Hal Steinbrenner discusses Yankees after trade deadline

Hal Steinbrenner discusses Yankees after trade deadline
THE LOHUD YANKEES BLOG
Chad Jennings, cjennings@lohud.com 4:01 p.m. EDT August 2, 2016
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New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner stops to talk to the media before attending a meeting of Major League Baseball's executive committee during baseball's owners meetings at MLB headquarters, Wednesday, May 18, 2016, in New York. Steinbrenner backed manager Joe Girardi and his coaching staff and has instead blamed players for the team's slow start. The Yankees are last in the American League East division at 16-22. (Photo: Kathy Willens, AP)
Really nice work by everyone at the Michael Kay Show with Hal Steinbrenner on the air this afternoon. Here's a link to the show's website where you can find audio of the conversation. It's highly recommended.

A few things I took away from Steinbrenner's comments:

1. He said there's been no discussion of releasing Alex Rodriguez

While he made it very clear that more young hitters will soon join the big league team, Steinbrenner said he has not talked to his baseball operations department about the possibility of releasing A-Rod. That seems pretty hard to believe -- surely they've considered it, right? -- but Steinbrenner insisted the idea hasn't even come up. If the Yankees do start adding more young hitters, it would make sense to give them playing time at designated hitter, and most of the top Triple-A bats are right handed. What exactly is A-Rod supposed to do for the next two months?

“None of that has been discussed with me," Steinbrenner said. "We’re going to look at what we’re going to do in the hours and days and weeks to come."

2. He kept referring to Luis Severino as a reliever

This might not mean anything in the end, but more than once Steinbrenner talked about the value of Severino as a late-inning reliever to help fill the void created by trading Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller. The Yankees now have an opening in their rotation after the Ivan Nova deal, but Steinbrenner seemed to really think of Severino strictly as a reliever.

“We have to hope the guys like Clippard, Warren and Severino can fill the void," he said.

The Yankees have not announced a starter for tomorrow. Presumably either Severino or Chad Green would be the top option to take that turn. Worth noting that Dietrich Enns, who has some of the best numbers in the entire system, is lined up to start for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday. The Yankees could give him a spot start. Luis Cessa just pitched on Sunday, so he's not lined up.

3. Three names keep coming up as call-up candidates

When talking about the Carlos Beltran trade yesterday, Brian Cashman immediately named three Triple-A hitters who could be called up to take some of Beltran's at-bats. Today, Steinbrenner mentioned the exact same guys: Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge and Tyler Austin.

As expected, Judge returned from a knee injury and is in the Triple-A lineup tonight. He, Sanchez and Austin are hitting third, fourth and fifth for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre tonight (new addition Clint Frazier is batting second). Expectation is that Sanchez could be called up as early as tomorrow. Steinbrenner said he still has hope that the Yankees can make a run, and he's going to try to improve the offense by “bringing up a couple of kids who are hitting well in Triple-A and deserve a chance.”

Sounds like we know which three players are at the top of that pecking order.

4. Cashman and Girardi are not on the hot seat

Steinbrenner is clearly not happy with the current state of the team, but he seems quite satisfied with the effort on the field and with the improvements in the farm system. He mentioned being happy with the players Cashman received at the trade deadline, and he was proud that Girardi had the team playing hard in an extra-inning game last night. He does not seem to blame Cashman and Girardi for the Yankees' being in this position.

“We have to focus on what the problem is," he said. "And I certainly don’t think it’s either one of them."

Steinbrenner mentioned improvements in player development and adjustments to the relatively new set of rules that govern player acquisition as ways the Yankees have improved and transitioned in recent years. It does not sounds like the manager or the general manager is in trouble.

5. The lineup for tonight's game

This is not a comment from Steinbrenner, just another big of information. Here's the Yankees' lineup for tonight:

Brett Gardner LF
Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Brian McCann C
Didi Gregorius SS
Starlin Castro 2B
Chase Headley 3B
Aaron Hicks RF
Masahiro Tanaka SP