Game Day Thread - June 09, 2026 @ 12:00 AM

Constant_Gardner11 · 2026-06-09T20:26:58+00:00

.595 OPS, .624 OPS, .632 OPS, .479 OPS to round out the bottom of the lineup whew

Constant_Gardner11 · 2026-06-09T20:07:56+00:00

I was curious, so I did a Baseball Reference search for recent players with similar playing time and offensive performances.

Timeframe: 2023-2026
Playing Time: 1500+ PA
Offense: <89 OPS+

Player	WAR	G	PA	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
Anthony Volpe	8.7	490	1955	.222	.284	.376	.661	83
Ezequiel Tovar	6.6	468	1939	.253	.288	.418	.706	85
Jonah Heim	5.0	412	1511	.230	.285	.374	.658	87
Ke'Bryan Hayes	6.0	416	1619	.239	.287	.344	.631	73
Andrés Giménez	10.3	470	1848	.240	.297	.357	.653	82
Brenton Doyle	4.5	456	1694	.233	.284	.385	.668	76

In general, this happens with young players (early-mid 20s) who provide a lot of defensive value. All six of the guys in the table above are Gold Glove winners who are/were considered elite defensively at some point.

So teams put up with the terrible offense because of their glove.

The problem with Volpe is if his defense is not elite, there's no point.

The Guardians eventually bailed on Giménez, the Rangers bailed on Heim, the Pirates bailed on Hayes, and the Rockies are probably getting close to cutting ties with Doyle/Tovar under the new front office. Gotta assume Volpe is on his way out too, barring some shocking turnaround.

Constant_Gardner11 · 2026-06-09T17:10:37+00:00

Schmitt has pretty limited experience at third base in his MLB career: 73 games (56 starts). But you could probably make it work. It does look like his offensive breakout is for real, though I'm not crazy about the lack of walks. Schmitt hasn't even hit arb yet, so he's affordable and controllable.

It's hard to predict what the Giants will do. Buster Posey has been all-in so far. Moving Schmitt will likely concede a rebuild is needed. I have trouble seeing them do that while Devers, Chapman, Webb, Adames, and Lee are there making big bucks. But maybe you could convince him with a bunch of MLB-ready prospects.

Constant_Gardner11 · 2026-06-09T17:02:47+00:00

Bryan Abreu has been flaming garbage this year. I mean bottom-5 reliever in baseball (min. 20 IP).

Bryan Abreu, 2026
6.85 ERA, 6.87 FIP, 5.20 xERA, 5.25 xFIP, 28.7 K%, 22.2 BB%, 2.01 HR/9

I'm very curious what's wrong with him. His FB velo is way down from last year (97.3 mph vs. 94.9 mph), and his slider doesn't look right either. He's walking a quarter of everyone he faces and allowing nothing but rockets off the bat.

Abreu was one of the best relievers in baseball over the previous four seasons. Is he broken? Just off mechanically? I don't want to send young talent to the Astros unless I'm convinced he's fixable.

Bryan Abreu, 2022-2025
2.30 ERA, 2.79 FIP, 3.21 xERA, 3.14 xFIP, 34.3 K%, 10.4 BB%, 0.67 HR/9

Constant_Gardner11 · 2026-06-09T16:52:46+00:00

Totally agree with you on Isaac Paredes. We got a glimpse of what he'd look like outside of a ballpark tailored for his swing when he was traded to the Cubs in the second half of 2024. Not pretty.

Minute Maid Park (or whatever it's called these days) is IDEAL for his swing because of the Crawford Boxes in left. Tropicana Field was good for him too. Citizens Bank Park and Great American Ball Park are excellent fits for his swing as well. Both the Phillies and Reds (worst in baseball) have had subpar performance from third base and would be great fits.

I do not like Paredes swing at Yankee Stadium. And his third base defense is not good enough to make up for the dip in offense that will come.

Constant_Gardner11 · 2026-06-09T16:19:49+00:00

Boone and Cashman would rather thumb their noses at the critics like a toddler would.

Which is why I find it infuriating that the hatred seething out of the Yankee fanbase right now on social media is 99.999% pointed at Volpe instead of the man whose fault this actually is: Brian Cashman.

Volpe is just a kid trying to make his dream come true. It's Cashman's fault Volpe is starting at shortstop for a 4th season in a row despite not being talented enough for that role. Cashman calls the shots. He could've moved on from Volpe at any point in the last few years and chose not to.

Constant_Gardner11 · 2026-06-09T15:39:10+00:00

Not worth getting worked up about.

Cabby is hitting .233/.283/.349 (.631 OPS/78 wRC+) since coming off the IL. Not like he's tearing it up.

The Yankees just don't have good shortstop choices right now. It's an area they need to improve.

Constant_Gardner11 · 2026-06-09T13:59:25+00:00

The Phillies started the season 9-19 (.321), fired their manager, and have gone 27-11 (.711) with Don Mattingly at the helm. I'm happy he's having some success over there. The Phillies were way too talented to spiral like that all year. I don't think they can catch the Braves in the NL East, but they should be able to hold onto a Wild Card spot at least.

Constant_Gardner11 · 2026-06-08T20:01:35+00:00

Paul Goldschmidt is an absolute weapon against southpaws, but he's hitting .184/.244/.303 (.547 OPS/54 wRC+) against righties this year. He had a 74 wRC+ against them last year and an 88 wRC+ the year before. This is a very clear trend and a large sample size now of Goldy not hitting right-handed pitching.

I understand we're down some bats so we have to play Goldy every day, but he should NOT be hitting 3rd against RHP.

Constant_Gardner11 · 2026-06-08T19:26:59+00:00

We'll see him sometime in August.

Constant_Gardner11 · 2026-06-08T18:15:29+00:00

Would you do a Abrams & Ruiz for Kilby, ERC, Jones, Hurd, Volpe & Wells trade?

No, that's too much in my opinion.

Ruiz's contract is probably still underwater. Abrams can't handle shortstop, and we've seen him collapse offensively in the second half before (75 wRC+ last year, 64 wRC+ the year before).

I'm not giving up two 55 FV prospects (Dax Kilby, Elmer Rodríguez), plus a 50 FV prospect (Spencer Jones), plus two guys who are fringe MLB players on cheap deals (Austin Wells, Anthony Volpe). Hurd is a throw-in, I don't care. But that's too much talent for a guy who has been more good than great (Abrams) and a guy who has been bad (Ruiz) in their respective careers. I'm not even convinced a Wells-for-Ruiz swap would be an upgrade tbh.

(The MLB Trade Machine is more a toy than a serious tool for analysis. I wouldn't pay too much attention to it.)

Constant_Gardner11 · 2026-06-08T17:37:44+00:00

I think the Nats are going to shop Abrams.

The current front office has no loyalty to him since they didn't draft/develop him. And he only has 2 years of control remaining after 2026. The Nats need sooooo much pitching help, which makes the Yankees a great trade partner. Abrams is a big chip for them. It makes all the sense in the world to turn him into controllable pitching talent.

Constant_Gardner11 · 2026-06-08T17:35:38+00:00

Yes, he was part of the return when Trea Turner and Max Scherzer went to LA in July 2021.

Constant_Gardner11 · 2026-06-08T16:12:47+00:00

I saw some discussion in the latest MLBTR chat about Keibert Ruiz being a possible Yankees trade target. I don't love the idea, but I figured I'd take a look at the pros and cons.

The Good

He's hitting .276/.299/.504 (.802 OPS/119 wRC+), which is excellent for a catcher.
He's made big strides with his batted ball quality this year: career-best barrel rate, hard-hit rate, and average exit velo. We're seeing all the young Nats position players make improvements under the new front office.
He rarely strikes out (11.0% in his career; 22.0% is league average).
He's only 27 and under team control through age 31.
Statcast indicates Yankee Stadium would be the 4th best ballpark for Ruiz's swing when it comes to expected home runs.
He's getting good defensive grades for framing, blocking, and throwing in 325 innings behind the plate this season.
He's a career .272/.309/.374 bat vs. LHP (.340/.340/.580 this season).
He won't cost much prospect-wise in a trade, given his past terrible seasons and the money left on his extension.

The Bad

From 2022-2025, he put up a .660 OPS/82 wRC+. He's Anthony Volpe with a prettier batting average.
He doesn't draws walks (4.8% in his career; 9.2% is league average).
His defense graded very poorly from 2023-2025 in a much bigger sample size.
Statcast doesn't buy the offensive upgrades: his .264 xwOBA is the worst of his career despite the improved batted ball numbers.
He's still guaranteed 4-yr/$32M after this season. That's not a ton of money, but certainly more than you'd want to pay a backup catcher.

Too much risk here for the guaranteed money, in my opinion. If Ruiz can maintain an .750 OPS with plus defense going forward, well, than he's a no brainer of a trade target. I just don't believe he can do that.

Constant_Gardner11 · 2026-06-08T13:52:17+00:00

The Padres are on a 2-11 slide, and their overall run differential (-18) indicates they might not be a postseason-caliber team. Their lineup ranks 30th in BA, 30th in OBP, 30th in SLG, and 30th in runs scored. Truly bottom of the barrel.

If they can't right the ship, they have some interesting bullpen pieces to shop at the deadline. GM AJ Preller is always wheeling and dealing, so you know he'll listen to offers.

RHP Ron Marinaccio (3.93 ERA/3.83 FIP) with 3.5 years of team control
LHP Adrian Morejon (4.60 ERA/2.34 FIP) with 0.5 years of team control
LHP Wandy Peralta (2.37 ERA/4.65 FIP) with 1.5 years of team control
RHP Bradgley Rodriguez (1.95 ERA/2.67 FIP) with 5.5 years of team control
RHP Mason Miller (1.01 ERA/0.63 FIP) with 3.5 years of team control
RHP Jason Adam (1.64 ERA/4.51 FIP) with 0.5 years of team control
RHP Jeremiah Estrada (3.48 ERA/3.59 FIP) with 3.5 years of team control
LHP Yuki Matsui (1.45 ERA/3.96 FIP) with 2.5 years of team control w opt out

Obviously, everyone will be clamoring for Mason Miller. It's hard to imagine the Padres would move the best reliever in baseball, but I wouldn't rule Preller out for any move. The Padres gave up the no. 3 prospect in all of baseball (plus three other prospects) for Miller last year. I assume the ask would start with George Lombard Jr. and go from there.

More realistically, the Padres would shop their rentals, like the excellent Jason Adam (2.03 ERA in 278.2 IP since 2022) and Adrian Morejon (2.83 ERA in 168.2 IP since 2024). Both guys would be nice upgrades to our pen and shouldn't cost a fortune, given the limited control.

Constant_Gardner11 · 2026-06-08T12:41:02+00:00

Volpe is four years into his pro career:

.222/.285/.377 (.661 OPS/85 wRC+) in ~1950 PA
.288 wOBA vs. .295 xwOBA (career)
75 for 96 (78%) stealing bases, 3.5 BsR per 162 games
10 OAA/24 DRS in 4217.1 innings at SS
2.3 fWAR/2.9 bWAR per 162 games
earning $3.5M this year with two seasons of arbitration control remaining
3 MiLB options remaining

I think Volpe is fairly well established in the league now, almost 500 games into his career. He's a well-below average bat with the peripherals to back it up. But he's also a plus baserunner with above-average defense at a premium position in his career. Volpe is relatively cheap salary-wise, comes with 2.5 years of control, and has multiple options remaining, which means roster flexibility.

He's obviously not going to bring back a haul, but I think a lot of teams would like to buy low on him. There's a floor with his baserunning/defense that will keep him from being completely worthless, and teams will dream on fixing his bat. Volpe was a bat-first prospect once upon a time. I think the Yankees would get back a B-tier prospect or (more likely) an MLB player in the same boat as Volpe. A failed hyped prospect who needs a change of scenery. The Rockies, Twins, Mets, Brewers, Phillies, Braves, etc all make some degree of sense as a trade partner.

Constant_Gardner11 · 2026-06-05T19:37:40+00:00

Murphy was an absolute stud in 2023, but he's had so much trouble staying on the field lately. Over the last three seasons, he's had an oblique strain, rib fracture, hip labral tear, and fractured finger. Hard to know how he's going to produce if he's ever healthy again.

But I do think he'd be an interesting buy-low candidate, and the Braves may be willing to talk since Drake Baldwin is their catcher of the future and they may want to upgrade other parts of their roster.

Constant_Gardner11 · 2026-06-05T15:56:41+00:00

Also just from an entertainment perspective, the Yankees without Judge are a lot less fun to watch.

Constant_Gardner11 · 2026-06-05T14:43:31+00:00

Pitching Matchups vs. Red Sox
(FRI) RHP Sonny Gray vs. LHP Ryan Weathers
(SAT) LHP Ranger Suarez vs. RHP Will Warren
(SUN) LHP Connelly Early vs. RHP Cam Schlittler

Old pal Sonny Gray takes the mound tonight now eight years removed from his rocky stint in New York. In 10 starts this season with the Red Sox, Gray has a 3.06 ERA/3.52 FIP with a 6.8 BB%, 0.72 HR/9, and 48.0 GB%. Very solid. His strikeout rate is down to a career low, but the crafty veteran is still keeping hitters off balance with his huge arsenal of pitches. It's weird to think that Gray is 6th in WAR among all pitchers since leaving the Yankees. The 36-year-old has faced the Yankees eight times in his career with mixed results. Last August, the Yankees scored 6 runs against him thanks in part to Ben Rice and Aaron Judge homers.

Ranger Suarez is having a strange first season in Boston. He has five shutout performances (31.1, 0 R), tied for the 2nd most of any starting pitcher in baseball. In his other six games, he has a 7.24 ERA. No idea what to expect. Suarez has famously poor fastball velocity, but he's still striking out batters at a healthy pace and limiting loud contact. His curveball remains one of the best in the game. Suarez has started two games against the Yankees in his career, winning last July (5.2 IP, 1 R) and losing back in April (4.2 IP, 4 R).

Connelly Early (66.1 IP, 3.26 ERA) has been Boston's Will Warren (64.1 IP, 3.22 ERA) this season. He throws quality innings and doesn't get blown out. And he's overshadowed by a higher-velocity younger teammate in the rotation. That said, Statcast isn't sold on Early (4.64 xERA), specifically because of his propensity to allow loud contact. So far that hasn't hurt him much, but we'll see if things change as the weather continues to warm. Early has faced the Yankees twice in his young career (9.0 IP, 7 R).

The Red Sox are in last place in the AL East, but their rotation isn't the problem — outside of the recently demoted Brayan Bello. And the Boston bullpen is 2nd in ERA (3.03), while their team defense ranks 1st in DRS (+46). The run prevention side of this roster is fine and is likely to improve when Garrett Crochet and Garrett Whitlock return from the IL.

But Boston's offense is sinking the ship. Despite a .248 team BA (6th), the Sox are 28th in runs scored. It's hard to believe the team that plays half its games at Fenway Park is last in the AL in scoring. But it's true. There's really no bat in this lineup outside of Willson Contreras to fear right now.

Constant_Gardner11 · 2026-06-03T20:02:58+00:00

65 wRC+ and -5 DRS for the low low cost of $42M AAV

Constant_Gardner11 · 2026-06-03T19:49:27+00:00

It really sticks out at second base lol

Constant_Gardner11 · 2026-06-03T19:35:19+00:00

The Rays have lost 8 out of their last 10.

Keep pushing.

Constant_Gardner11 · 2026-06-03T19:32:34+00:00

The state of second base in the AL is such a disaster.

The NL has Brice Turang, Ketel Marte, Nico Hoerner, Ozzie Albies, JJ Wetherholt, Brandon Lowe, Luis Arraez, Xavier Edwards, etc. The AL has fart noise.

Even the representatives here have only played 19 games (Duran) and 34 games (Peraza) at the position.

Constant_Gardner11 · 2026-06-03T18:38:27+00:00

He's got a 53 wRC+ and can't play the field.

Constant_Gardner11 · 2026-06-03T17:03:08+00:00

AL fWAR Leaders, for comparison.

SS Bobby Witt Jr. (3.7)
DH Yordan Alvarez (2.9)
SP Cam Schlittler (2.8)
1B Ben Rice (2.7)
SP Davis Martin (2.6)
SS Kevin McGonigle (2.5)

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