadium.Photo Via: Jason Szene — NY PostThe last week of July is always a busy time in Major League Baseball, but this one was especially busy for the Yankees. With the trade deadline looming, breaking news can still occur at any given moment, but let’s unpack the last 6 days in Yankees Universe.
Subway Series
The Bombers arrived in Queens after taking 2 of 3 in Baltimore, but the energy surrounding the Yankees would have made you think the Yanks got swept. Why? Well, star reliever Mike King threw a pitch on Friday night and immediately asked for the trainer, saying his elbow “popped”. As it turned out, King fractured his elbow and will miss the remainder of the season. The right-hander was an All-Star snub this month, pitching to the tune of a 2.29 ERA in 51 innings. His multi-inning ability out of the bullpen made him such a valuable piece for the playoff roster, and now that will not happen. Additionally, slugging outfielder Giancarlo Stanton was placed on the injured list with Achilles tendinitis and is expected to miss at least 3 weeks.
The lack of energy revealed itself with runners in scoring position in the series. In fact, the Yankees did not muster up a hit in that scenario in either game (0 for 15 total). The pitching matchups were not so favorable either, with the more lopsided entanglement in Game 2 when Domingo Germán faced Max Scherzer (Jordan Montgomery squared off against Taijuan Walker in the first game). Overall, the quick series highlighted a problem within the Yankees’ lineup. The only RBI hits were home runs off the bats of Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo, and Gleyber Torres — the 2, 3, and 4 hitters. The squad needed a boost, and soon.
Benny To The Bronx
Well, Brian Cashman wasted no time after the Subway Series to make a splash and switch up the headlines. Within 15 minutes after Starling Marte walked it off against the Yanks, YES Network’s own studio analyst, Jack Curry, fired off a tweet which changed the landscape of the next 3 months.
The former Red Sox outfielder is headed to the Bronx. He is even wearing No. 18 — the same number donned by Johnny Damon, who went directly from Boston to the Bronx. Both Damon and Benintendi won a championship in Boston first. Hopefully “BenNY” can at least match Damon with a Yankees World Series ring of his own.
As a true rental, Benintendi did not command the return to get fans’ ears perked up. The Yankees sent their 19th and 21st ranked prospects in pitchers T.J. Sikkema and Beck Way, respectively, along with an unranked pitcher, Chandler Champlain.
At the time of the trade, Andrew Benintendi’s batting average was parked at .320 for the season. A contact-first left-handed hitter was exactly what the doctor ordered. This trade does have a few wrinkles to it, however. Will Benny get vaccinated? What if there is a playoff series in Toronto? Is Joey Gallo finally done as a Yankee? All of these questions are fair, and the answers remain cloudy. Benintendi says he is “open-minded” about the vaccine, which is a non-answer. Joey Gallo was placed in the lineup the very first day that the new leftfielder joined the team. We will probably have to wait until after the August 2nd trade deadline to know Gallo’s true fate.
Royals Come To Town
The main reason why Andrew Benintendi was able to play for the Yankees within 18 hours of his trade was that, well, he was already in town. Benny arrived in NYC with the Royals ready to take the field against the American League’s top team. Instead, he took the field with the top team and batted leadoff.
Despite the new All-Star addition to the lineup, the Yanks’ bats snoozed through the game. In the bottom of the 9th inning, the score was a 0-0 tie when Aaron Judge stepped up to the plate.
The Home Run Chase
No. 99 has a number on his mind, and it is likely 62. The Yankees franchise high water mark for home runs in a single season is 61, set in 1961 by Roger Maris. When Judge came to the dish in the 9th inning on Thursday night, he was sitting at 38 on the year. By the time he got back to the dugout, he was at 39 — and the Yankees earned another victory.
On the night that The Captain aired episodes 3 and 4 on ESPN, Derek Jeter himself chimed in on Judge’s walk-off homer.
Having Derek Jeter back to being a full-time Yankee is such a fantastic change compared to the past 5 seasons.
The very next batter in the series was the Royals’ leadoff hitter, M.J. Melendez, on Friday night. Melendez lifted a deep fly ball to right field and Aaron Judge decided to change his tune on home runs — stealing one away instead of sending one to orbit.
A walk-off home run and a home run robbery in back-to-back plays? How do you boost your MVP odds any better than that?
Aaron Judge knows how. He slugged a 2-run homer AND a grand slam later in the game — the season home run total is now 41.
41 home runs before the end of July. Truly remarkable. 70 is not impossible, but 60 is certainly on the table. As it stands today, Aaron Judge is on pace for 66 home runs.
Luis Castillo Trade
More trade news piled in after the game on Friday night. This time the story was centered around who the Yankees did not acquire. Star pitcher Luis Castillo was traded from the Cincinnati Reds to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for prospects — shortstops Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo, and pitchers Levi Stoudt and Andrew Moore. Seattle surrendered their first, third, and fifth best prospects in the deal, per MLB’s rankings. A deal of “equivalent value” would have possibly included the Yankees’ most highly touted prospects in Anthony Volpe and Jasson Dominguez. Is it worth parting with 6 seasons each from those two in exchange for a little over a year of Luis Castillo? Brian Cashman must think not.
There is no shortage of discussion during such an exciting Yankees season. Heck, even today is Old Timer’s Day — a fantastic day in its own right. But it is important to keep one thing in mind: getting that 28th World Championship.