Yankees facing critical decisions as August baseball begins

Solving The Outfield Collision

The first order of business for the Yankees will be tackling a crowded outfield when Aaron Hicks returns from an oblique injury.

Hicks is taking batting practice with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders, the Yankees Triple-A affiliate and is expected to begin rehab games some this week.

Hicks worked his way into the Yankees starting lineup when Jacoby Ellsbury smashed into a wall and responded with a batting average well over .300, with some pop in his bat as well.

Following a Spring Training battle with Aaron Judge for the right field position, Joe Girardi eventually chose Judge, and the rest we’ll just say is history.

In the meantime, however, Brian Cashman decided to call up Clint Frazier to replace Hicks, and that too has turned into “history” as Frazier continues to produce in the Yankees lineup.

Originally, Frazier was ticketed for Scranton upon the return of Hicks, and that was publicly pronounced numerous times by both Cashman and Girardi.

Now, the plot has thickened, however, and the choice is not so easy unless Girardi can figure out a way to make all four outfielders (Judge, Hicks, Brett Gardner, and Frazier) happy with their playing time.

The crunch has been alleviated somewhat by Girardi’s decision, presumably with the okay from the front office, to demote Jacoby Ellsbury to the bench as a part time player.

Sometimes less is more but not in this case. And Girardi should feel lucky to have these options from game to game, and even at-bat to at-bat.

Still, it bears watching.

Is there an innings limit?

By the end of August, it’s likely both Jordan Montgomery and Luis Severino will have pitched more innings than ever before as a professional ballplayer. That will be a red flag for the Yankees. Or, at least it should be.

The Yankees, as well as all major league teams, have monitored the New York Mets pitching staff over the last few years. They watched, perhaps with a hint of jealousy at the time, the Mets barrel themselves into the playoffs, eventually reaching the World Series in 2015.

But the Yankees have also seen the devastation left behind, with Jason deGrom the only pitcher left standing for the Mets in 2017, just two seasons later. And even the Mets themselves, grudgingly, have admitted they went too far with their young arms.

The Yankees need to figure out a way to avoid that from happening. The urge to win today needs to be coupled with a look forward into the future. And that’s not an easy thing to do, especially when you play in New York and the pressure to win is always on.

A couple more starts like the Mongomery had today (2.1 innings) will solve the problem, but obviously, that’s not what the team is looking for.

Instead the addition of Jaime Garcia and perhaps one other starter, still to be named, is a better solution, as well as the call-ups that will come in September when (perhaps), Chance Adams and Justus Sheffield join the team.

But don’t forget, they’ve been pitching all year in the minors, and they’ll need to be monitored closely by the team as well.

Again, it’s something to watch.

Offense Versus Defense

Plain and simple, Gary Sanchez does not fit the bill as a major league catcher (yet). He’s learning, but he’s not learning fast enough. And the question facing the Yankees when push comes to shove down the stretch and into the playoffs is this. Is the team better with Austin Romine behind the plate?

This is a tough call because the team is dealing with a young player who is coming off an abbreviated season in 2016, when all the world looked bright. He was rumored to be the next team captain and the next coming of Johhny Bench.

And to make it worse, the Yankees singled him out as the face of the team over the winter, complete with a media extravaganza featuring Sanchez making sandwiches at a Bronx deli.

But all that is behind Sanchez now and the fact of the matter is he’s a glaring hole in the Yankees defense. His supporters say what you want, but today’s game against the Rays is all too typical. In one inning, he was charged with a passed ball and failed to throw out two runners attempting to steal, one of which (literally) stole third base.

His chewing out by Joe Girardi in full view of YES Network cameras and their viewers for not hustling to get out there blocking Masahiro Tanaka‘s patented swing and miss splitter, was inexcusable and not forgotten by Yankees brass.

There’s always the DH spot, of course, but that weakens the team when Matt Holliday is healthy and hitting.

Again, just something to watch.

Doing battle with starting pitcher’s ego

Starting pitchers, as we know, have a four-day regimen that leads up to a start every fifth day. They live for that day when the ball is handed to them, and there are high fives in the dugout with everyone urging, “Go get ’em, big guy.”

And they are primed, both by the team and themselves, to deliver five or six innings, surrendering three or fewer runs that register as a Quality Start on the leader boards and, not to be forgotten, at contract time.

Sometimes they win, and sometimes they lose, but they are always graded on providing that managers call “length,” or giving the bullpen a rest.

The Yankees have turned that all upside down, especially with the trade bringing in Tommy Kahnle and David Robertson from the White Sox, the Yankees bullpen is now stashed to the brink with quality relievers.

And the other night we saw CC Sabathia lifted from a start in the fifth inning in a game the team eventually won with their bullpen. Ditto today with Girardi not wasting any time removing Montgomery from his start after only 2.1 ineffective innings.

The question before the Yankees, though, is how their starters will handle this change. Sabathia was noticeably disturbed when Girardi came out to take the ball from him. But as a veteran, he sucked it up and retired to the dugout with nothing negative to say to the press afterward.

The younger guys will need to learn this as well. Namely, that it’s all about winning games. How to preach that and soothe egos at the same time is a challenge facing the Yankees from here on in.

Cementing the infield

When the Yankees acquired Todd Frazier from the White Sox, everything changed. Chase Headley, the veteran who can see the trees through the forest, reportedly went to Girardi telling him he was willing to do anything to help the team.

Girardi didn’t hesitate, telling Headley he was going to play at first base with Frazier manning third. Headley, being Headley, marched out there and since has provided the team with a vision that he could be the one the Yankees have been looking for all season long.

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As the ninth first baseman for the team this year, Headley is providing solid defense at first, at the same time his bat is waking up giving the Yankees offense a boost. He’s no Don Mattingly, for sure. But he fills a gap, and that’s what the Yankees needed most.

Meanwhile, Todd Frazier is almost giddy just to be wearing the Pinstripes. He’s come on board with nary a hiccup, sees the energy in the clubhouse, and wants to be a part of the party come October.

Don’t expect any formal announcement from the Yankees. Just watch the posted lineups every day to see the direction they are heading toward.

With Headley at first, Starlin Castro, when he returns at second, Didi Gregorius at shortstop, and Frazier at third, the Yankees can cement their infield moving toward the playoffs.

Next: No need to change horses midstream

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