Yankees star Aaron Decide has been slowed a bit by some stomach discomfort just lately, with supervisor Aaron Boone telling reporters yesterday that the 2022 AL MVP is “mid-spring banged up” whereas downplaying issues of a extra severe damage. Decide revealed this morning that he underwent an MRI on his stomach area yesterday to establish that there was no vital damage at play (X hyperlink by way of Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). That imaging got here again clear. Decide says he gained’t swing a bat till later this week however is hopeful he’ll be within the Opening Day lineup.
On the one hand, the truth that Decide has prevented any sort of severe damage is an apparent trigger for reduction. On the opposite, it’s hardly supreme that the season hasn’t even begun and he’s lower than 100%. Decide specified that the discomfort he’s felt has been in the midst of his stomach muscular tissues — not his indirect area. That’s significantly notable on condition that Decide has had a pair of indirect strains previously, together with a Grade 2 pressure in 2019 that value him two months of the season.
“I believe simply from swinging from November all the best way till now, each single day, it put some put on and tear on it,” stated Decide (by way of Hoch). “Particularly coming again after a [right] toe damage when your mechanics are just a little tousled and also you’re simply engaged on some issues.”
Decide, 32 in April, was as soon as once more glorious in 2023 — although a hip pressure in late April value him 10 days, whereas the sprained toe he referenced wound up shelving him for greater than a month. In all, he performed in 106 video games — his fewest in a 162-game season since 2019 — and posting an excellent .267/.406/.613 slash with 37 residence runs in simply 458 journeys to the plate.
The Yankees are already awaiting MRI outcomes on ace and reigning Cy Younger winner Gerrit Cole. Coupling that with even minor concern in regards to the workforce’s greatest all-around participant makes for an uncomfortable few days for the membership and its followers. The Yankees indicated yesterday that Cole is anticipated to obtain a number of opinions on his MRI outcomes. An announcement at this time will not be essentially a given. SNY’s Andy Martino wrote yesterday that membership officers have characterised the Cole MRI as “precautionary” and downplayed concern over a possible long-term damage. Time will inform whether or not that proves to be the case.
Within the wake of the Cole information, there’s been a renewed deal with the Yankees’ rotation depth and ample hypothesis on contingency plans. The remaining pair of high-profile Scott Boras purchasers — Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery — have been on the forefront of that hypothesis. Martino reported in his piece that the Yankees haven’t but circled again to Snell since issues about Cole arose. Joel Sherman of the New York Publish throws some chilly water on the concept of the Yankees pivoting to both left-hander.
The posh tax issues for the Yankees have been highlighted at size by now. As a reminder, they’re a third-time payor who’s within the fourth and last tier of penalization. Any additional additions to the payroll shall be taxed at a 110% fee (primarily based on the contract’s AAV) on prime of the participant’s wage. Within the case of Snell, he’d additionally require forfeiting the workforce’s second-highest draft decide and surrendering $1MM of pool area in subsequent yr’s worldwide free agent bonus pool, as a result of Snell rejected a qualifying provide from the Padres.
Maybe partially due to that, Sherman experiences that the Yankees had been extra concerned about Montgomery earlier within the offseason than in Snell — regardless of making a reported provide to the latter. The Yankees, per Sherman, “couldn’t get a powerful engagement” from Montgomery on the time, nonetheless. That strains up with some late-February reporting from The Athletic’s Jim Bowden, whereby he wrote that Montgomery’s hope had been for a return to the Rangers and that it was “believed” he didn’t “favor” a Yankees reunion. With Montgomery nonetheless lingering available on the market and the Rangers seemingly disinclined to spend additional, none of that ought to expressly rule out an eventual match between Montgomery and the Yankees.
Sherman means that the likeliest plan of action for the Yankees is to face pat whatever the information on Cole, although he opines that in the event that they do make a transfer, they’re likelier to fulfill the White Sox’ asking worth for right-hander Dylan Stop than they’re to signal Snell or Montgomery. Stop is making $8MM this season and is managed by way of 2025 by way of arbitration. He’d include an $8.8MM luxurious hit, however that’s a pittance relative to the tax hits it’d take to signal Montgomery or Snell for an AAV of $25-30MM — if no more. Prior reporting has indicated that the ChiSox had been insistent on the inclusion of prime outfield prospect Spencer Jones in talks relating to Stop, whereas the Yankees have been loath to contemplate shifting him in any deal.
