Yankees Happenings for the Week of 01/29/17

Another week comes to a close, and we find ourselves that much closer to Yankees pitchers and catchers reporting on Feb. 13.

It’s time to get excited about baseball! So much so, that if you find yourself in Florida between the end of February and most of March, you should probably go ahead and think about purchasing your Yankees Spring Training tickets before they sell out.

That’s exactly what I recently did. My father and I will be taking in the Yanks versus Braves from Disney’s Wide World of Sports on Thursday, Mar. 9. The 1:05 PM start is bound to be a hot one, but I’m pumped to get my first in-person glimpse of the Baby Bombers, as well as some of the other prospects that make up the No. 1 farm system in baseball according to Bleacher Report.

It’s become a bit of yearly traditional for me and my old man, as in last year’s preseason matchup, we watched Dellin Betances strike out the side in the 7th inning, before giving way to Andrew Miller, who took a comebacker off his non-throwing hand. He hurriedly left the field screaming in pain after suffering a broken bone.

We’ll hope for an injury free matchup this time around. Other than that, let’s take a look at some noteworthy news in this week’s edition of Yankees Happenings.

Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal Suggests Possible Fire Sale

The bowtie-wearing Rosenthal wrote a piece suggesting that the 2017 trade deadline could be absolutely insane. He spoke about former All-Stars such as Ryan Braun, Andrew McCutchen, Jose Quintana, Todd Frazier, and Brian Dozier potentially being dealt as each of their respective clubs look towards the future.

As for the Yankees, Rosenthal said that they could be one of the handful of teams (Tigers, Royals, Orioles, and Blue Jays included) that could fall out of contention and in turn sell off aging veterans and free agents-to-be.

He listed CC Sabathia, Matt Holliday, Michael Pineda, and Tyler Clippard by name.

I’m sorry, but trading any one of these guys is not a fire sale. Even if you were to package all four of these veterans together, it wouldn’t get you anywhere close to the haul Andrew Miller or Aroldis Chapman brought back.

While it’s possible that Sabathia, Pineda, or Holliday find lightning in a bottle the way Carlos Beltran did in ’16, a fringe prospect like the Yankees received in Dillon Tate is all you can really expect in return. Honestly, though, that’s fine.

Should the Yankees find themselves going nowhere fast in ’17, shipping out the aforementioned players is a wise business decision. It opens crucial roster spots that can be used to call up more of “the kids” for further evaluation before the ’18 season when many in baseball circles expect the Yankees to legitimately contend for a playoff spot.

ESPN’s Keith Law Ranks His Top 100 Prospects

I find it hard to categorize players of different positions against one another. Yes, you can look at their intangibles, skill-sets, and overall numbers to build a baseline of projections, but a player’s worth to his respective organization’s dearth of talent at a specific position needs to be taken into account.

If you missed it, I ranked the top 10 Yankees prospects as so about a month ago — check it out. Differences aside, Law does a solid job for ESPN, comparing and contrasting the top 100 prospects.

Law’s final list had a total of six Yankees ranked. Those players are Justus Sheffield (No. 88), Aaron Judge (No. 44), James Kaprielian (No. 28), Clint Frazier (No. 27), Blake Rutherford (No. 22), and Gleyber Torres (No. 4).

Frazier jumped all the way from No. 72 on last year’s list, while Kaprielian is also trending upwards from No. 87.

Former Members of ‘No Runs DMC’ Honored

Chapman, Miller, and Betances were honored one last time by the New York chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America with the ‘Willie, Mickey and the Duke Award.”

When the trio worked out of the Yankees’ bullpen in ’16 as a unit, they combined for a 19-2 record, 41 saves, a 2.35 ERA, and a 41.8 percent strikeout ratio.

Coming off his superb Postseason display with the Indians, Miller reflected on his time in the Bronx.

"“I had the best seat in the house for probably the two most electric pitchers in baseball. …It’s a tribute. The Yankees were great. I think [Joe] Girardi and Larry Rothschild certainly deserve a lot of credit for putting us in those positions. … Unfortunately, we were broken up, but it worked out pretty well for Aroldis and I. … Aroldis is back in New York, so you’ll get to see him and Dellin for a long time. It’s just special to be included. To be included with this group of guys is something that was mind-blowing to me.”"

Next: Baby Bombers Speak at Town Hall Meeting

During the event, retired Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira was presented with the Slocum Award for Long and Meritorious Service (to be shared with David Ortiz) — and Chase Headley received the Epstein/Castellano Good Guy Award.