Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: The Judge Is In
One era of Yankees baseball ended Saturday. A few hours later, another began.
The day the Yankees officially released Alex Rodriguez, top prospects Tyler Austin and Aaron Judge — one of whom took A-Rod’s vacated spot on the 25-man roster — made their presence felt with back-to-back home runs in their first at-bats as major leaguers. The homers were part of an 8-4 Yankees win over the Rays on Saturday afternoon.
In the second inning, Austin, who started at first base Saturday, lined a shot down the right field line that just cleared the fence for a solo homer. Judge, hitting immediately behind Austin and playing right field, left less doubt about his homer, hitting a bomb to the deepest part of the park.
“I was ecstatic on deck,” Judge said. “I was like, ‘Oh man, I just got to make contact now.’ What a day.”
It was a day of mixed emotions after the team gave Rodriguez his outright release. Jettisoning the 41-year-old paved the way, in part, for Judge and Austin to escort in the new-look Yankees lineup, which featured six players age 26 or younger on Saturday.
Austin was a top-100 prospect ahead of the 2013 season but fell off before re-establishing his prospect status this season. In 107 games between Double-A and Triple-A, the 24-year-old batted .294/.392/.524 with 17 home runs and 78 RBI.
Judge, conversely, has been on radars since he was a first-round pick by the Yankees in the 2013 MLB Draft. The slugging outfielder was rated as high as the No. 18 overall prospect in baseball by Baseball Prospectus ahead of this season, and he was hitting .270/.366/.489 with 19 homers and 65 RBI at Triple-A before his promotion.
“Today is a new day, but it’s been a new day quite often lately, to be honest,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. “We’ve had a lot of changes with a lot of quality people that we’ve said goodbye to, and a lot of quality people we’ve been saying hello to.”
And what a hello it was.
It’s the time of year that can win or lose a fantasy championship, so be sure to keep refreshing Rotoworld’s constantly-updating player news page for all the latest. And while you’re at it, follow @Rotoworld_BB and @nate_grimm if you are on Twitter.
Surgery Ends Brantley’s Season
A frustrating season has come to a disappointing end for Michael Brantley.
The outfielder, who has been limited to 11 games this year due to a right shoulder injury, will undergo season-ending surgery on Monday, Indians manager Terry Francona said Saturday. An idea of his timetable will be known after Monday’s procedure is finished.
Brantley worked hard to get back after he underwent surgery on the shoulder last November, and he was activated by the club in late April. But his 11-game stint wasn’t impressive and revealed that the shoulder still wasn’t healthy, prompting another trip to the disabled list. His season ends with a .231/.279/.282 line in those 11 games.
Through promotions, trades and some roster flexibility the Indians have found a way to be a first-place club even without the All-Star outfielder. Brandon Guyer, Abraham Almonte, Jose Ramirez, Marlon Byrd, Rajai Davis and Michael Martinez have all spent time in left field in Brantlye’s absence.
As far as what the future holds for the 29-year-old, Francona said he still believes Brantley will be back and better than ever in time.
“I guess I figure that all the work, it’ll pay off somewhere,” Francona said. “It may not be this season, but I don’t think those things go unrewarded. I just think that he’ll come back and he’ll find a way to be as good as ever. I firmly believe that, because I believe in him. I get a front-row seat to see how hard he works and things like that. I just think he’ll find a way to come back and be just as good as he ever has been.”
National League Quick Hits: Yoenis Cespedes (quad) will begin a minor league rehab assignment on Monday. Cespedes will DH Monday for High-A St. Lucie. The goal is for him to come off the disabled list on Thursday. Cespedes took batting practice earlier this week and has made steady progress in his recovery from a strained quad … Giancarlo Stanton is being checked for a groin injury. Stanton hurt himself while trying to stretch a single into a double on the game’s final out Saturday against the White Sox. He went 3-for-5 in the game with a homer and three RBI. Even if it’s only a minor injury, there’s a good chance the Marlins will play it safe by giving Stanton the day off on Sunday … Starling Marte left Saturday’s game against the Dodgers with upper back discomfort. Matt Joyce took over in left field after Marte’s departure in the seventh inning. Marte contributed two hits and a stolen base before exiting. He’s been a fantasy stud this year, hitting .316 with 40 steals. It doesn’t sound like a serious injury but any time without Marte is costly for the Pirates, who are struggling to stay afloat in the NL Wild Card race … Nationals released RHP Jonathan Papelbon. The club was going to designate him for assignment to free up a spot on the 40-man roster, but Papelbon asked instead for his outright release since the designation process can take up to ten days. It sounds as though the 35-year-old will look to latch on elsewhere and continue his playing career, with the Red Sox having been mentioned as a possible destination … Carlos Gonzalez (ankle) returned to the Rockies’ lineup Saturday against the Phillies. It was his first start since last Saturday. He went 2-for-5 in the contest … Bryce Harper (neck) was not in the Nationals’ lineup Saturday against the Braves. He’s still dealing with neck spasms though his MRI results came back clean. Harper hasn’t played in a week but the Nationals still consider him day-to-day … Billy Hamilton left Saturday’s game against the Brewers with a jammed hand. Hamilton exited in the sixth inning with Tyler Holt taking over in center field. He finished the night 2-for-4 with a triple and two runs scored. Manager Bryan Price said Hamilton will be reevaluated on Sunday … Brandon McCarthy said he expects to go on the disabled list after leaving Saturday’s game against the Pirates with right hip stiffness. McCarthy first suffered the injury while fielding a bunt against the Rockies on August 2. He’s fallen flat in his last two outings, allowing 10 walks in only 5 1/3 innings. McCarthy acknowledged that he’d likely need a rehab assignment to work on his mechanics before returning to the big leagues. Ross Stripling is a candidate to fill McCarthy’s spot in the starting rotation … Justin Turner was scratched from the Dodgers starting lineup on Saturday with a right hand contusion. Rob Segedin will start in his place at the hot corner and bat seventh against Gerrit Cole and the Pirates. Turner should be considered day-to-day … Joey Votto went 4-for-5 with two doubles, two RBI and a run scored as the Reds trounced the Brewers 11-5 on Saturday. Votto leads the league in walks, but he put his bat to use in what was his second four-hit game this month. He’s now got multiple hits in each of his last four games to raise his average to .301 with a .428 on-base percentage and .504 slugging percentage. Patient owners who waited out his early struggles are now reaping the benefits … Madison Bumgarner struck out eight batters in seven scoreless innings to beat the Orioles 6-2 on Saturday. He yielded three hits and three walks but no runs. His record improves to 11-7 but he deserves better as his 2.11 ERA proves. His 189 strikeouts in 170 2/3 innings rank third in the majors … Yasmany Tomas (neck) was back in the Diamondbacks’ lineup Saturday against the Red Sox. Tomas had missed the previous four games with a stiff neck. He went hitless in his return.
American League Quick Hits: Orioles placed RHP Darren O’Day on the 15-day disabled list with a strained rotator cuff. O’Day has been one of the best setup men in baseball over the past few years but hasn’t been able to stay healthy in 2016. Even with the side-arming O’Day on the shelf, the O’s still have a deep pen led by stud closer Zach Britton and first-time All-Star Brad Bach. O’Day received a cortisone shot on Saturday and the Orioles are optimistic he’ll be back as soon as the required 15 days are up … Aaron Sanchez picked up his 12th victory of the season on Saturday, limiting the Astros to two runs on five hits over seven strong frames. The right-hander punched out six and walked three on the day. Sanchez looked to be on the ropes early, allowing a two-run single to Carlos Correa in the first inning, but that wound up being the extent of the damage against him in the ballgame. He now boasts a terrific 2.84 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 127/45 K/BB ratio over 152 1/3 innings on the season … Matt Boyd hurled seven shutout innings while yielding just two hits as the Tigers beat the Rangers 2-0 on Saturday. He struck out three and issued two free passes in the ballgame. The victory boosts his record to 4-2 with a 4.16 ERA. He has fanned 53 while walking 21 in 62 2/3 innings … Brian Dozier went 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored in a 5-3 win over the Royals on Saturday. Dozier has been on a tear of late, as Saturday’s dinger was his third in his last five games and his 25th overall. It was one of three homers the Twins hit against Royals starter Dillon Gee on the evening. A slow start hurt his overall numbers, but the 29-year-old is now hitting .266/.342/.525 with 69 RBI, 69 runs scored and eight steals overall … Mike Clevinger dominated the Angels over 5 2/3 innings of work Saturday, holding them to one hit and one run in a 5-1 victory. Clevinger walked four but gave up only an infield single on the evening, striking out three en route to his first win of the year … Jason Coats hit his first home run and finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored in the White Sox’ comeback, 8-7 win over the Marlins on Saturday. Coats connected for his first major league home run against Adam Conley in the fourth inning, a solo blast, and he scored a run in the eighth inning to tie the game before the White Sox eventually won.
