Yankees notes: Heyman tweets Yankees’ trade deadline plans, much more

This batch of Yankees notes has updates on the the Yankees’ plans for the trade deadline, Curtis Granderson’s return, Jorge Posada’s injury, Nick Swisher’s personal life, the Yankees upcoming schedule and a few impressive individual performances.

• Jon Heyman, the guy you want to follow on Twitter for trade rumors, tweeted the Yankees plans this summer. They’re looking for two things, he says. A bat to replace for Nick Johnson and a reliever.
  
  I certainly agree with acquiring a new reliever, one that actually lasts full seasons on the same team, perhaps. But replacing Johnson is a different story. He’s expected back by early July, so are the Yankees planning on acquiring this new bat in June? Or are they planning to deal Johnson in exchange for a bat at the deadline?
  
  As far as I’m concerned, it’s a little early to thinking about trade rumors. I couldn’t even tell you who the key guys on the market are. I’m not sure if anyone could!
  
  
• Curtis Granderson made his return to the Yankees last night, which I was on hand to see. Randy Winn was designated for assignment to make room for Grandy. With a typical lineup, this leaves these players on the bench:
  
  Juan Miranda/Marcus Thames, Kevin Russo, Ramiro Pena and Chad Moeller.
  
  
• Jorge Posada played catch yesterday and could be hitting off a tee soon, Joe Girardi said, according to Chad Jennings. It sounds to me like the Yankees starting catcher could be back in a week and a half (solely my speculation).
  
  
• Nick Swisher is engaged. The lucky lady? An actress on a show I’ve never heard of “Privileged.” Her name is Joanna Garcia. Check out the link for a picture of the couple holding their puppy.
  
  
• The Yankees upcoming schedule looks prettay good, as Kevin Rozell of Zell’s Pinstripe Blog points out. After three more games with the Indians, the Yanks face the Orioles twice, the Blue Jays and the Astros. Throw in an off day in the middle and at the end to put the cherry on top.
  
  
• Robinson Cano stepped into the cleanup spot for the first time in his career last night, and he delivered. (Alex Rodriguez was given a full day off because he was due for a day off, Jennings said. Francisco Cervelli got one too). Cano is clearly the team’s MVP up to this point, and is making a case for league MVP — a race I’ll be following as long as the Yankees have a candidate for the honor.
  
  
• Phil Hughes collected his sixth win last night. Between him and Andy Pettitte, the dynamic duo combine for a 12-2 record with a 2.66 ERA and 93 strikeouts this year. Very impressive.

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Lots of good news here for the Yanks. Be sure to check out my plans for maintaining this blog over the summer and this post I made highlighting the craziness that the Yankees have dealt with so far in the 2010 season. Trust me, it’s a fun post.

Poll Results: Granderson’s loss won’t stop Yankees from taking first place from Rays

With Curtis Granderson out for at least the month of May, Brett Gardner became the everyday center fielder and left field became a platoon of Randy Winn and Marcus Thames.

Granderson was hitting .225/.311/.375 before getting injured. Gardner has stayed hot in May, and Thames and Winn have combined for .241/.353/.344.

However, now Nick Johnson is most likely out for May too. It looks like the Yankees will continue to use this as a time for giving veterans half days off and Ramiro Pena and Francisco Cervelli work at the major league level.

New Poll: Do you respect Dallas Braden after his perfect game?

Winn wins it for Yankees with 3-run jack

Randy Winn entered tonight with one hit in 13 at-bats on the season. His second hit was a three-run homer that gave CC Sabathia and the Yankees (17-8) a 4-1 victory over the Orioles (9-17).

Quick ‘Cap:
After Matt Wieters homered to right off Sabathia in the second inning, the big lefty used two double plays and made big pitches to complete eight innings of one-run ball. With Mariano Rivera unavailable due to an injury in his left side, Joba Chamberlain came on for the save in the ninth and got the job done.

Winn’s three-run shot to right-center came in the fourth after Nick Swisher extended the inning with an RBI single off the wall and Brett Gardner singled to center. With three hits, Swisher was the only Yankee with a multi-hit game. Orioles-Yankees box score. 

Thoughts:
Jorge Posada left the game with tightness in his right calf and is getting an MRI tonight, Rivera has been unavailable since Saturday, Chan Ho Park hasn’t pitched since mid-April, Alex Rodriguez missed Sunday’s game and Curtis Granderson is out for a month. What fans feared most seems to becoming reality: Age is taking its toll on the Yankees. More injury updates to come.

Line of the Night:
Winn: 1-for-3, HR, 3 RBI. Here’s a guy who had 538 ABs last year and is stepping into a backup role for the first time. Good for him to keep up his confidence.

Up Next:
Tuesday night belongs to A.J. Burnett as he looks to stay hot.

Spring training meant nothing for Thames

Remember when everyone was worried about left field with Brett Gardner, Marcus Thames and Randy Winn fighting for the last spot? Well, Gardner has been outstanding, Winn hasn’t even needed to pick up a bat and Thames has been red hot against lefties (16 of his 17 at-bats).

In 52 spring training at-bats, Thames collected seven hits. He already has more hits in a third of the at-bats this season. Against lefties, he’s hitting .625 with three doubles and a homer. That’s insane.

Meanwhile, Gardner is hitting .306/.386/.371. He’s also tied for the league lead in steals with nine. He’s on pace for 70 steals this season.

Yankees mix up lineup against Kazmir

The Yankees face southpaw Scott Kazmir tonight, which has led Joe Girardi to the first change in the top five of the lineup this season. Nick Johnson and Brett Gardner will start the game on the bench, Randy Winn will start in left and Marcus Thames for DH. Lineups via LoHud:

Angels lineup	Yankees lineup
Erick Aybar SS	Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF	Nick Swisher RF
Torii Hunter CF	Mark Teixeira 1B
Hideki Matsui DH	Alex Rodriguez 3B
Kendry Morales 1B	Robinson Cano 2B
Howie Kendrick 2B	Jorge Posada C
Mike Napoli C	Marcus Thames DH
Brandon Wood 3B	Curtis Granderson CF
Reggie Willits LF	Randy Winn LF

Some notes:

• It’s Jackie Robinson Day! That means every Yankees will wear No. 42. (Mariano Rivera is the last player wearing the sacred number.)
  
• Phil Hughes will make his 2010 debut. He’ll either be a bust, or he’ll shine. Here’s what I think will happen to Hughes if he has a rough start to the year.
  
• River Ave. Blues mentioned a lineup change idea that I agreed with regarding Mark Teixeira’s slow start.

Cashman: Hoffmann’s spot is ‘his to lose’

Headline says it all, according to Chad Jennings.

I was surprised by Brian Cashman’s statement. The Yankees have a few outfielders vying for a spot on the roster, and I thought Jamie Hoffmann was last on that list.

The outfielders with a 99.9 percent chance of making the team are Cutis Granderson, Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner. Those three, plus a 12-man pitching staff, two catchers, the rest of the starting infield, a backup (Ramiro Pena most likely) and Nick Johnson, leaves two spots left on the 25-man roster.

Candidates:
Randy Winn
Hoffmann
Marcus Thames

Winn is an obvious pick for me, but it’s a coin flip between Hoffmann and Thames for the final spot. Hoffmann has better defense, Thames has more power and experience.

You could also make the argument for Juan Miranda (1B/DH) for the final spot. He might be the best hitter of the bunch, but he’d be third or fourth on the depth chart for first base (so he’s probably not the guy).

Check out this post for a breakdown of some of the high-up minor league outfielders that could see time in the Yankee outfield.

Thoughts on Damon, Yanks offseason

After the Yankees signed Nick Johnson, I thought there was little chance Johnny Damon would return. After the Yankees signed Randy Winn, I knew he wasn’t coming back. Yesterday, Damon finally agreed to a deal with the Tigers.

Damon made perhaps the most defining play of the 2009 World Series when he stole third base in Game 4. Hideki Matsui provided the championship-clinching performance with six RBIs in Game 6. Now both are out of pinstripes and are playing for two of top competitors in the league.

If you’re Damon and could turn back the clock, would you accept a one-year, $6 million deal to stay in New York, the city you wanted to stay in the whole time. Or would you take the extra $2 mil to go play for Jim Leyland?

I think he’s regretting not accepting a deal with the Yankees. On the other hand, props to Scott Boras for getting him more money a couple days into spring training.

Damon or Granderson? I asked this to my Twitter followers yesterday: Who will have the better year? I think it’ll be pretty close, but possibly give a slight edge to Granderson since he’ll be hitting to a friendly right field fence.

Damon or Matsui? Who will have the better year? I answered this question for hotstove.com recently. I said Matsui will be more productive because the Angels will use him exactly the way the Yankees did. He still can hit.

Yanks add Thames for outfield competition

The Yankees signed added Marcus Thames to a non-roster contract to compete with Brett Gardner, Randy Winn and Jamie Hoffmann for the final outfield spot, according to SI’s Jon Heyman.

This is not the first time Thames has been with the Yankees, as he was drafted by them in 1996 and homered on the first pitch he saw in the Majors against Randy Johnson.

Here are his career stats.

Yankees at the Super Bowl?

Tonight’s the biggest night of sports on television. The Super Bowl is being held in Miami this year, and although the Yankees haven’t reported for Spring Training yet, I’m betting there will be some World Champions at the scene.

I know Derek Jeter has a new mansion in Tampa, but that’s four hours away from Miami.

Of course, I’ll be watching and posting about any glimpses of Yankees in the stands.

News updates:

• Yankees haven’t made any moves for the Major League roster since acquiring Randy Winn.
• Johnny Damon is still out there and Scott Boras is still trying to find a team for him.
• Pitchers and catchers are expected to report on Feb. 17, but we already know Joba Chamberlain will be arriving earlier.

Reed Johnson signs with Dodgers

The Yankees were pursuing FA Reed Johnson before they eventually wound up signing Randy Winn. This morning, Johnson reached a one-year, $800,000 deal with the Dodgers.

Most fans who had gotten over the Johnny Damon divorce were advocating for the Yankees to pick up Johnson, who would have been a nice fit to platoon with Brett Gardner. Just look at their career splits:

Gardner vs. RHP: .260/.328/.361
Gardner vs. LHP: .241/.310/.316

Johnson vs. RHP: .265/.324/.383
Johnson vs. LHP: .313/.378/.463

Instead, the Yankees ended up with Winn, whose splits last year don’t mesh well with Gardner’s.

Winn vs. RHP: .292/.354/.397
Winn vs. LHP: .158/.184/.200

It’s a small sample size, but it’s possible lefties have just finally figured out Winn.

Something to keep in mind: Winn is a switch-hitter.

In the end, this really isn’t anything to be too mad about. We’re talking about backup outfielders here, not the meat of the lineup.

Girardi: Winn adds depth to outfield

Joe Girardi was at Bernie Williams’ charity function on Saturday and had time to talk about the offseason.

Most notably, he said this of the Randy Winn acquisition:

"I know people have talked about Randy Winn replacing Johnny Damon, and that wasn't why we signed Randy Winn. We signed Randy Winn so we'd have depth to make sure we have depth and make sure that we have competition. If someone gets hurt, we have enough people to fill the spot. Randy Winn has been an everyday player for a long time. We're comfortable with him in that spot."

Like I said when the Yankees first picked him up, Winn is not the future. He’s just a guy to keep Brett Gardner on his toes. Since the Yankees couldn’t come to terms with Johnny Damon, a fourth outfielder was a necessary addition.

Here’s what Girardi said of the Damon situation:

“I don't think anyone is quite sure from our standpoint where Johnny is going to end up. But Johnny was a great Yankee, we loved having him, and we're going to miss him.”

Poll Results: Yankees better than last year even without Damon

In my latest poll, the fans voted the 2010 Yankees will be a better team than the ‘09 Yanks. My first thought was the third answer — “With Damon it is.” But let’s take a closer look.

Key additions:

• Curtis Granderson
• Javier Vazquez
• Nick Johnson
• Randy Winn
• Francisco Cervelli
• Boone Logan

Key losses:

• Johnny Damon
• Hideki Matsui
• Melky Cabrera
• Austin Jackson
• Phil Coke
• Ian Kennedy
• Chien-Ming Wang
• Jose Molina

If you only compare the big names, Granderson and Johnson replace Damon and Matsui, but then the Yankees also got Vazquez. I think Damon and Matsui would have been a better tandem, but Vazquez should be a great No. 4 and make the Yankees better overall in 2010.

Next poll: Which addition will be the most valuable in 2010?

Fans should be thankful for Brian Cashman

Some general managers can’t fill a team’s needs in the offseason, even if they do have the money to spend. Then there’s Brian Cashman.

All he did was bring in a young center fielder and a durable starting pitcher through trades and signed a guy in his prime for DH. He did this without giving up either of the Yankees’ top three young players, and didn’t have to spend much money.

Still, fans complain he didn’t convince the big guns upstairs to sign Johnny Damon. Well, as I noted yesterday, Cashman did convince them to go $4 million over their budget. It’s Damon’s fault he’s not a Yankee. Not Cashman’s.

So Cashman had no choice but to stop pursuing in the guy everyone wanted for a huge increase in production, but also a huge downgrade in defense for left field.

Instead, he settled with Brett Gardner, a guy who still has time to develop into the dangerous leadoff man he projected to be as a young prospect. And to put the cherry on top, Cashman brought in a veteran, Randy Winn, to back Gardner up if he really starts stinkin’ up the joint. He did that in less than a week after Damon turned down his offer.

There are no holes on this roster. Hats off to Cashman, and stop whining if you’re still whining.

Yankees projected Opening Day roster

The Yankees are done making big moves after signing Randy Winn on Wednesday. Besides possibly moving Sergio Mitre or Chad Gaudin, the Opening Day roster won’t be changing. That means it’s time for some projections. Here’s what I expect the Opening Day roster to look like:

Rotation:
CC Sabathia
A.J. Burnett
Andy Pettitte
Javier Vazquez
Joba Chamberlain/Phil Hughes

Bullpen:
Mariano Rivera
Phil Hughes
Damaso Marte
David Robertson
Alfredo Aceves
Chad Gaudin
Sergio Mitre/Boone Logan/Mark Melancon

Lineup:
Derek Jeter
Nick Johnson
Mark Teixeira
Alex Rodriguez
Jorge Posada
Curtis Granderson
Robinson Cano
Nick Swisher
Brett Gardner

Bench:
Randy Winn
Jamie Hoffmann/Juan Miranda
Francisco Cervelli
Ramiro Pena

Is Randy Winn the outfield solution?

The Yankees came to terms with Randy Winn today, a 35-year-old outfielder who hit .262/.318/.353 for the Giants last year. He got close to the $2 million the Yankees had left in their budget, so the signing pretty much closes the book on re-signing Johnny Damon.

The good news: Finally, the cries for Damon will quiet and I won't have to keep posting about him.

The bad news: I don't think Winn was the right guy to spend the last bit of dough on.

Winn is just a guy to challenge Brett Gardner for his spot in left field. He's not the future. The only positives are he might make Gardner work a little harder to keep his job and he can play all three outfield spots fairly well. I highly doubt he'll be an Opening Day starter. I'll have more on Winn as soon as we hear more from the club.

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