Yankees midseason awards: the best and worst of the team's first half

We've reached the official halfway point of the season with the Yankees heading into the four-day All-Star break today. At 47-47, the Yankees are 5 games back of the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East.

Hal Steinbrenner opened up his checkbook for the Yankees to spend almost $500 million on free-agents, such as Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran and Masahiro Tanaka. But that wild offseason spending has hardly paid off for the Bombers, with really only Tanaka and Ellsbury earning their money so far.

There is no doubt that this team has under-performed so far this season, but you could also point out the fact that injuries have riddled the team just as much as they did last season, with four fifths of their Opening Day rotation currently on the DL.

The Yankees had a goal of winning one last World Series calls it a career at the end of the season, but with the way things are going now, they could be out of the playoff hunt by the time September rolls around.

Most Valuable Player: Masahiro Tanaka

Without a doubt, Tanaka has been the best player on the Yankees' roster this season. Named an All-Star in his first Major League season, Tanaka is 12-4 with a 2.51 ERA in 18 starts but has lost three of his past four outings. Regardless, without him, it's hard to see the Yankees even still being in contention for the division title.

There were a lot of expectations on Tanaka shoulders when coming over, having gone 24-0 last season in Japan and then getting such a big contract (seven-years, $155 million) with the Yankees put a lot of eyes on him. He not only met the challenge, but he went above and beyond it in his first couple of months.

Obviously we don't know if the elbow injury was there when his recent downward spiral began, but maybe the routine of having to pitch every fifth day, compared to once a week in Japan, was starting to get to him.

The Yankees are hoping that Tanaka is only going to be out for about six weeks, with Tommy John surgery currently on hold. There is no doubt that should Tanaka be out for the rest of the year, the Yankees' playoff chances are essentially over.

Least Valuable Player: Carlos Beltran

After a brilliant postseason with the St. Louis Cardinals last October, Beltran hit the open market with the Yankees keeping a close eye on him, and likewise from Beltran, who always dreamed of being a Yankee. Brian Cashman, according to some reports, did not want to sign Beltran on anything more than a two-year deal, but in the end, with the Kansas City Royals making a series push, Cashman gave him a three-year pact, for some reason that is already looking like a terrible mistake.

Hitting just .216 with nine homeruns and 28 RBIs in 61 games for the Bombers this season, Beltran has already been on the DL twice -- first for an elbow injury in May, and the second being right now with a concussion from a batting practice accident.

There has always been some concerns about Beltran staying healthy through the end of this deal, but if anything, we thought it would be related to the bum knees that have troubled him in the past. Instead, it's the bone spurs in his elbow which have limited him to being a DH-only for the Yankees since he can't throw. And because of that, the Yankees have had to use Ichiro Suzuki on a full-time basis, and it even forced more regular playing time for Alfonso Soriano, who shouldn't have been getting that.

Biggest surprise: Yangervis Solarte

Where did this guy come from? A career minor leaguer, Solarte broke through in spring training and earned a spot on the Yankees' Opening Day roster. He carried his hot bat in Tampa with him to the regular season, hitting .303 in April and .296 in May, where he started to finally come crashing down to Earth near the end, and eventually posted a .164 batting average before he was optioned to Triple-A.

He didn't stay in the minors very long, coming back after just over a week later. Since his call-up, he's 1-for-9, though.

I don't know, maybe he just went on a hot streak for a couple of months, but it seemed like he would never come back to life, which is no longer the case. I really hope that he can turn things back around and start hitting well again -- not just for the Yankees, but for himself -- because he's a fun person to watch. Long live the Legend of Yangervis.

Biggest letdown: Michael Pineda

Honestly, Pineda is the team's biggest letdown, in my opinion, because we hardly ever got a chance to watch him pitch. He only completed four starts before he was dumb enough to get caught with pine tar on his neck, leading to a ten-game suspension, during which he would get hurt and we haven't seen him sense.

This was suppose to be the year that Pineda finally took the mound for the Yankees and made fans realize why it was such a big deal to acquire him. With a 1.83 ERA in his first four starts, Pineda was off to a great start before stupidity and bad luck caught up to him.

Pineda completed a 25-pitch bullpen session without issue Friday, but a mid-August return to the majors remains his best-case scenario. Coming back anytime in August would be a major addition to the Yankees' rotation, but right now.

Reason to keep believing: the schedule gets easier

The Yankees have 40 home games at Yankee Stadium in the second half of the season -- that's the most in the leagues. The Orioles, meanwhile, who lead the division, have one of the league's toughest schedules in the second half, which could bode very well for the Bombers.

On the flip side, the Yankees have struggled at home this season, but you never know how that might play out in the second half.

This team, for the most part was build for their home ballpark, with the power in Mark Teixeira, McCann and Beltran -- Soriano was another, but was recently DFA'd. McCann and Beltran have struggled, while Teixeira is leading the team with 17 homeruns so far. You have to think that they'll turn it around at some point. This lineup is weak, yes, but it can't hit this bad for the entire season, can it?

Reason to stop believing: the injuries

Four fifths of the Yankees' Opening Day starting rotation is currently on the disabled list -- and two of those guys, possibly three, are pretty much done for the rest of the season, with Pineda, as I mentioned, likely to come back sometime in August, at the earliest.

If there was one player that the Yankees could not afford to lose this season, if was Tanaka. And go figure, they lost Tanaka for at least six weeks, possibly longer if the rehab doesn't work and he needs to have Tommy John.

Coming into the season, the rotation figured to be the Yankees' biggest strength, and now it's their biggest weakness with Chase Whitley only going 3-4 innings a start, and there being no other reasonable in the minors because they're all here. The trade market is dry, and the Yankees don't have much to get the top-tier pitchers out there.

Without injuries, the Yankees are probably sitting pretty in first place right now.

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Game 91: Yangervis Solarte returns

The Yankees have just four games left before the All-Star break that starts on Monday. This team, more than ever, could really use those four days off next week, with injuries and tired bullpen arms taking over the team.

The Yankees and Indians played 14 innings last night, with the Bombers prevailing, 5-4, thanks to a solo homerun in the top of the 14th by Jacoby Ellsbury Brandon McCarthy, making his Yankees debut, last 6.2 inning, then it was the bullpen that went till the very end.

As the entire city waits on the edge of it's seat to hear from LeBron James and whether or not he'll be taking his talents back to Cleveland, the Yankees and Indians will complete this four-game series tonight, and the Yanks will look to take three of the four game before heading to Baltimore for a series against the Orioles.

Tonight's lineup against Cleveland:

LF Brett Gardner

SS Derek Jeter

CF Jacoby Ellsbury

1B Mark Teixeira

DH Brian McCann

C Francisco Cervelli

3B Zelous Wheeler

RF Yangervis Solarte

2B Brendan Ryan

* Solarte is back! The Yankees recalled him from Triple-A Scranton this afternoon, while placing Carlos Beltran on the 7-day concussion DL after taking a ball off of his face during batting practice yesterday. Solarte went 12-for-20 with four extra-base hits during his brief trip to Scranton.

Pitching matchup preview:

With Masahiro Tanaka in the DL, the Yankees are going to need pitchers to start stepping up and filling the void left by the team's ace, and that starts with David Phelps tonight.

3-4 with a 4.01 ERA this season, Phelps is looking to build off of his last start, when he allowed just one run on three hits in seven innings against the Minnesota Twins.

TJ House will take the mound for Cleveland tonight. House is coming off of his first Major League win, in which he allowed three earned runs in 6 2/3 innings against the Kansas City Royals.

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Zelous Wheeler called up, Yangervis Solarte optioned; Dean Anna designated for assignment

Confirming reports from Wednesday night, the Yankees announced on Thursday that infielder Zelous Wheeler has been called up for Triple-A Scranton, earning the first promotion of his professional career. On the short end of things, the struggling Yangervis Solarte was optioned to Triple-A, and Dean Anna was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.
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If there was anybody that I did not see as a call-up option this season, it would have been Wheeler, who really worked hard this season to get into this position.

Wheeler is batting .300/.368/.469 with seven homeruns and 31 RBIs in 65 games with the Triple-A team this season, spending most of his time at third base, with shortstop and right field mixed in. So he's a versatile option for Joe Girardi's bench.

Solarte is in a is in a 3-for-41 (.073) slide after going 0-for-4 on Wednesday. On a larger scale, he's been batting .187/.270/.268 since mid-May. As much as you wanted to believe otherwise, Solarte was a career minor leaguer that didn't last very long. Not only his bat, but his defense at third base has taken a hit, too.

Anna, meanwhile, was traded to the Yankees during the winter, and played well enough in the spring to earn a spot on the Yankees' Opening Day roster. He was optioned down to Triple-A near the end of April after batting .162 in 12 games for the Yankees. Things weren't much better in Scranton -- he spent some time on the DL, hitting .196 down there. He was a nice guy, a good fielder, but couldn't live up the batting potential with the Yankees.

The Bombers are in Minnesota today to open up a four-game series with the Twins.

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Yankees Prospect Profile: Yangervis Solarte

While most minor league free agents won't get a prospect profile, Yangervis Solarte has really piqued the interest of some fans with his early spring training performance. Solarte is basically a utility infielder who is a journeyman at this point. Solarte may have found himself a permanent home, as the team really needs an infielder. Considering the other options on this team, Solarte has an outside shot of making this team.

Vitals & Statistics:

DOB:  07/07/1987
Bat-Throws: B/R
HT: 5-11
WT:176

2011 AA stats (121 gms) AVG/OBP/SLG/WOBA/WRC+                    .329/.367/.466/.372/130
2012 AAA stats (130 gms)                                                                   .288/.340/.405/.332/93
2013 AAA stats (103 gms)                                                                   .276/.323/.403/.324/89

Background:

Solarte was signed out of Venezuela by the Twins in 2005. His career has been riddled with injuries, but he has done a better job of staying on the field the past few years.

Solarte has spent most of his career in the Minnesota Twins organization. He wasn't considered a big prospect for them, and eventually found his way to the Texas Rangers. His prospect status didn't change with the move, but he did get the chance to advance to AAA.Unfortunately Solarte's numbers were nothing special at that level, as he failed put up the eye popping stats people expect out of players in the Pacific Coast League. 

Because of his lackluster numbers Solarte has never made an organization's top 30 prospect list. His lowly prospect status and the fact the Rangers have a lot of depth at the infield position the team made Solarte expendable. The Rangers did not resign him when he reached free agency. This allowed Solarte to sign with the Yankees as a minor league free agent.

2013 Performance & 2014 Outlook:

Unlike most players Solarte actually fared worse in his second year in AAA. This is a pretty bad sign. It suggests that he hasn't been improving.  Solarte may still prove to be a good player, but the mediocre stats that he put up in two years in an offensive league can't be erased by his early spring training numbers. According to Solarte the Rangers promised to call him up last season, so it's possible that he has more talented than his numbers suggest.If that is the case the Yankees may have signed an interesting player, who just happened to have developed slowly.

Even if he is a late bloomer I would not let him win a job out of spring training. He just doesn't have a great track record. With that said it would be great to have another switch hitter off the bench, so hopefully his hot start is a sign that he suddenly broke out.

Final Verdict:

Considering the Yankees would have to cut a player to put him on the roster, I do not see him making the team. It's pretty hard to imagine him beating out players like Dean Anna and Eduardo Nunez for roster spots, especially considering Nunez hasn't looked bad so far. Considering that Nunez and Solarte are the same age, and Nunez has done more in his career, I feel that Nunez should be given yet another chance, before the team gives Solarte one. With that said Solarte gives the team a lot of flexibility. He is a natural second baseman, but can really play any infield position, and has played some outfield as well.

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Josh Sabo is a Minor League writer for Yanks Beat Blog


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Things worth noting from the first week of spring training games

Yes, obviously it's tough the judge a player or team by what they do in spring training, especially the very first week of games. But there was a few things that caught my eye, and figured I would use this also as an update on how things are going for the club.

* Yankees catchers have been very impressive at the plate so far. The Yankees got almost not production from the catcher position last season, with just eight homeruns coming from the backstop. Brian McCann has been swinging the bat well, and not that he's getting hits in every at-bat -- he is 4-for-8, though -- but he's making hard contact on everything, which is only going to help with the short-porch in right field at Yankee Stadium.

The backup catcher race has been looking pretty competitive. Francisco Cervelli and John Ryan Murphy have both been swinging the bat well, too. Cervelli has four hits in seven at-bats and is also hitting balls hard. Murphy has four RBIs, three coming on a three-run homerun the other day, and has been showing off the potential that many underrate.

At this point, I still think that Cervelli is still the front-runner to win the backup job behind McCann. Cervy, as Joe Girardi calls him, is practically built to be a backup catcher in the big leagues. He gives you some very good defense behind the dish, and is a better hitter than, say, Austin Romine, who is more about defense.

I read an interesting thought from Chad Jennings of Lohud this morning that ties into Cervelli being the back. Jennings pondered the idea that the Yankees might be setting up Cervelli to be Masahiro Tanaka's personal catcher this season.

When the Yankees held their team bonding pool tournament earlier this spring, Tanaka's partner was Cervelli, who also caught him in his spring debut against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday. While McCann has to learn the entire pitching staff because he is new, Cervelli already know most of the pitchers very well, and would be able to spend more time with Tanaka, and get to know him much better.

While that's not something the Yankees will come out and say during the spring, it'll be something to watch for as the games go on, especially this Thursday when Tanaka starts against the Phillies again, we'll see who is behind the plate.

One last note on the catchers: The Yankees have used a catcher at the DH position in almost all of their games this spring, meaning they've had two catchers in the lineup. Many speculate that the Yanks are trying to showcase their catching depth for a possible trade to acquire an infielder. The Arizona Diamondbacks are looking to add a young catcher, and are willing to give up one of their middle infielder. In that case, a trade could very much work out for both teams involved.

* Though it's too early to call him a legit roster spot contender, Yangervis Solarte has been very impressive this spring, both at the plate and in the field. Solarte currently has the highest batting average on the team after playing in just four games -- he's 6-for-7 with two homeruns and five RBIs.

If he continues to play well at this pace, it'll very possible that eh does get his name thrown into consideration when Girardi is deciding who he wants on his bench to start the season. Solarte could be a lot like a Eduardo Nunez-type player for the Yankees, and so far, he's been this springs Ronnier Mustelier, who played well enough to make the squad last year, but suffered an injury at the end of camp, hurting his Opening Day chances.

* Another thing tough to judge after just one week is how the starting pitchers have performed, because they've all been impressive. CC Sabathia, low velocity and all, Hiroki Kuroda and Masahiro Tanaka combined for six scoreless innings on Saturday. Ivan Nova looked very sharp yesterday against the Washington Nationals, striking out four in three innings. And Vidal Nuno has looked good as one of the fifth starter candidate.

David Phelps and Adam Warren also pitched well in their first starts of the spring; Michael Pineda is the only fifth starter candidate that has yet to pitch, but we'll him in action on Friday for the first time. The word on the street with Pineda, though, is that he's been throwing the ball well, and his arm strength is coming back.

Dellin Betances and Cesar Cabral -- two young pitchers with good chances to break camp in the bullpen -- have been solid and impressive during games. Betances has given up just one hit in almost four innings of work, while making his case to be an important piece in the Bronx this year. Preston Claiborne has even thrown two scoreless innings with four strikeouts. He, too, can be important in the bullpen for Girardi this season.

* Derek Jeter looks healthy, and that's big. The infield is, without a doubt, the most questioned part of their roster. There are a handful of roles that will have to be defined as the spring goes on, but a healthy Jeter can help a lot.

Jeter says that he wants to play as much as possible yesterday, but we all know that he's not going to play shortstop everyday; he'll get a good amount of time in as the DH, and the Yankees will have to use Brendan Ryan, with a mix of either Dean Anna, Nunez or Solarte to also play shortstop, while also filling in at second base for Brian Roberts, who you need to keep healthy, and Mark Teixeira, who will need time off a couple days a week.

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Gavin Ewbank is the Lead Writer of Yanks Beat Blog

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