The New York Yankees currently sit at the top of the American League, being the first MLB team to reach 50 wins this season (51-26 record). Still, it's been a rough stretch for the team as of late, which is probably why they decided to make another roster tweak. On Friday, the Yankees decided to DFA left-handed pitcher Victor Gonzalez and recall Yoendrys Gomez from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Gonzalez was traded to the Yankees last December after a three-year tenure with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Seeing action in 27 games for The Pinstripes, he tallied a 3.86 ERA in 23.1 innings pitched, striking out 11 batters but allowing 13 walks as well. The 28-year-old was actually off to a good start with New York. However, Gonzalez allowed five runs and three hits in his last three outings.
“He’s (Gonzalez has) had some success in the league. It was hard getting him into a good role here,” team manager Aaron Boone said, per MLB.com. “He definitely had some struggles with strike throwing and not putting guys away. It felt like over the long haul, this was something we were going to have to address.”
With Gomez as the bullpen's newest addition, the Yankees will be getting a reliever who's struck out 54 and walked 26 batters in 46.0 innings pitched this year.
The Yankees as of late
As mentioned earlier, it hasn't been smooth sailing for New York recently. The team has gone 5-5 in their last 10 games, and they're currently on a two-game skid courtesy of the Baltimore Orioles. This could be attributed to several reasons, one of which would be the influx of injuries.
The Yankees have many hurt players at the moment, the latest of whom is second baseman Gleyber Torres. Torres sustained a groin injury on Thursday, making him the third sidelined infielder; the others placed on IL are Anthony Rizzo and Jon Berti.
And going back to the topic of pitchers, the injury bug seems to have struck the bullpen severely. A total of five relievers are presently hurt: Jonathan Loaisiga, Ian Hamilton, Nick Burdi, Scott Effross and Lou Trivino. As for the starters, Clarke Schmidt and Cody Poteet have been sidelined as well. This is exactly why Gomez's call-up is just one of several moves that the Yankees have made in that area.
This past Thursday, the team signed veteran left-hander Tim Hill, who was just DFAd by the Chicago White Sox. They also tried their luck with minor league prospects Clayton Andrews and Anthony Misiewicz ahead of the series against Baltimore.
All things considered, the Yankees are still a formidable team. The present setbacks may be a nuisance, but they're atop the standings for a reason, and it probably won't be long before they find their rhythm once again.
