Uncustomed Heroes of 2022: Yankees

 

As we are about to ring in a New Year, let's remember a Yankees season that was very much reminiscent of the last few. A huge rise, a steep midyear drop-off, some close playoff wins and an inevitable loss to Houston. Same Yanks, different year.

I'm not gonna lie and say there weren't any improvements to this Yankee team, because there certainly were. People like Nestor Cortes and Jose Trevino showed up and became surprise heroes, late additions like Harrison Bader and Matt Carpenter made for an exciting second half, and, well, Aaron Judge hit 62 home runs and gets to be a Yankee for the rest of his life. Even as the highs were higher than a lot of Yankee seasons of late, we still couldn't make a World Series, and it's getting to be that this team may not be able to leg it out for an entire postseason now that it's a month+ ordeal.

Aaron Hicks, this year, played his fullest season in a Yankee uniform since 2018. Though his defense has improved since the injury-plagued years, Hicks' plate numbers left a lot to be desired, as he hit .216 with 40 RBIs and 8 home runs. We've got him for another 3 or so years, and it's looking like he'll be starting the year in the outfield, so I hope he has something left.

2023 Prediction: He doesn't. Oswaldo, you're up, buddy.

2022 was Aroldis Chapman's final one in Yankee pinstripes, and in his absence, Clay Holmes, a 2021 pickup, got the ninth. The first half he was incredible, scoreless through May, and nabbing an All-Star nod. His July was almost enough to sink him, and he allowed 16 earned runs from July to September after allowing just two before then. Postseason Holmes was more akin to his earlier behavior, as he went scoreless in 5 appearances with 7 strikeouts, even if the ninth inning role had been given to another pitcher by this point. Still, Holmes ended the season with 20 saves and a leg up on the closing position going forward.

2023 Prediction: 30 saves. Not cleanly, but still. This is the post-Rivera era of Yankees pitching, not every closer is gonna be clean.

Inevitably, Domingo German had an opening this season to start again. I don't know if the Yankees have forgiven him in the way they forgave Chapman [initially], but he at least improved this year, with a 3.65 ERA and 58 Ks in 15 starts. Not perfect, but the exact kind of extra arm the Yanks had in mind.

2023 Prediction: Seeing as the Yankees will be going with a Cole-Rodon-Cortes-Montas-Severino rotation, and four of those guys have had health issues to this point, I expect 20 starts.

We signed Marwin Gonzalez to be a useful utility bat who can play just about anywhere, and that's exactly what he was for us. His fielding numbers were excellent, with his best fielding statistics since 2019 in Minneapolis. At the plate, while he did have 6 home runs and 18 RBIs, he still struggled to hit for average. 

2023 Prediction: Uses a Korean Leagues season as a ramp to eventually be a useful piece of a 2024 contender.

The Yanks had two relevant bullpen hidden gems for me this year. One of them was Ron Marinaccio, the rookie from Toms River, NJ who began the year in the Yankee bullpen. In 40 games he had a 2.05 ERA, 56 Ks and gained a fan-following. For a kid that grew up a Yankee fan, that's gotta be pretty cool.

2023 Prediction: Finishes in the top tier of the Yankee bullpen and lasts the whole season.

Additionally, Wandy Peralta continued his strong work since coming over from San Francisco. In 56 games he held a 2.72 ERA, only allowing 17 earned runs and coming away with 4 saves. Peralta was the team's primary closer during the postseason, and got 1 save during the Cleveland series, while striking out 8 and allowing 3 earned runs.

2023 Prediction: A down year, but the bullpen won't exactly suffer.

Of all things I expected going into this season, the Yankees signing Matt Carpenter and him being one of their biggest midyear successes was certainly not one of them. After his subpar years with St. Louis, and after a botched Spring Training gig with Texas, I figured he didn't have anything left. In just 47 games, Carpenter hit .305 with 15 home runs and 37 RBIs, finishing the season with a higher OPS than even Aaron Judge. Yes, an injury robbed him not only of a second half continuation but of any pop during the postseason, but that June was enough for us to appreciate him.

2023 Prediction: I don't think the Padres are gonna get much of what we just got.

Speaking of great performances stunted by an ill-timed injury, Andrew Benintendi was a high-profile trade for us, coming over from Kansas City. Though he took a while to get used to New York, he was just getting the hang of things, notching 5 RBI in the last weeks of August and keeping his season batting average above .300. Then, beginning of September he gets injured, Bader takes his place and becomes a postseason hero.

2023 Prediction: A worthy sequel to his 2021 KC numbers in Chicago.

And finally Frankie Montas, the one move I really wished the Yankees wouldn't have made. I figured Luis Castillo was a surer bet, but the Mariners got him and locked him up. Montas always came off as streaky and ineffective. After trading J.P. Sears and Ken Waldichuk to Oakland for him, Montas pitched 8 starts, and had a 6.35 ERA with 28 earned runs in the midst of injuries. 

2023 Prediction: I really hope there's some level of improvement. I really, really do. Cause if not, we just wasted another trade deadline. 

That's all I've got for 2022. I hope you've enjoyed the blog this year. Hopefully there'll be some level of content in the next few months before pitchers and catchers report.

2020 Topps Final Edition: Cards #226-234

 With this post, we reach the point where this 2020 Final Edition set has less than 100 cards left for me to show you all. I cannot believe we've really trucked through this set this quickly, but I'm intrigued to get to some more of the stuff I have left in the last 100 cards.

Card #226- Robbie Erlin, Atlanta Braves

As of now, the 2020 season counts as journeyman pitcher Robbie Erlin's final one, and judging by his Braves numbers, it's not the greatest way for a player to go out. True, he did get a location upgrade from the last place Pirates to the pennant-contending Braves thanks to a late-season trade, but the former Padres hurler struggled in a late-rotation role for the Braves, with an 8.49 ERA in 23 innings. For those reasons, Erlin was released in September to allow for Kyle Wright and Bryse Wilson to be a part of the postseason roster.

Card #227- Trevor Rogers, Miami Marlins

Ah yes, one of the bigger rookies of 2021 so far. Last year, however, Trevor Rogers was just another attempt at a starting job, in the absence of Jordan Yamamoto and Robert Dugger's better numbers. In 7 starts, Rogers struck out 39, but had a 6.11 ERA. In one postseason appearance, Rogers got beat up a bit by the Braves, as well. And yet he was given a starting nod in 2021 and has been fantastic in 8 starts, with a 5-2 record. Hopefully he keeps up the good work.

Card #228- Heath Hembree, Boston Red Sox

A few posts ago I mentioned Hembree's Phillies numbers, and how dismal they were. But let it be known that Heath Hembree, a longtime relief specialist for the Sox, was already struggling in Boston at the top of the season. Hembree had a 5.59 ERA in 11 games in Boston, so the Sox weren't exactly frightened of losing him. The good news is that Hembree is rebounding from his 2020 season very well with the Reds right now.

Card #229- Wandy Peralta, San Francisco Giants

Another guy in the news right now. Wandy Peralta was a Cincinnati reliever who was dealt to the Giants at the 2019 waiver deadline. In 2020, he gave the Giants some pretty strong numbers in relief, with a 3.29 ERA in 25 games, with as many strikeouts in that period. Peralta was often on-hand as a mop-up man in non-save situations, a role he was also placed into in 2021 with less success. Peralta is a big deal right now because the Giants traded him to New York for Mike Tauchman, an outfielder whose bat and heath the Yankees could really use right now considering the injuries that are attacking the outfielder. Peralta has been pretty good in the Bronx so far, but not as good as Sockman has been in SF. 

Card #230- Mike Clevinger, San Diego Padres

The golden prize of the 2020 trade deadline, Mike Clevinger was having a great season in Cleveland before violating COVID protocols to have a good time in Chicago. So the Indians, as punishment...sent him to the Padres, the most promising team in the league? Not really much of a punishment, don't you think? Clevinger started 5 games in San Diego, one in the postseason, and was pretty strong, with a 2.84 regular season ERA, and 19 Ks. Only problem is the fast-throwing Clevinger was wearing out his arm, and would need Tommy John surgery after the season. The Padres have him signed til 2022, so they'll get one strong season out of him, at least, but he's not gonna see any time in 2021.

Card #231- Josh Naylor, Cleveland Indians

One of the San Diego players dealt in exchange for Clevinger was Toronto's own masher Josh Naylor, who immediately went to work to prove himself worthy of a starting spot, which he failed to do even in a DH-friendly Padres season. But Naylor fit the Indians' mash-mentality a lot more, with 14 hits in 22 games. The postseason, though, is where Naylor came to life. He only got two games, against the Yankees, to make a name for himself, but with a .714 average with 3 RBIs and a homer, plus 5 hits overall, he definitely gave the Yankees' pitching some scares. So far he's on the right track as a power hitter as well this season.

Card #232- Derek Dietrich, Texas Rangers

After finding fame as an everyman super-ute in Miami, Derek Dietrich shifted to an all out power bench bat in Cincinnati in 2019. After being cut by the Reds out of camp, Dietrich laid low until the Rangers came calling, and by early August he was up and playing in Arlington. In 25 games he only hit .197, but had 8 RBIs and 5 homers, which was enough one-dimensional power for a very blah Rangers team last year. Dietrich tried to make camp with the Yankees this year, but he was cut in favor of Jay Bruce, and we all know how well that turned out.

Card #233- Ryan Castellani, Colorado Rockies

In the absence of Tim Melville, the new young inexperienced Rockies starting auditione was now Ryan Castellani, the longtime farmhand who'd been in the system since 2014. Castellani started 9 games and had the usual acclimation period in Denver, with a 5.82 ERA and 4 losses. He's already been called upon for a start this year, but since the Gray-Marquez-Senza-Gomber-Gonzalez rotation has been solid otherwise, he's already been sent down.

Card #234- Michael Conforto ASG, New York Mets

In a 2020 season where the All Star Game had been played, Michael Conforto would not have gotten the start in right due to Mookie Betts' incredible start, but he definitely would have made the team and gotten some playing time during the game. Last season was another strong one for the contact-hitting outfielder, and Conforto has become one of the perennial stars to watch for the Mets. So far he's not exactly on his A-game at the plate, but the season is young.

Next up are 9 more cards on Monday, including some of the biggest stories of 2021 foreshadowed last year.