SSTN Mailbag: Call-Ups, Chisholm, And ABS!

What a difference a few days makes. Yankee fans came into this week riding high. I'm sure most of us feel a bit deflated after watching the offense against the A's. If you feel that way, count me in. I know it's cold. I know the ball isn't flying. I know some guys might be a bit stiffer in the early cold while others might still be finding their bearings coming out of Spring Training. It doesn't change the fact that it's disheartening to watch the entire lineup outside of the 2-5 spots lay goose eggs over multiple games.

However, that isn't my biggest gripe at the moment. My biggest gripe is roster management. The Yankees went into the season with an extra man in the bullpen. Presumably, that extra man was maintained for 2 reasons:

1. The Yankees didn't need a 5th starter for the first 2 weeks of the season based on schedule.

2. The Yankees wanted to see what they had in Cade Winquest, a Rule 5 pick from the Cardinals who would need to be offered back to the Cards should he not stick on the MLB roster all season.

One would think that the Yankees would have at least gotten a look at Winquest in the first few games with an unsettled bullpen, right? No, apparently. The Yankees DFA'd Winquest last night to make room for Luis Gil. He never entered a game; I'm not sure he even warmed up in the Yankee Stadium bullpen during the homestand.

Winning takes precedence, but have you seen what the Yankees are trotting out of the bullpen? I'm sorry, I don't understand the logic.

The reality is that these concerns and issues will fade as the season moves along, but it doesn't make it any less head-scratching in the meanwhile.

As always, thanks for the great questions and keep them coming to SSTNReadermail@gmail.com. In this week's SSTN Mailbag, we'll talk about call up considerations, Jazz Chisholm's slow start, and the early returns on ABS! Let's get at it:

Alan B. asks: With how much McMahon has struggled and how Rasario struggles at the plate, & GLJ has another good week this week in Binghamton, do the Yankees move him up to AAA playing strictly 3 games each a week at 3B and SS? Or do they promote Cabrera up to see what he can do as it's clear Caballero is not an everyday SS? And by promoting Cabrera, GLJ replaces him in SWB. (this question sent in on Tuesday)

Alan sent this in prior to what will surely become known as "The Amed Rosario Game." There is little question but that McMahon and Caballero have struggled mightily to begin this season.

I noted before the season that I thought Caballero would be overexposed playing SS everyday, and he's done nothing to dispel that idea thus far. Caballero often looks uncomfortable with reads at SS, and his arm has played surprisingly light for the position. There's a reason Caballero hasn't grabbed a starting job elsewhere prior to now, and we're seeing it on full display. He's a really good player to have around as a super utility player that plays 2-3 times per week, but he's not quite good enough as an everyday player at one position.

The McMahon struggles date back to last season, but they've been particularly pronounced to begin this year. He's largely making the right swing decisions; he just can't make contact with any consistency, and his strikeout rate has soared. I wouldn't be surprised if his struggles at the plate are leaking into his performance in the field either, as he looks less than elite defensively at the hot corner thus far, which is a surprise. Again, I noted 3B as an area that required upgrade this offseason, and McMahon has been far worse than I expected.

Rosario is who we think he is: a really good platoon option against left-handed pitching and righties with reverse splits. He shouldn't play everyday, as he's a free-swinger against righties and he doesn't really profile defensively at any one position. I'm fine keeping him around.

Both of Caballero and McMahon have time to turn it around, and they deserve a bit more time to find their footing, but it's getting late early. Yes, George Lombard Jr. (GLJ) looks like he is putting the pieces together at AA (be careful about scouting the stat line, though; one of his two homers was against a position player in a blowout). That's incredibly exciting, particularly given how aggressive the Yankees have been with his promotions. We know that he can cut it at SS defensively, and he also has looked good at 3B in the minors and in Spring Training.

From a developmental perspective, I think there is value to letting GLJ have success for a sustained period of time before a call-up. The Yankees have been so aggressive with his promotions that he's never been able to gain the confidence that comes from raking for a couple of months. Mentally, I think that's actually an important developmental milestone. Then, we have to take into account the environment at AAA. There is so much weirdness at AAA as a weird minor league holding tank and testing ground that many teams, the Yankees among them, are really just using it as finishing school for top prospects. I do not want the Yankees to rush a GLJ call-up unless he is so dominant at AA in April and May that he forces the issue.

The other issue here is Oswaldo Cabrera. He still looks very rusty coming off of his horrific ankle injury last year. I think he needs more time down in AAA to find his sea legs. He'll eventually be important to the 2026 roster, I believe, but not in the 1st half.

We're going to know where all of this is going by the time Volpe is ready for a return sometime in the next 6 weeks. Watching what we've seen from the left-side of the infield, I think I'll take good defense with suboptimal hitting at SS if it upgrades 3B by extension.

Brian S. asks: Jazz looks completely lost at the plate so far with bad challenges and a lot of swing and miss. I know he's a streaky player, but do you think he's wilting in his free agent year?

He's definitely pressing, and you can see it by his mannerisms on the field. He's trying to make up for underperformance by trying to hit a 6-run home run every time he's in a hitter's count as opposed to letting the game come to him. Realistically, this is part of the Jazz experience; incredible hot streaks during which he can carry a team, and stunningly bad cold streaks that can shock anyone who has seen his raw talent.

I don't often agree with Boone and company's lineup decisions, but I definitely agreed with giving Jazz a breather yesterday. He's clearly pressing, and needed a day to clear his head. He's an emotional player, often in a really good way, but it can be a gift and a curse. Who know whether Jazz's looming free agency is in his head, but whatever is causing his current cold streak, he needs some help to get out of it.

Last season, one of his hottest hot streaks came after being reminded to swing easier. I think reiterating that lesson might be the best thing the Yankee coaching staff could do right now.

Michael G. asks: What do you think about ABS so far and how the Yankees use it?

I like it! I will freely admit to one aspect of living with it day after day that I didn't expect: I feel bad for some home plate umpires. It's critical to get egregiously bad calls out of the game, but I'm not interested in reviewing 50/50 judgement calls. I actually don't think it's fair that umpires get publicly shamed by ABS when calls get overturned that are 0.1" in the wrong direction. The human eye can't possibly perceive that difference with the amount of velocity and spin that are in the game now. That aspect of the ABS system leads me to believe that we are quickly heading for a system of complete automation for balls and strikes. Other than that fact, I think the roll-out has been fairly smooth.

As far as the Yankees are concerned, I think we're learning a lot about how different players perceive the game at the plate. Ben Rice and Jazz Chisholm are incredibly emotional and prone to knee-jerk challenges; Aaron Judge is probably too deferential to the home plate ump, given his incredible control of the strike zone. These things will even out over the course of the season as the Yankees get more comfortable with the zone and individual tendencies.

What I can tell you is that I expect the Yankees to maintain at least one challenge with greater frequency heading late into games. We've seen the Yankees get stuck with bad strike calls in late and close situations where the team was out of challenges. This is all part of the strategies that will be refined as players and coaches get more comfortable with the system.

Overall, it's mostly gone as I expected.