SSTN Mailbag: Hader, RF, And Grisham!

Remember when the Yankees had an awful record against winning teams? I'm glad that the Yankees are giving us reasons to stop talking about that. Given, I don't consider most of the teams in the AL to be seriously good baseball teams, but all of the Yankees' games against those teams count. Additionally, they are finding ways to win without Aaron Judge, which they have struggled to do in the past when Judge misses significant time. It really does prove that despite the way it feels to us much of the time, this Yankee offense is deeper than it has been in past years.

The picture is even better if you zoom out a bit. By any publicly available WAR calculation that I can find, the Yankees are second to only the Dodgers in total team WAR. Until very recently, Yankee starting pitchers were the best group in the Majors according to Fangraphs; now there are 4 teams grouped at the top, though the Yankees and Dodgers are neck-and-neck (and much of the Dodgers' SP WAR comes from Ohtani...who appears to have a sore knee). By most metrics, the Yankees are a good baseball team. Do they need more help? Yes. However, I strongly believe this team is in a good place as the summer heats up.

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 a potential trade with the Astros, the RF situation while Judge is out, and Trent Grisham! Let's get at it:

Fuster asks: they wont trade Alvarez or Pena, but will they trade Hader

and, if so, would the Yankees have interest

in making an offer

and of what might the Yankee offer contain?

I am having a lot of trouble picturing the Astros selling at the trade deadline. These are not the cold, analytical Astros that built a dynasty a decade ago. Owner Jim Crane gutted many of the systems and processes that allowed the Astros to thrive, and their Major League roster and minor league pipeline has eroded significantly. The time is ripe for a rebuild of some kind, but I think much of the staff in the front office is forced to abide by the whims of their owner, who is largely delusional regarding the current state of the roster.

In reality, I think the Astros should look at a modest sell-off, and Hader would be one of the names I'd look at. The biggest issue is his contract. It's exorbitant, and no one knows what the next CBA will look like. That complicates trades that involve large amounts of money moving around. Hader has 2 years and $38 million remaining after this year, and that's a large chunk of change to devote to a 1-inning reliever. Could the Yankees use a reliever? Absolutely. Can they absorb the cash? Who knows. It becomes an interesting conversation if the Astros are willing to kick in half of the money. If that happens, Hader is a viable target, though he's slightly diminished from his peak.

If Hader moves, they will look for young pitching, because the Astros have very little pitching both at the big league level and in the pipeline. Elmer Rodriguez and Ben Hess would both be on the table as the centerpiece of a Hader trade. From there, I think a mid-level arm and a low minors lottery ticket would round out a package if the Astros eat half of the money.

Again, I don't see a high percentage that this happens.

DJ asks: How would you handle RF in the event that Dominguez and Stanton get healthy before Judge is ready to return (hopefully in August...please??!!!!!???)?

There is an interesting corollary to this conversation that I'm going to bring up in my answer to the next question, but it is a very interesting question. Spencer Jones has hit much better since getting his 2nd taste of big league action, though the peripherals remain ugly. He's only really done damage on the worst hung pitch of the season (an 87 MPH flat cutter right over the heart of the plate...every big league hitter can hit that out); otherwise, it's lucky groundballs and a lot of whiffs. I remain very unconvinced by Spencer Jones, and already we've seen that they won't play him against LHP, given that he has a 50%(!) strikeout rate against them. I'm not sure he can coexist with Stanton and Dominguez on the big league roster.

I have always thought that Dominguez's ideal outfield position was RF. The Yankees clearly recognize that as well, given that he's been exposed to that position on his AAA rehab. I strongly suspect that when Dominguez completes his rehab, he will be given some run as the primary RF. Stanton is further away, so I'm not sure how they'll handle that when he returns.

It's really going to come down to what the Yankees' appetite for a real roster shakeup is. Based on recent performance, I think Anthony Volpe is quickly earning a demotion. Caballero is a better player, though neither is particularly ideal as an everyday SS. Volpe's defense looks much closer to his previous standard, and there are glimmers of hope in his offensive performance, but not nearly enough to justify an everyday role. As a bench player, Volpe doesn't have much utility without defensive versatility, something he can gain in the minors.

I would think that Volpe and Jones are the odd men out with Dominguez and Stanton back in the fold.

Brian S. asks: What are your thoughts on Trent Grisham rest of season? His bat seems to have come around for now, but his defense seems inconsistent. What are your thoughts?

I am very confused by the Yankees' insistence on keeping Grisham in CF. He has poor and diminishing range, and his routes have never been particularly good. His instincts are generally fantastic, but they no longer make up for his diminishing skills elsewhere. He has enough arm for an outfield corner, and there are times where I think he should play there depending on who else is in the lineup.

That said, Grisham is playing basically how I thought he would this season. He is a very solid offensive contributor, and many of the positive changes he made last season have stuck mechanically. Since an awful first week or two of the season (more specifically, since April 13th), Grisham is hitting .257/.347/.463, .809 OPS. It's even better since the calendar turned to May. Grisham is a very good offensive contributor, and he's earning his salary, even with the shaky defense.

Grisham's defensive drop-off is of significant concern to me, and I very much wonder if at some point this year, Cody Bellinger gets more reps out there in CF.