Yankees Have a Vexing Spencer Jones Decision

The Yankees earned a nice series win in Atlanta to get to 55-44, and they remain three games behind the Blue Jays as they head to Toronto for three big games. Meanwhile, the trade deadline is looming and Spencer Jones is suddenly a hot topic and the Yankees have to decide whether to keep him or trade him. Lets get to it. 

After the way the post All-Star break portion of the season began Friday night, I did not have very high expectations for the Yankees’ weekend in steamy Hotlanta.

Falling behind 6-0 within three innings thanks to the absurd idea of piecing together a bullpen game to open the series felt like a precursor for what was about to come, but instead, the Yankees put together a magnificent comeback to win Saturday night, and then got another surprisingly efficient start from Marcus Stroman to win the rubber match Sunday.

No doubt a good job by the Yankees who showed some grit and resolve to win the series, but now comes a major test. Three games in Toronto, returning to the scene of what has been to this point the low point of their season when they were swept in a four-game series, part of an overall six-game losing streak at the start of July which effectively flipped the AL East race.

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The Blue Jays just swept the Giants and are one of the hottest teams in MLB, winners of 14 of their last 17 games and they will start the series with a three-game lead on New York.

I’m going to get to everything in the Atlanta series, but first, I thought I’d share some thoughts about the incredible surge we’re seeing from polarizing prospect Spencer Jones at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Jones came into this season at a crossroads. The 24-year-old 2022 first-round pick was initially thought to be the left-handed version of Aaron Judge as he stands 6-foot-7, weighs 240 pounds, and possesses tremendous power. However, like the early years of Judge, those home runs have come at a cost, specifically Jones’ ridiculous strikeout rate that at times topped 40%.

Last year at Double-A Somerset he whiffed 200 times in 124 games and his future with the Yankees was clearly in doubt as the 2025 season got underway because there’s not really a place for a player who strikes out 40% of the time.

His future in the organization remains in doubt today, but for a much different reason. Jones has exploded since getting called up to Triple-A for the first time and suddenly, he could now be a key trade chip who might improve the Yankees’ haul at the trade deadline. As you know, you have to give to get and Jones has worked his way into being an attractive asset.

In 16 Triple-A games Jones has smacked 10 home runs and five doubles in 68 at bats, he has 20 RBI and is slashing .426/.481/.941 for an OPS of 1.422 while also cutting his strikeout rate to a more palatable 26%. Sunday he had his second straight four-hit game. Is it real, or is it just an outlier? That’s what the Yankees - and any potential trade partners - have to determine in the next two weeks leading to the trade deadline.

And if it is real - though it would still be a difficult projection for what he would do at the MLB level - should they keep him or dangle him in their search for a third baseman, or a starter, or a couple of relievers, or a package of all of the above?

These are the decisions that can be the most vexing for a general manager. Brian Cashman has been known to occasionally hug the Yankees prospects for too long, and they’ve been doing that with Jones since he first debuted in 2022, hoping that he would find a way to cut down on his whiffs and start making better contact.

It seems to be happening now, but if they decide to keep him, what’s the plan? There’s no room for him on the current roster because the outfield situation is already crowded so he would continue to marinate in Triple-A. Next year, Trent Grisham might be gone but Cody Bellinger could decide to opt in for the final year of his contract and take over center field, flanked by Jasson Dominguez and Judge, leaving Jones in a reserve role if he were to make the team. Of course, Bellinger could opt out, too, and then there would be a gaping hole for Jones to fill, hence the tough call the Yankees have to make here.

Jones now has 26 homers and 52 RBI across 243 at-bats between Double-A and Triple-A this season. His power is impressive, and he’s also a top flight baserunner with 96 career stolen bases, and he’s a good defender because he’s such a great athlete. If you dig a little deeper, he’s still struggling against left-handed pitching (.220 with only three homers) and his .229 average with runners in scoring position is ugly.

The two things to worry about are, the Yankees keep Jones and it turns out this is just a hot streak and he never becomes the player they hoped he’d be. Or, they pull the plug and trade him, and then he goes on to become a star with another team. Remember, when Judge was in the minors the Yankees considered dealing him because of his strikeout rate but decided not to, a decision that sure worked out well for them. Is Jones the next young Yankees star, or is this the time to sell high in order to help the 2025 team?

July 18: Braves 7, Yankees 3

➤ The moment I saw that Ian Hamilton was starting and the Yankees were going with a bullpen game because Cam Schlittler’s arm was sore - truly unbelievable after just one big league start - I told my wife, let’s go out and see some live music. So we did, and therefore I was spared watching this live. Watching the condensed game Saturday morning was more than enough for me.

➤ Hamilton got lit up in the first inning, which is what happens when you throw shitty pitches over the middle of the plate. Single, double, double and it was 2-0, later to become 3-0 on a sacrifice fly.

➤ Then we were treated to Rico Garcia, signed to the team Thursday and DFA’d by Saturday after he walked two men in the second with eight straight balls, then gave up a single, double and a three-run homer to Ozzie Albies in the third that made it 6-0.

➤ Oh, in between all that was the disgraceful play made by Jorbit Vivas in the top of the third. He and Grisham drew walks from Braves ace Spencer Strider so a potential rally was brewing. Instead, Bellinger hit a fly ball to fairly deep right. Ronald Acuna made the routine catch and then unleashed one of the most amazing throws you’ll ever see to third. Now, as good as the throw was, Vivas would have been safe if any one of three things had happened: He hustled, third-base coach Luis Rojas did something to indicate the play was going to be close, or Vivas slid. None of those things happened, and now the play will be a forever highlight for Acuna.

➤ That’s exactly why the Yankees are known as such a fundamentally deficient team, and opponents know it so they take advantage. It’s stupid plays like that, just horrible attention to the easy details of the game. This is a rookie trying to make an impression, and he’s half-assing it to third base. Inexcusable.

➤ After Scott Effross continued to be one of the worst trade acquisitions in recent memory, giving up a run in the fourth that made it 7-0, the Braves figured they had enough and seemed to call off the dogs which allowed JT Brubaker to finish with three scoreless innings.

➤ The only pulse the Yankees showed came in the seventh when Giancarlo Stanton ripped a two-run pinch-hit double and pinch runner Oswald Peraza later scored on a Bellinger single. But here, with men on first and third and a chance to make it interesting, Judge struck out for the third time. Not good.

What they said in Friday’s clubhouse

• Vivas: “That’s on me. I picked (Rojas) up, but I picked him up kind of late. The third baseman was standing there a little bit in the way. But it’s my fault. He’s standing there, and it looked like he wasn’t receiving the ball at all, but it’s on me there to make it to that base. Acuña has a really strong arm and he can make a throw from anywhere.”

• Hamilton: “Should have showed up for the team today a little bit better. Stuff was hittable. I wasn’t getting the ball past people. Should have made some better pitches. Didn’t give my team the best start.”

• Aaron Boone on the Vivas mistake: “That’s not a case of somebody dogging it down the line. That’s a case of him pulling up incorrectly, a mistake that obviously can’t happen. Once you’re out there, you got to be instinctive. Sometimes when you’ve lost some games and maybe you’ve made a mistake that’s lent itself to the game, you get a little reluctant. I felt like even there were a couple situations where we were a little reluctant on the bases. You don’t want that either.”

July 19: Yankees 12, Braves 9

➤ Totally unexpected? You’re damn right this victory was. The Yankees were down 5-0 after four thanks to a brutal 40-pitch fourth inning from Will Warren which included another three-run homer from Albies, a guy who was having an awful season before the Yankees came to town. They were down 7-2 after five thanks to Effross who added to his legacy of putridness. The Yankees looked dead, too, with their lackadaisical play and never-ending ignorance of fundamentals cropping up again. But then, wow.

➤ We found out there is a team with a worse bullpen than the Yankees. After starter Joey Wentz, a complete stiff who is normally a reliever, blanked the Yankees through four mind-numbingly feeble innings, the Braves trotted out six relievers who combined to give up 12 runs (11 earned) on nine hits and four walks. The biggest blows were two home runs by Anthony Volpe, the latter of which tied the game at 8-8 in the eighth, a solo shot by Bellinger, and then a massive two-out grand slam in the ninth by Grisham that delivered a most improbable win. Holy shit, I almost fell off the couch when that happened.

➤ It was funny that this huge rally began in the sixth when the Braves brought in Enyel De Los Santos to pitch. You remember this bum, right? Cashman acquired him at the 2024 trade deadline and he lasted five games with the Yankees, during which he allowed 10 runs in 13 innings for a 14.21 ERA. Well, nothing has changed. He faced four men and it went single, single, walk, single for a run. The next stiff in was Rafael Montero who was decent enough, but he did De Los Santos no favors as he permitted the other three men who were on his ledger to score because of an error and two productive outs by Volpe and Austin Wells.

➤ One of the biggest moments came in the seventh when Jonathan Loaisiga was trying his best to ruin the night, something that has become his calling card lately. He had allowed a brutal run in sixth when, just after the Yankees had rallied to within 7-6, he issued a two-out walk, a wild pitch and an RBI single to Matt Olson. And then in the seventh he loaded the bases and thankfully Boone took timeout from blowing bubbles to realize the game was about to get away and he brought in Luke Weaver who was nails. He got out of that inning with no runs scoring, then got through the eighth after Volpe’s homer had tied it. Those were five huge outs from Weaver and this was the best he has been since his return from injury.

➤ In the ninth, against closer Raisel Iglesias, Paul Goldschmidt led off with a double and after an out, Judge and Stanton walked to load the bases. Jazz Chisholm was robbed on a liner to third, but Grisham stepped in and launched a 1-1 pitch over the wall in right-center to win the game.

➤ Devin Williams certainly wasn’t great in the ninth, but with a four-run lead it didn’t matter.

What they said in Saturday’s clubhouse

• Grisham: “I like feeling calm. I like to know that it’s the biggest moment of the game and just the slowness feeling that I feel in the box, that’s the funnest part for me. I think (the comeback) just shows and encourages everybody that we’re in every game. We have a lot of fight, so I think it’s big for us going forward, knowing that no matter what game we get in down the stretch that we’re in it.”

• Volpe: “I have my standards for myself, and any of the (criticism) on the outside doesn’t come close to the standard I hold myself to. Even nights like tonight, on a good night, you still know you have to go right back to work. Good or bad, nothing changes from that side.”

• Weaver on the seventh-inning escape: “Well, vacation is over, indeed. Just a lot of adrenaline going. A big moment.”

July 20: Yankees 4, Braves 2

➤ I don’t know what has gotten into Stroman since he returned from his injury, but he threw six excellent innings where he allowed just a solo homer to Olson in the sixth. He has now pitched four times and allowed a mere seven runs in 21 innings and that’s absolutely serviceable as a No. 5 starter. This was easily his best start of the year as he gave up just five hits with no walks on 95 pitches.

➤ The only time the Braves really threatened came in the third. The first two men singled but then Vivas made a great diving catch of a bunt in foul ground for the first out, and Stroman induced the dangerous Olson to hit into an inning-ending double play which he started to preserve a 2-0 lead.

➤ Judge got things going with a solo homer in the first and what I liked is that the Yankees cobbled together another run in that opening inning after two were out. Stanton singled, took second on a bunt single by Chisholm and rather incredibly he scored from second on a single to center by Goldschmidt while doing his usual jog.

➤ Stanton’s single leading off the sixth led to the third run as Goldschmidt and Ben Rice walked and Stanton scored when Vivas was hit by a pitch, a very nice break given that he, like Peraza, can’t hit a lick. Olson’s homer got that run back, but in the seventh Judge walked and scored from first on Chisholm’s two-out double.

➤ Once Stroman was out, Hamilton bounced back from his messy outing Friday with a 1-2-3 seventh and Tim Hill handled the eighth, but for the second game in a row, Williams came in for the ninth with a big lead and gave up a run, this one a rocket home run by Acuna, but he retired the next three men to quell the burgeoning agita.

➤ Judge’s homer was the 351st of his career tying him with Alex Rodriguez for sixth place on the Yankees’ all-time list. Yogi Berra is fifth with 358.

What they said in Sunday’s clubhouse

• Stroman: “That’s always in the back of my mind - I always want to go six, seven innings, that’s always the goal. Definitely an emphasis on today, being that we were a little thin.”

• Judge on Stroman: “You go up and down that lineup - they’ve got guys that can hit for power, hit for average, make things happen. It’s a tricky lineup to navigate, and he was on today. That was fun to watch. Big series win, especially going into Toronto, who’s leading the division. It’s a good time to start getting hot.”

Is a series in the middle of July huge? Yeah, it is because as you know, I’m of the opinion that every game matters. If they didn’t matter they wouldn’t play them. I don’t care that we still have more than two months to go; these three games in Toronto are the most important games the Yankees have played all season because this is the team they are now chasing in the AL East.

Not to mention the fact that a couple weeks ago, the Blue Jays embarrassed the Yankees with a four-game sweep in their hellhole of a ballpark where Toronto has now won its last 10 games in a row, so the Yankees need to go up there and make a statement.

Here are some of their top players to watch:

➤ 1B Vladimir Guerrero: Oddly, he really didn’t do much damage in the last series against the Yankees, but he’s still a huge threat with 13 homers and an .824 OPS.

➤ C Alejandro Kirk: The human bowling ball just keeps raking with a .306 average and 46 RBI while playing elite defense.

➤ RF-3B Addison Barger: I’d never heard of this guy until the Yankees’ last visit when he absolutely destroyed them. He has 14 homers and an .846 OPS.

➤ DH George Springer: One of the premier evil faces in Yankee land, and in that last series, he crushed everything that any Yankee pitcher threw him. He has a team-high 17 homers and .872 OPS.

➤ RP Brendon Little: He’s a dominant lefty who can really be a problem for the Yankees’ lefty-heavy lineup. He has an AL-leading 47 appearances for good reason as his ERA is 1.96.

The pitching matchups are scheduled to be:

• Monday, 7:07, YES: Carlos Rodon (3.08 ERA) vs. Kevin Gausman (4.19) who got lit up by the Yankees on April 27, but then held them down on July 1.

• Tuesday, 7:07, YES: Cam Schlittler (5.06) vs. Max Scherzer (4.70) who is making just his sixth start, one of which was against the Yankees on June 30 when he gave up two runs in five innings.

• Wednesday, 7:07, Amazon Prime: Max Fried (2.43) vs. Chris Bassitt (3.89) who just won his 10th game Friday with 6.1 scoreless innings against the Giants despite allowing 10 hits.