Bronx Bomber Ball

Minutes before the Yankees took the field for their first spring training game, Brian Cashman struck a trade that, at this point, became inevitable. Luke Voit is headed to the San Diego Padres in exchange for right-handed pitching prospect Justin Lange. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman was first with the news. Photo Credit: AP Voit became expendable after the Yankees re-signed Anthony Rizzo to a two-year, $32 million deal late Tuesday night, so it was only a matter of time before a move came to fruition. This brings an end to Voit’s tenure in the Bronx that few could’ve predicted just a year ago, after he led the league in home runs (22) and finished ninth in AL MVP voting during the shortened 2020 season. 2021, however, was not as kind to the Missouri product, as he battled a multitude of injuries and a loss of playing time down the stretch en route to a .239/.328/.437 slash. With the National League adopting the designated hitter as part of baseball’s new collective bargaining agreement, th...

After Monday’s improbable, come-from-behind walk-off against the Twins, Aaron Judge described the 2021 Yankees’ season as a rollercoaster, a testament most fans would wholeheartedly agree with. The undisputed favorite in the American League just three weeks ago, the Yanks are losers of 12 of their last 17 games; though they are still in possession of the second wild card spot, the surging Blue Jays have overtaken first and the Red Sox, Mariners, and Athletics are inching closer every day. Looking to right the ship, Aaron Boone has recognized one of the major issues that has plagued his club all season: the infield defense. Photo Credit: Mike Stobe/Getty Images Monday marked Gleyber Torres’ first appearance at second base since September 29, 2019, and per Boone, that will be the norm for the remainder of the season. His 18 errors at shortstop this year rank fourth in all of baseball, trailing only Bo Bichette, Javier Baez, and Fernando Tatis Jr. -- with four of those coming in the last ...

Except for presumably Tropical Storm Henri, nothing, of late, has stopped the "New" New York Yankees from pursuing their path to a postseason spot. Photo credit: New York Post

Well, what a difference a month makes. On the fourth of July the Yanks were a .500 baseball team, while the Red Sox had the best record in the A.L. Fast forward to now and the Yanks are a full game ahead of the Red Sox after completing a three-game sweep of their arch rivals in the Bronx. As usual, none of the three wins were easy and all three games seemed to be heading off the rails at one point or another. However, a win is a win and the Yanks just keep getting it done, improving their record to 23-9 since the All-Star break.

Weekly Preview: NYY @ KC 8/9 - 8/11,  NYY @ CHW 8/12 (Field of Dreams Game), 8/14-8/15   We should have so many reasons to be happy heading into the week of the highly-anticipated (and postponed) Field of Dreams game.   Photo credit: CBS Sports

Photo credit: Chicago Sun-Times It's been a roller coaster race to the trade deadline (with a miserable loss to the Rays in between) for the Yankees since last night.  After yesterday's acquisition of Joey Gallo, Brian Cashman is trying to outdo himself.  YES' Jack Curry had it first:  The Yankees are trading Alcantara and Vizcaino for Rizzo. The Cubs are picking up all of Rizzo’s remaining salary. — Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) July 29, 2021 Yes, you read that correctly -- Anthony Rizzo is now a New York Yankee -- seemingly right out from under the noses of the Boston Red Sox .  The Yankees are sending two minor leaguers, OF Kevin Alcantara (Yanks' No. 12 prospect) and RHP Alexander Vizcaino (Yanks' No. 9 prospect), to Chicago in exchange for Rizzo.  The Cubs will also pay the Yankees the remaining $5.5 million left of Rizzo's salary for the 2021 season (his full season salary is $16.5 million).  Per ESPN -- "Rizzo wasn't in the lineup in the Cubs'...

  The question on everyone’s mind as we head into this week is: Are the Yankees back? 

  New York Post/Getty Images After missing the last month and a half due to knee surgery from a left meniscus tear suffered during spring training, the reigning MLB home run king approaches his 2021 debut in Tampa next week against the Rays. His presence could provide an extra jolt to a Yankees lineup that has shockingly struggled to begin the season. Luke Voit finished the 2020 regular season with an MLB leading 22 home runs, a slash line of .277/.338/.610, and an OPS of .948 which is comparable to the red-hot Giancarlo Stanton. A New York roster lauded for its outstanding depth from the 1 to 9 spots in recent years can't seem to get any production outside of the top of the lineup. Especially from the first base spot that has seen a rotation of DJ LeMahieu, Mike Ford, and the now retired Jay Bruce, with the latter two combining for a paltry .100/.086/.267 and 6 RBIs, to 20 strikeouts. Even if Voit cannot repeat his 2020 pace, anything is better than what the Bombers have gotten so...

  Opening Day is finally here, and boy are those words so sweet.   Major League Baseball battled through a pandemic last season which shortened the season to just 60 games and had empty stadiums throughout the regular season, but we’ve finally turned the corner in this fight against COVID-19 and MLB clubs will welcome back fans (albeit in limited capacities) starting tomorrow, April 1st.    The Yankees are locked and loaded and ready to finally achieve their decade-long goal of bringing home World Series title number 28.

The countdown to April 1 is officially on.  The Yankees have made some excellent headway in their Spring Training games, with a record of 13-6 in the Grapefruit League. Opening Day roster predictions are coming in quickly.  Some decisions have been affirmed with some degree of certainty, while others have not.  Photo credit: SpringTrainingConnection.com

The Yankees announced their roster for the Wild Card series early on Tuesday, and Miguel Andujar was left off of it. Heading into the postseason, the INF/OF Andujar was the biggest question mark for the team, and whether he would be included on the roster or not. Instead, the Yankees decided in favor of having first baseman Mike Ford and third string catcher Erik Kratz on the bench. The third baseman and outfielder was hoping that a strong finish to the season could earn himself a spot on the roster, as he went 9-for-25 in September with four extra-base hits. However, it seems that the lefty bat of Ford (who went hitless at 0-for-19 in the final month of the season) gave him the advantage, as the team only has three lefty bats plus the switch-hitting Aaron Hicks on the roster, not including Ford.  

Your attention please, ladies and gentlemen… after a rather depressing dry spell, it is fun to be a Yankees fan again in 2020.  The Bombers just came off a ten-game winning streak, are locked in to complete their 28th winning season in a row and have clinched a postseason berth in the shortened 2020 season.  In spite of Sunday’s loss to the Boston Red Sox, they showed some fight in late innings in an attempted rally.  They swept the Toronto Blue Jays.  They set MLB records for most home runs hit in one game on consecutive days.  They came back from behind to beat the Red Sox in extra innings on Friday.  They’ve made such a comeback to the point that losing on Sunday did not hurt their playoff chances.  But there’s still something to play for in the upcoming regular season games. With one week to go, the Yankees sit 3.5 games behind the Rays for the division lead. With playoff rankings and home field advantage at stake, the Yankees will return to Buffal...

Voit is adroit. 

Coming off a brutal road trip that saw them drop five of seven games to the Phillies and Rays in addition to the loss of Giancarlo Stanton to a hamstring strain, the Yankees needed a change of momentum fast as they returned home to the Bronx this week and got just that by taking both games in a quick two-game set against the Atlanta Braves. Photo Credit: Kathy Willens/AP Photo

It’s time for a do-over. Photo credit: Hamlet Hub

2019 was not an easy year for one Miguel Andujar.  After a runner up finish in the American League Rookie of the Year voting in 2018 behind only Shohei Ohtani, Yankees fans and staff alike expected Miggy to come out swinging in 2019. Photo credit: New York Post

October baseball is finally upon us. On the heels of a 103-win season and an A.L. East division title, the Yankees will host the Minnesota Twins tonight as they embark on the chase for their 28th World Series Championship. In revealing their Division Series roster earlier this afternoon, the Yanks answered one of the bigger questions fans were left with at the end of the season, opting to carry slumping first baseman Luke Voit while omitting the white-hot Mike Ford. Photo Credit: NY Daily News Envisioning an infield rotation that didn’t include Voit would have been ludicrous just a few weeks ago, and to consider leaving him off the roster altogether unfathomable. At the end of August, he carried a .280 batting average with 19 home runs to his name. However, the 26-year-old slugger very nearly wrote himself out of the Bombers’ October plans in the season’s final month. Voit ended the season on a 1-for-32 skid with an alarming 41% strikeout rate over that span.  That bein...

Throughout an injury-plagued season for the Yankees, the team has seen the likes of Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, and Luis Severino on the shelf for extended periods of time. Stanton remains out heading into September and Severino has yet to make an appearance this season. But, one setback that may be even more significant than the   others is that of Luke Voit. Don’t get me wrong, the Bombers put together a solid platoon led by DJ LeMahieu, who continues to play Gold Glove defense at three of the infield spots and that bat is just a cherry on top. Along with Mike Ford, while playing solid defense over at first, his hitting does not come near what Voit does in the middle of the lineup. Photo Credit: Kathy Willens/AP

As we approach the Trade Deadline this afternoon, the Yankees have placed 1B Luke Voit and RHP David Hale on the 10-day IL, calling up INF Breyvic Valera and RHP Jonathan Holder to take their spots. Photo Credit: Canadian Press