The Yankees have maneuvered properly to do right by themselves while likely hurting the sport.
With an off-day Thursday, the Yankees could skip the struggling Vidal Nuno and have Masahiro Tanaka start the opener of a three-game series against the Red Sox in The Bronx.
Instead, citing the long season and seeing a chance to give extra rest to Tanaka and the rest of the rotation, the Yankees are going to stay in order and have Nuno start against the Red Sox, though he has the worst home ERA in the majors at 7.09 (minimum 35 innings) and has given up the most homers (13) at home — 11 to righty hitters. So, if you can get a future bet in on Mike Napoli hitting a homer Friday, go for it.
It means Tanaka will start Saturday, then July 3 at Minnesota, July 8 at Cleveland and July 13 at Baltimore. And you know what July 13 is? The last day of the first half. Only twice in the last 20 years — Randy Johnson in 2000 and Brad Penny in 2006 — has a pitcher started the final Sunday of the first half and then also Tuesday’s All-Star Game.
The chances are close to zero the Yankees let Tanaka become the third. This is not like last year, when the Mets used Matt Harvey’s innings cap and a mild blister on a finger as excuses not to let him start the Saturday before the break so he would be available to start the All-Star Game. But that game was at Citi Field, so the Mets were happy to conspire for the best story line.
This game is at Target Field in Minnesota.
There is a possibility Tanaka could start and be limited to 15 pitches or an inning. But the strongest likelihood now is the player who would draw the most interest if he started — here and, particularly, back home in Japan — probably will get named to the AL team and then replaced, not to even perform in the game.
Since the All-Star Game is for self-promotion and TV ratings (remember, World Series home field was tied to the game as a way to try to drive up Nielsen ratings), MLB will be losing one of its strongest drawing cards.
A conspiracy theorist would think the Yankees were pleased with this fringe benefit of staying in line. But General Manager Brian Cashman insisted to me: “It never came up. The only thing that has ever come up [with Tanaka] is giving an extra day of rest whenever possible. If we can do it, we want to do that.”
This is the first season Tanaka is working mainly every five days (starters generally pitch once a week in Japan). And the Yankees even began the year with Tanaka pitching out of the No. 4 slot because it afforded the best chance for several extra days of rest early in the season.
Tanaka has been, far and away, both the Yankees’ ace and workhorse. He has pitched at least seven innings nine times — the rest of the staff has done it 10 combined. In fact, Tanaka (106.2) and 39-year-old Hiroki Kuroda (89.1) are the only Yankees with enough innings to qualify for the ERA title and Cashman did say, “The extra day is for Kuroda, too. He is older. The extra rest benefits him, also. The extra rest should benefit everyone.”
Plus, while following their familiar path of emphasizing the current season, the Yankees want to make sure not to abuse Tanaka. He is, after all, a seven-year, $175 million investment.
“We can skip the fifth man to maximize short-term, but that is not in the individual’s best interest,” Cashman said.
So the Yankees will do right by the individual, Tanaka, and the team, although it will have a detrimental impact on the good of the overall game.
Capital confusion on return of Harper
In a season when devastating injury has been such a central story line, is it possible the Nationals are about to get, of all things, too healthy?
Bryce Harper, who had late-April surgery for a torn thumb ligament, began a minor league rehab assignment Monday. Washington hopes he will return next Tuesday or Wednesday. Then the intrigue begins.
While Harper healed, Ryan Zimmerman returned from his own thumb injury, but as a left fielder. It had become clear to all involved, notably Zimmerman, his chronic shoulder problems simply made his throwing too erratic to stay at third. This allowed the emerging Anthony Rendon to move from second to third and Danny Espinosa to be inserted at second, providing better overall defense for a club that had struggled in that area.
But left field is Harper’s spot and Nats manager Matt Williams has said when Harper is activated, Zimmerman will go back to third. But Zimmerman has hardly sounded enthusiastic about that. He did begin taking grounders in batting practice on Monday again. If Zimmerman plays third, Rendon (11 homers, .810 OPS) goes back to second and Espinosa becomes a utility player.
However, what if Zimmerman cannot handle third? Keep in mind his six-year, $100 million extension began this season and carries through 2019. So, it is not as if the Nats can just sit him. Long-term, he probably becomes the first baseman. But Adam LaRoche provides lefty heft (.896 OPS) for a lineup that tilts righty, so the Nats will have to decide if they also want to pick up his $15 million 2015 option.
Harper has played center before and likes the position. In theory, Zimmerman could play left, Harper center and Denard Span could be benched. But Span has gotten hot of late, provides the best defensive option in center and has hit leadoff in 65 of Washington’s 75 games. He has a reasonable $9 million club option for next year, so it is possible the Nats could trade him to alleviate the logjam, but that would mean the injury-prone Harper must hold up and be capable of playing center, and Zimmerman must be fully capable in left.
Won’t be anyone doubting Tomas
There is a strong copycat element in professional sports, and MLB is no different. That is why — once he is made eligible by MLB to be bid upon — Cuban outfielder Yasmani Tomas should have plenty of offers. That is because Tomas, who recently defected, is right-handed with power viewed as his best tool.
In recent years, the Athletics’ Yoenis Cespedes, the Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig and the White Sox’s Jose Abreu each received significant contracts after defecting from Cuba. Through the weekend, there were just 16 righty hitters in all the majors who qualified for the batting title and had slugging percentages above .500 — and three hailed from tiny Cuba: Abreu (.598), Puig (.532) and Cespedes (.504). By comparison, consider of all the first-round draft picks, just four were among that list of 16: Mike Trout (2009), Todd Frazier (2007), Troy Tulowitzki (2005) and Andrew McCutchen (2005).
There is, in fact, a strong possibility Cespedes, Puig and Abreu will be among the eight players who will be asked to participate in the Home Run Derby the day before the All-Star Game, putting the righty power of lefty-leaning Cuba on full display.