Bronx Bomber Ball

After an exciting 10th inning win in Cleveland, the Yankees are coming back home for a two-game series against the crosstown rival Mets.  The Yankees, who are now tied for first place, will be trying to right the ship after a little slide last week where they lost five of seven.  The Mets on the other hand are coming in a game under .500, and are third in the NL East, five games back of the Phillies.  Last week, they impressively took two of three from both the Giants and Rockies.  In 2018 the Yankees were 4-2 in the subway series, and hopefully they can use this quick series to get back on track.

On Sunday Night Baseball, Seth Lugo and the Mets outdueled Luis Severino and the Yankees to win 2-0 and avoid a series sweep at Citi Field. The Yankees offense could muster only three hits on the night as they fell to 42-19 on the season. Photo Credit: John Munson/NJ Advance Media

As part of the BBB’s ongoing lead-up to the 2018 Major League Baseball season we are previewing each member of the Yankees’ 40-man roster. Today’s preview features a new Yankee who has not yet donned the pinstripes, that being  28-year-old  outfielder Jabari Blash.   Photo Credit: Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images 2017 Review: Acquired from San Diego in the December trade that sent third baseman Chase Headley and RHP Bryan Mitchell to the Padres, Blash is another imposing outfield specimen in the New York outfield that already includes monstrous sluggers Aaron Judge and 2017 National League Most Valuable Player Giancarlo Stanton.  Blash comes in at 6’5”, 235 pounds.   Blash appeared in 61 games for the Padres in 2017 and produced a slash line of .213/.333/.341 with five home runs and 16 runs batted in over 164 at-bats.  Certainly nothing mind-blowing, and nothing that indicates he’ll be a major factor for the Yankees next season, but he has raw a...

With either utility-man Ronald Torreyes or one of the Yankees inexperienced rookies projected to man two of the four infield positions, the Yankees have been quietly involved in acquiring a more experienced, veteran infielder. With Gerrit Cole talks seemingly going nowhere, the Yankees have inquired about another one of the Pirates’ talented players, Josh Harrison, to possibly fill one of their infield gaps.   Photo Credit: USA Today Sports

The Yankees wasted no time dumping salary in wake of the trade for Giancarlo Stanton, departing with second baseman Starlin Castro (Miami) and Chase Headley (San Diego). Castro will be making $10M in 2018 with the Marlins, while Headley will be making $13M in 2018 with the Padres. Dumping these two contracts offset the cost of Giancarlo Stanton, but it also leaves two holes at 2B and 3B. Read who will take over second base here  , and continue reading to see the Yankees options for third base in 2018. Within the organization, the Yankees have some young, talented infielders. The most experienced being Ronald Torreyes, but he’s proven to be a very valuable bench piece as a utility player, and I’d imagine that role would continue for him in 2018, that is if he doesn’t win the starting second base job. Essentially, Torreyes, Gleyber Torres, Tyler Wade, and Miguel Andujar are fairly interchangeable pieces between 2B and 3B. Miguel Andujar, however, seems that he would stay at 3B d...

It seems that even after acquiring slugger Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees are not done shopping this offseason.  According to Joel Sherman of the NY Post , the Yankees have traded righty Bryan Mitchell and third baseman Chase Headley to the Padres for outfielder Jabari Blash. Photo Credit: Elsa | Getty Images Because of the small return in a 28-year old-outfielder with a career .200 batting average that has no chance of sniffing the Yankees outfield, this is a clear salary dump for the New York Yankees. This is also a two for one trade to clear space on the 40-man roster.   With the subtraction of Headley and the $13 million left on his contract for 2018, Todd Frazier automatically becomes a candidate to be resigned by the Yankees to man third base. Frazier, a New Jersey guy who clearly loves playing in pinstripes, should be fairly easy for the Yankees to retain if they want him to. Toward the end of the season, Frazier was favored at third base over Chase He...

On July 19 th , Todd Frazier joined the Yankees, along with David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle. From then on, the entire team changed. Frazier brought stability to third base, which in turn pushed Chase Headley to first base, where Headley became one of the Yankees’ more consistent hitters in the second half of the season. However, Frazier’s biggest contribution to the team was his clubhouse presence, most notably the thumbs-down rally symbol. Frazier helped bring the team together, but there is a major possibility that he will not wear pinstripes in 2018 due to his free agency. There are essentially two options that Frazier has: signing with another club, or resigning with the Yankees. Adam Hunger / USA Today

Here we are: The 2017-18 Offseason is finally upon us with the completion of the World Series Wednesday night. To kick off what should be a wild few months, I wanted to take a deep dive into the Yankees roster and payroll ahead of the many free agency signings and trades Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman will be involved in. Let's get started. The Yankees have a heavy offseason workload ahead of them this Winter as they try to construct a World Series Champion from the ashes of the 2017 roster.  In addition to Manager Joe Girardi not returning for the 2018 season, the Yankees have a number of pending free agents as well as a massive question mark in Masahiro Tanaka as he can opt out of the final three years of his contract this offseason and instead become a free agent.  Tanaka needs to make a decision by Saturday evening so this will be the first news to break. The Yankees have plenty of youth that shouldn’t be expected to go anywhere for the long term, but changes ...

After a memorable 2017 season, the New York Yankees have some work to do before pitchers and catchers report in February. First off, the team needs to decide whether or not to re-sign GM Brian Cashman and Manager Joe Girardi, and after those are sorted out, the club has a few critical free agents to deal with as well. The list of notable Yankee free agents is as follows:  SP CC Sabathia, DH Matt Holliday, 3B Todd Frazier, SP Jaime Garcia, and SP Michael Pineda. It is also worth noting that Masahiro Tanaka could join this list if he decides to opt out of his contract. Kathy Wellington/AP

The 2017 Yankees season was a wild ride that by most accounts exceeded our expectations. It delivered many exciting moments from players all throughout the roster and although the young players were the focus this year, there were veterans on the roster that played key roles and helped drive the Yankees’ postseason run. Even though the core stayed the same, Brian Cashman made a lot of deals this season to transform and improve the Yankees’ roster. One of the key pieces he acquired was third baseman Todd Frazier. Credit: Bill Kostroun/ The Associated Press

Absolutely stunning. After being dominated by Lance McCullers and being down four runs going into the seventh inning, the Yankees pulled off one of their most improbable comebacks in their rich postseason history. Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez combined for five RBIs in the team’s final two at-bats, and Aroldis Chapman shut the door. Photo Credit: AP

The Yankees were put in a familiar spot down 2-0 in the series, and looking for a huge win at home to get right back into it.  It was C.C Sabathia on the hill for the Yankees in game three, facing off against Charlie Morton, both of which had surprising breakout seasons.  Sabathia was brilliant in the 8-1 win, throwing six shutout innings. The bats finally came to life in the series putting up eight runs, after only two runs combined through first two games. Photo Credit: Abbie Parr | Getty Images

After getting dominated by Dallas Keuchel in game one, it was the same story in game two as Justin Verlander silenced the Yankees’ bats, and another solid Yankee pitching performance went wasted. Neither team hit the ball well in this contest, but the Astros got to Chapman in the ninth as Carlos Correa hit a walk-off double to score Jose Altuve from first base. Photo Credit: David Phillips | AP

As the Yankees completed an incredible comeback from a 2-0 deficit against MLB’s best team, the Cleveland Indians, on Tuesday night, one of the major keys was a trade the Yanks made back in July. By acquiring Tommy Kahnle, David Robertson, and Todd Frazier, the Yanks added to their stacked bullpen and gave themselves depth at first and third base. Well, fast forward a few months later and all three guys played a crucial role in the ALDS. Photo Credit: David Richard/USA Today Sports

Entering 2017, the Yankees were thought of by many to be in rebuilding mode. Still, Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman insisted that the team would rebuild and compete simultaneously. The team did just that, going 91-71, taking the first Wild Card spot winning the one-game playoff over a clearly inferior Minnesota Twins team. The reward for winning that game was a five game series with the mighty Cleveland Indians. The Yankees have held their own against a team many have claimed is the team to beat in the 2017 playoffs. Deadlocked at two games apiece, the Yankees have a decisive game five in Cleveland against likely 2017 Cy Young Corey Kluber. While the odds may not be in their favor to advance, the Yankees have had plenty of chances, most notably the game two blowup that would have the Bombers in the ALCS already. If the Yankees are to fall tonight, there will be plenty of questions to address this offseason. Photo Credit: AP

The Yankees looked to keep their season alive Monday night for game 4 of the ALDS in the Bronx.  It was Luis Severino going to the bump facing off against game one star Trevor Bauer.  Severino was in pursuit of a bounce back start after only getting one out and allowing three earned runs in the Wild Card game last Tuesday against Minnesota, and he did just that.  Severino responded with an absolute gem, going 7.0 IP, with only 4 H, 3 ER, 1BB, and 9K, in the 7-3 win.  The bats also came to life again in game four, putting up seven runs and building up momentum into Cleveland on Wednesday.   The Yankees are now 3-0 in elimination games in the playoffs. Photo Credit: Kathy Willens | AP

The Yankees came into this game looking for a bounce-back win for some momentum heading back to the Bronx. The Bombers would strike early and often, holding an 8-3 lead heading into the sixth, but after a horrible no-challenge decision by Joe Girardi, a grand slam by Francisco Lindor, a solo home run by Jay Bruce, the Yankees head to extras. Heartbreakingly, New York would lose the game in the bottom of the 13th inning, returning home down 0-2 in the series. Randy Miller | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

After being heavily favored in their first playoff game of 2017, the Yankees got the job done on Tuesday night in the Bronx by defeating the Twins rather smoothly in an 8-4 fashion. However, they now come into Cleveland as obvious underdogs and are facing a much stronger opponent in the Cleveland Indians. The Indians were the American League’s best team with a 102-60 record and a magical run of 22 consecutive victories. They succeeded in doing so due to their talented roster. The Yankees may have momentum on their side and a young dynamic team, but the Indians are a daunting task for the Wild Card champions. Here is a position breakdown of the two teams:   Photo Credit: David Dermer | AP

Fresh off a record breaking performance by Aaron Judge when he hit his 50 th home run of the season in an 11-3 throttling of the Royals in a makeup game, the Yankees took on the Rays in the first of a three game set. The Yankees sent Jordan Montgomery to the hill making his 28 th start of his rookie campaign. In what could be his last outing of the year, Montgomery excelled going six strong allowing just one run in the Yankees 6-1 win on Tuesday night.   Photo Credit: Randy Miller | NJ.com

Coming off an 8-1 shellacking in the first game of the series, the Yankees looked to clinch a playoff spot this afternoon with a bounce-back win in Toronto. The Bombers fell behind early with a solo home run in the third, but Greg Bird would send a rocket in the fifth to take a 3-1 lead. That would be all the Yankees needed for the win but tacked on a few more runs to clinch their first postseason berth since 2015. Randy Miller NJ.com Gray took the mound to face the hard-hitting Blue Jay lineup in the bottom of the first. After a quick strikeout, Gray gave up a walk and a sharp outfield single, bringing up slugger Jose Bautista. Gray was able to get the righty to pop up to centerfield,  but the threat wasn’t over just yet. With Kendrys Morales up to the plate and a runner in scoring position, Gray was in trouble early. Morales would hit the ball out to left field, but a sliding catch by Brett Gardner ended the inning. In the top of the second. Chase Headley reached on a on...