Chris Kirschner on the Yankees, Jasson Dominguez, Giancarlo Stanton, & DJ LeMahieu

Intro yeah I mean if they end up DFA him they would owe him $30 million over the next two years joining us for the first time on Jasson Dominguez Ft it's Chris kersner he writes for the athletic Chris first off great to have you on how you doing I'm doing well how are you guys doing really good so I enjoyed the article and felt like it was really necessary because baseball gets pretty complicated sometimes so some people are like oh the Yankees doing something Shady to keep Jason is down in the minor leagues right now can you describe a little cliffnotes version of what you put in the article that helped to kind of ease some tension from fans at least yeah I mean I I definitely thought that there was some shady business going on myself honestly with Jason Dominguez because when I saw the Yankees make the roster moves they did on September 1 and it was Duke Ellis instead of Jason Dominguez it was like huh like what's going on here but after talking to some people there doesn't seem to be any sort of benefit for the Yankees to be manipulating Jason service time so he's ineligible for the PPI pick that the orol and the Diamondbacks had with gunar Henderson and Corbin Carroll winning Rookie of the Year Dominguez started the season on the Major League Baseball injured list and he has over a 100 days of service time already so with the PPI um pick the way to get it is a rookie has to have less than 60 days of service time time but Dominguez because he's over a 100 days he does not qualify so even if he ends up winning Rookie of the Year and by Major League Baseball's rules he is still a rookie because he hasn't spent 45 days on the active roster you know obviously he spent more time on the injured list but he hasn't spent uh 45 days on the active roster he has fewer than 130 career at bats so he is a rookie but he doesn't qualify for that pick so even though he wins rookie of the year next year the Yankees don't benefit in any tangible way it's only a status symbol essentially for the organization rather than getting that conditional first round pick does he make this team better we we got we got rid of nothing nefarious is going on here no Yankee conspiracy anything does he make this team better based on how they're playing right now and how the team is constructed going through September and October yeah I mean I'm of the opinion that Dominguez is one of the their best position players obviously he's not with the team right now but I do think that with the production that they've gotten from Alex Verdugo and left field I think Dominguez could basically do the same and I think his ceiling is much higher than verdugo's Verdugo has a 79 WRC plus this season so he's 21% worse than the average Major League hitter um public defensive metrics are split on on him personally I mean I've watched every single game I think he's been better than what the metrics say I I don't think he's in like the Gold Glove conversation but I do think he's a quality Defender and he's a negative on the base paths so the Yankees just haven't gotten the level of production that they thought they were getting when they traded for him uh from the Boston Red Sox this past off season so I do think that if the Yankees decided to go with Dominguez in left field I do think that he has the possibility of being better and I also just don't think he could be much worse so in my opinion I would rather go with someone who has the higher cealing and also you know if you put dominges in the lineup he's someone who comes with slugging potential we saw what he did last year when he was up for eight games before he tore his UCL ligament so if it was me if I'm Brian Cashman I have Dominguez in my in my lineup today and see what he can do over these next few weeks ahead of October so what exactly so you're hoping if you put Jason Dominguez in you're hoping then what would you do if Verdugo you can't get rid of somebody so essentially you you contradicted yourself I would say they did the right thing and didn't call him up yeah I mean like it's a tough call he's he's respected in the clubhouse I I get the clubhouse Dynamics aspect you know he's someone that Aaron judge personally advocated for in the offseason as someone who the Yankee should be interested in so I certainly get the clubhouse Dynamics aspect of it but again like Verdugo hasn't been a a very quality player this year and I think Dominguez you you know again it's you don't know until this guy is playing every single day and the Yankees don't want to bring him up if he's not playing every single day because he hasn't spent much time in triple A this year coming back from Tommy John surgery and then he hurt his oblique in the middle of the year but again I think the potential for Dominguez is higher than what you already know with Verdugo I I get it's a tough call for the Yankees they obviously don't want to do it at least not right now and they're giving Verdugo every single opportunity to get hot at the plate you know Aaron Boon has said over the past few days he feels like Verdugo is swinging better his stats you know do say that he has had some success but over the larger sample size Verdugo just hasn't done much at the plate and you know I do think that Dominguez has the potential of being a much better hitter than Verdugo so Chris my conspiracy theory is that in a couple weeks they will make a decision and likely bring up the Martian if he's continuing to crush the baseball and Verdugo continues to struggle so it's not like he doesn't get to play in the playoffs if that's the case he's already on the you know on the Yankees organization so he's able to play in the playoffs I think some people were confused about that and then also don't you think some of this to piggy back what crat says has to do with um a depth problem you can't make trades especially in September let alone August nowadays besides the dump deadline so why not hold on to your guys you have this big weapon lurking and sure you want to win the division but it's about winning a championship you can't replace injuries the same way at this time of year so if someone else goes down and then they had to cut someone like rugo or Grisham or whatever then they would be in a bad spot 100% like I know a lot of fans are thinking well why not just DFA Verdugo or Trent Grisham who's now buried on the depth chart or you know even DJ lahu who who has struggled mightily this season and and you know it seems like his playing time is just going to be non-existent for the rest of the season at this point so like I get it like depth is very important the Yankees don't want to lose any of these guys if they don't have to and you know they do have Duke Ellis on the roster who is a potential pinch Runner option for the Yankees in in the postseason the Yankees you know typically like having someone like him on their roster in the postseason so you know if if it comes time to you know make a roster decision Ellis is probably the likeliest candidate but I think when John birdie comes back who's on a rehab assignment right now I think birdie is gonna replace Duke Ellis on the roster so it's going to be a tough call for the Yankees if they you know do want to bring uh Dominguez up in the next couple of weeks because you know everybody on their roster has a you know a stake to claim for being on the 26-man roster right now you know Oswaldo Cabrera has options but he's been playing well and and has a lot of Versatility and that he can play basically every single infield position has some experience in the Outfield he I think he started the most games for the Yankees in left field last year so it's going to be a tough call but the one thing with the Yankees is someone usually finds themselves on the injured list so you know it's definitely a possibility that the decision for the Yankees is is made easy if someone ends up getting hurt in these next few weeks all right let me go to speaking of injuries let's go to a different guy I have a question for you Chris which do you have more are you more worried about the Florida Gator defense or Garrett Cole's calf uh definitely the gator defense uh Gerrit Cole I think yeah I think we're a terrible college football program right now so yes thank you hoping fores in the near future yes so you gave your salary to Florida they could maybe get rid of the coach almost he can't open the water bottle right wasn't that he was the one who couldn't open the water bottle yes he's also the one that called all the what do he say the basement people in Central Florida get off the computer I don't know if you know this or not Billy but we don't have basements in Florida can't have basements in Florida they they go underwater they would where's he from he's from not like Louisiana somewhere not he's obviously not from Florida no but anyways let's get to G Cole's calf uh he came out of the game I mean he was pitching a nice game but are we worried about this was just a cramp I mean he was doing all kinds of calisthenics out there on the mound to try to get it Loose yeah um we spoke to Garrett after the game obviously starting pitcher but said he wasn't super concerned about it doesn't seem like it's going to be a big deal um at first you know Garrett's had a couple of um injuries or sicknesses that have led to some underperformance this year you know he doesn't look the the same as he did last year when he won the American League sa Young Award but doesn't seem like it's a big deal he wasn't concerned with it after the game and Aaron Boone also wasn't concerned about it so we'll see but as of now it doesn't seem to be anything serious so where are we at with the bullpen Chris in your mind I mean does this look like a World Series contending Bullpen um no to to be honest with you but you know when you look around the American League I don't know if any team really has a a great Bullpen I I would have concerns about the Royals bullpen the Orioles Bullpen may be worse than the Yankees honestly um so I think for the Yankees and it really goes into the the big picture across MLB I just don't think there is one singular great team going into October you know I think all of these teams have some level of flaw to them and with the Yankees I think it it's certainly their Bullpen you know hopefully they get someone like Clark Schmidt or Luis heel or even Nester Cortez into into the bullpen who you know can provide some length because the Yankees are going to have to make some decisions about who is and who isn't part of their starting rotation it it's expected that Schmidt and heel rejoin the starting rotation this weekend in Chicago and the Yankees just usually don't go to a six-man rotation so someone is going to lose their starting job um you know Schmidt has experience Luis heel stuff is incredible but he has command issues um Nester has experience in the past out of the bullpen and he could give them another Lefty out of there they only have Tim Hill as their only left-handed option in the bullpen who's been really good from the Chicago White Socks who um DFA him earlier in the year but I definitely have concerns about the the bullpen um I know every single Yankees fan holds their breath when Kay Holmes enters the game you know I think Holmes for my opinion and even metric say that Holmes is a good pitcher it's just that his his uh profile doesn't scream like oh like we're gonna have a clean ninth inning because he is he is a pitch to contact guy and sometimes that could be a problem we're looking for real ways to Orgain Ad boost our nutrition and just just found a protein shake that actually tastes amazing it's called organ and it's been a GameChanger organe is the leader in real protein powered nutrition that understands that being good for you doesn't have to taste bad it's the organic ingredients we're looking for but I don't want to grainy battle with my taste 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Stanton HOF? yesterday saying he probably ends up with 500 plus home runs which he should if he finishes out his contract stays somewhat healthy is he a Hall of Famer because it he's yes I know he's got an MVP but he's really kind of a one-dimensional guy that just kind kind of hits homers so is that enough to get him into the Hall of Fame because 500 homers forever was the kind of like oh you have 500 homers you're in now I know there's some guys without five with 500 that aren't in but for other reasons so will junk Carlos Stanton go into the Hall of Fame with his 500 homers I mean I think so um he's definitely lost some time obviously with injuries over the past several seasons especially with the Yankees um like you said that 500 Homer Mark has usually been the golden ticket into the Hall of Fame and and you know the guys who aren't in it you know either did steroids and the writers don't feel like they they deserve to be in there uh I've only covered MLB for two years if I was a voter I mean they would have my vote truthfully they they were some of the best players I saw growing up and I think they deserve it truthfully so you know in8 years if I'm still covering Major League Baseball and John Carlo is on the ballot you know I think it's to me as of now just looking at his numbers I think he is one of the best pure power hitters of this generation and again that 500 Homer Mark is is definitely something that screams Hall of Famer in my eyes you know if you look at his numbers I think he has over an 800 career Ops which not many players do um so yeah and I think when it's all said and done John Carlo will probably be in the Hall of Fame he's probably not a you know first ballot it may take him a few years but in my eyes I think he is deserving of getting into the Hall of Fame if he eclipses 500 hey real quick at the finish line DFA DJ LeMahieu? here um DJ lahu a lot of fans asking in the chat do you think he'll ultimately be DFA he's got what two more seasons after this year so they're probably uh pushing it a little bit huh yeah I mean if they end up ding him they would owe him $30 million over the next two years which would be the most amount of money that the Yankees organization would have paid someone to go away you know last year when they DFA Hicks Aaron Hicks he was 0 27.6 they cut A-Rod with I think 26 jacobe Ellsbury was around there so definitely seems like that is the area and it's only you know a couple million dollars more the one thing I would say with DJ is he is very very very respected in the clubhouse by ownership by the front office I think it would be a really tough call what I think would happen is they'll bring him back in in Spring see how he is obviously he had he's had a couple of foot in injuries over the past couple of Seasons maybe just being further removed from that gets him back to the player that he was I don't I personally I don't think that's a likely possibility from what I've seen over with DJ over the past couple of years I don't think he is that kind of player anymore but I would be really surprised if they ended up DFA him by the end of the year yep good call I will say the contract's at least one year too long remember because he was going for a certain dollar value and they're like cool we'll get there but we need an extra year on it so we can spread out the average annual value so I'm like to me I look at it as like being one year short right like next year is the last year of the deal in terms of what he should have signed for do you know what I'm saying yeah because I'm like it's like Trey Turner and some of these guys that signed until they're 95 years old because they stretch out the the money for the salary cap so anyway Chris thank you so much great to have you on here hope you enjoyed it appreciate the time everyone go check out Chris's articles in the athletic and you can look them up on Twitter Chris k i c n r appreciate you Chris y thanks Outro for having me guys 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