#aaron-hicks

#aaron-hicks

Andrew Benintendi, the rent-a-player the Yankees couldn't buy last season, simply didn't want to play in New York - too much pressure, too many mouthy fans for the Midwestern guy - so he signed with the White Sox as a free agent in the off-season.Turns out, New York or Chicago, he'd be playing on a lousy team - although he could have done Yankees fans the ultimate favor by signing and pushing Aaron Hicks off the roster.

We had seen this script before.On a day where the eyes of New York were firmly focused on two-time NCAA National Champion Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks, the New York Yankees appeared to waste yet another solid start from ace Gerrit Cole, as the Cleveland Guardians jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and the Yankees offense looked helpless.

When Franchy Cordero was recalled from the minors just before last night's game with Aaron Judge hitting the IL, there was a feeling of absolute melancholy over potentially having to see Cordero flail in the Yankees ' lineup again.He had looked completely lost since his hot first week, and no one was looking forward to his return, particularly with the MVP out.

When you think of near no-hitters, the ones that come to mind are usually the ones broken up in the ninth inning.Think the Mike Mussina near-perfect game in Fenway Park in 2001.This particular outing from Domingo Germán was close to one, but not in that way.Other that a first-inning hit, Germán then mowed down the Guardians' lineup.

This was a tough series to sit through, and if you watched all 36 innings you're a stronger person than yours truly.I did get through all of today's 15-2 drubbing at the hands of the Rangers, their third loss of the series, and the quicker we talk about it, the sooner we can all just move on.It's never a good sign when the offensive highlight of the game is an RBI groundout.

New York won the series opener last night versus Texas, but their victory was not the biggest story coming out of that contest.Reigning AL MVP, single-season AL Home Run King, and franchise icon Aaron Judge left the game in fourth inning with right hip discomfort.As of this afternoon, he's headed for an MRI, and an entire organization and fanbase waits with bated breath (as does Jake Bauers on the taxi squad).

It's early May, but it's never too early to panic if you are a fan.Calls for change come quickly when players struggle on the big stage, and there's been a whole lot of struggling going on in the Yankees' lineup.With Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Josh Donaldson all down with injuries (as well as Harrison Bader until today), the offense is filled with too many below-average major league hitters and young players going through growing pains as they establish themselves.

It's hard to believe that it's May already - the first month of the season has both flown by and dragged on depending on your perspective as a Yankees fan.With the start of the new month comes the return of our GM approval series, but before we get into evaluations of Brian Cashman, let's review the team's path through April as well as the decision the GM has made in 2023.

Aaron Judge left Thursday's game due to hip discomfort, and Yankees manager Aaron Boone updated reporters (including Peter Sblendorio of the New York Daily News) today that the star slugger has a mild strain located at the top of his hip.The Yankees will look to make a decision by Monday about whether or not Judge needs a stint on the 10-day injured list to fully heal up, though Boone noted that Judge has " shown a lot of improvements here in the last two days.

Well, the story tonight revolves around the Yankees ' two best players.One of them, Gerrit Cole, was great again, propelling the Yankees to their second straight win.The other, Aaron Judge, exited early and has an entire organization holding its breath.A day after awkwardly sliding into third base against the Twins, Judge was pulled in the fourth inning.

Rejoice!The first pitch of the 2023 season is just over 24 hours away.From the moment the final out of the World Series is converted, the countdown begins for one of the best days of the year - Opening Day - and that day has nearly arrived.The Yankees have been firming up their 26-man roster over the last couple of days.

The Yankees just wrapped up their final game of spring training, an exhibition against the Nationals in DC.Only a few hours separate DC and the Bronx, and only 46 hours or so separate us from Opening Day festivities at Yankee Stadium with the Giants in town.The Yankees' 26-man roster is almost set, but there are a few grey spots still to be worked out.

The Rangers may have sustained a devastating blow when Jacob deGrom exited last night's start with forearm tightness, but they still managed to secure a comfortable 5-2 victory over the Yankees.While the Yankees await news on Aaron Judge's hip, we get our first look at Jake Bauers following his call-up earlier this afternoon.

The long winter is finally over and the 2023 baseball season is officially set to begin.While a lot of the faces on the team are familiar and returning, this was as important an offseason as any.Fortunately, things worked out in favor of the Yankees and their fans, and instead of facing an orange-and-black-clad "Arson" Judge, manager Aaron Boone will be penciling in the newest Yankees captain on his lineup card.

With roughly 48 hours remaining until regular season play begins, Nestor Cortes takes the ball this afternoon for one more tune-up before the games really matter, this time with a lineup behind him that looks like something we could see with a fair amount of regularity this summer, even if it's not quite the full Opening Day ensemble.

On Friday afternoon, Luis Severino got the ball for his third tune-up start of the spring.The end result was better than his first couple outings, and as an added bonus, the Yankees took advantage of an unlikely power source to capture a 4-3 win over the Tigers.Severino went with a fastball-heavy approach during the first two innings, hovering around 94-97 mph as he went with the heater for half of his initial 28 pitches.

Spring training is dead!Long live spring training!It wrapped up in a 3-0 loss at Nationals Park, but what's most important is that everyone escaped the finale with their health intact.Oh, and Nestor Cortes was sharp along the way.Although he failed to record a strikeout, Cortes looked like he won't miss much of a beat when the games actually count the next time he pitches, allowing just two hits and a walk across four innings.

We've reached the point of the spring where it's hard not to just entirely focus on Opening Day later this week.As every day goes by, we get more news on who has or hasn't made the Yankees' roster.On Sunday, the news was exciting, with the announcement that top prospect Anthony Volpe was going to be part of the big league roster.

Last week, when we opened the 2023 edition of Pinstripe Alley's annual Making the Team Meter, we found a Yankees roster that, despite battles for the shortstop and left field positions and the fifth spot in the starting rotation, looked relatively set for Opening Day.Things can change quickly during spring training, however, and over the course of the last seven days, the landscape completely changed: injuries to Carlos Rodón, Tommy Kahnle, and Lou Trivino suddenly opened a plethora of spots on the pitching staff, while Harrison Bader's oblique strain meant that the team has not one but two outfield spots up for grabs.

Good afternoon all!It's a semi-hasty thread today, but since once again Major League Baseball is not broadcasting a spring training game at all, I'm not going to feel that sorry about it.There's no TV or radio, so we'll only be able to follow along on Gameday.Delightful!
Clarke Schmidt gets the ball today for one of his final starts of the spring.

Just like that, there's one full week of spring training left.The competitions in camp became more numerous than originally expected, thanks in no small part to the bevy of injuries that the team sustained throughout the preseason.Still, we're nearing the end of the line for several non-roster invitees and prospect hopefuls looking to snag a spot on the Opening Day team, and thus we have one last push to figure out just what we've learned from this spring.

CBS Sports | Mike Axisa: The Yankees mourned the passing of one of their franchise's most beloved players on Monday, when news came that Joe Pepitone had died at the age of 82.Pepitone was a mainstay of the team throughout the 1960s, winning two pennants with the organization as a player and returning briefly as a coach in the '80s.

Baseball Prospectus: BP released its annual PECOTA projections yesterday, and of most interest to Yankees fans is the fact that the system currently has New York notching the best record in baseball at a rounded 99-63 - well ahead of their AL East rivals and also better than the Mets, Dodgers, and even the defending champion Astros.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across Major League Baseball.Each week, we send out questions to the most plugged-in New York Yankees fans, and fans across the country.Sign up here to join Reacts.Today is the day!The first spring training contest is here, kickstarting the 2023 season and the Yankees' chase for a 28th World Series championship.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across Major League Baseball.Each week, we send out questions to the most plugged-in New York Yankees fans, and fans across the country.Sign up here to join Reacts.The Yankees are no stranger to injuries this spring.The rotation, the bullpen, the catching position, and center field.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across Major League Baseball.Each week, we send out questions to the most plugged-in New York Yankees fans, and fans across the country.Sign up here to join Reacts.The offseason is virtually over for the Yankees, and spring training is officially upon us.

The 2018-19 offseason was an eventful one for the Yankees.They had the chance to sign not one, but two generational talents in Bryce Harper and Manny Machado.The latter reportedly preferred to go to the Bronx, but the Yanks let other teams take the lead and he ended up signing a 10-year, $300 million contract with the San Diego Padres.

Gio Urshela arrived in the Yankees organization with zero fanfare - in fact, when he was acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays for cash considerations on August 4, 2018, the move went so far under the radar that we did not even dedicate an article to the move on Pinstripe Alley!Then, during the following spring, our very own Matt Ferenchick did not exactly give him a ringing endorsement for a roster spot when he wrote, "Urshela is by far the least known and least likely person to play for the Yankees in 2019" and "If he has to play for New York this season, something probably has gone seriously wrong."