Before the Yankees took the field again for the second half, YES broadcasters Michael Kay and Paul O’Neill fielded some questions about the Bombers from The Post’s Steve Serby.
Q: The state of the Yankees?
Kay: I think they’re grinding, they’re battling, going through a lot of injuries. … I truly believe if they’re 100 percent healthy, they’re by far the best team in the American League. I think the league is really weak this year. I think when the Yankees have [Max] Fried and [Carlos] Rodón to go along with [Cam] Schlittler and [Gerrit] Cole, that’s their best starting rotation. Obviously they need [Aaron] Judge back and if they get [Giancarlo] Stanton back, I think it lengthens the lineup. Now are they gonna get all of them back? That’s anybody’s guess. If they don’t, then it’s a different story.
O’Neill: Well if you’d have asked me a week ago going into Tampa Bay and the way Tampa Bay was playing, and the way the Yankees were playing, they could have played themselves out of the American League East, but they didn’t. They had a nice little run going up to the All-Star break, and so I think that you’re back on solid ground as far as looking to try to win the American League East.
Q: What would be the Yankees’ biggest concern?
O’Neill: You can nitpick and break everything down, it’s basically consistency. They go through these unbelievable times where they look like a great baseball team, and then all of a sudden they fall off a cliff. It’s kinda baffling at times.
Kay: Not getting Judge back. That’s the key to everything. People go, “Why don’t you have reinforcements?” There’s nobody that can be Judge. Judge is a once-in-a-generation player, so when you take him out of the equation it changes everything and I think you’ve seen that … he’s the most important person on any team in the American League.
Q: What did you think when they decided to run it back this season?
O’Neill: I didn’t have a problem with that because you had Cole coming back, you had Rodón coming back … you had a healthy Aaron Judge and a healthy coming out of spring training (Giancarlo) Stanton, so I thought you had enough pieces. … [Cody] Bellinger’s a complete player, [Trent] Grisham is back in the lineup and really solidifies everything in the outfield. He’s just capable of doing a lot of things that aren’t really seen in the scorecard to help this team. And you had some question marks — is [Jasson] Domínguez gonna be a future player? But Aaron Judge was Aaron Judge, and it all changed obviously with his injury.
Kay: I thought that was somewhat blown up because if anything, they ran it back from Aug. 1 on, I think they made a lot of their changes at the trade deadline. They traded for [Ryan] Weathers, and I knew that they were gonna get back Gerrit Cole who they didn’t have last year. Yeah for the most part they ran it back, but even if they totally ran it back, they won 94 games last year, the same amount as the Blue Jays, so that was the most in the American League, and they just had to play better against the Blue Jays.
Q: Whenever Judge returns, what are expectations for him?
O’Neill: I don’t know what has happened this day and age, but guys come back off of the IL, it’s not like a two-week play-in. I mean, I’ve seen Stanton do it year after year, come back and be effective immediately. I don’t know if it’s ’cause of the equipment, the machines or whatever, but it seems to be like they get back in the groove much easier. But Aaron Judge is not allowed to do anything upper body-wise. He is so big and strong that it might not hurt him, I don’t know. I just hope that he has a month or so to really get ready before the October games.
Kay: It’s all according to when he comes back. So if he comes back third week in August, middle of August, I think he’s got plenty of time to get himself right and get his swing down and go into the postseason like Aaron Judge. I think every time he steps onto the field, he has the potential to change the game. … He’s won two MVPs in a row, and now, the fact that he’s missed all these games and you see how it’s affected the Yankees, he could be the MVP again this year, without even playing.
Q: What moves might Brian Cashman make at the trade deadline?
Kay: Everything changes if Judge is back or not. If they know he’s coming back, I think they need a right-handed catcher, and I think they need a swing-and-miss arm in the bullpen. I really don’t think they need anything else other than that.
O’Neill: I think you’re always looking to upgrade a bullpen. The pitching is gonna be much more leaned on this year with Aaron Judge and Stanton out of the lineup. [David] Bednar’s been great, Tim Hill has had some struggles but I always trusted him ’cause he throws strikes. [Fernando] Cruz is a strikeout pitcher, and when Fried comes back one of the starters will go to the bullpen. I think late innings getting to Bednar is gonna be the one thing if one of the starting pitchers doesn’t fill that role that you’ll probably see something happen.
Q: Thoughts on Ryan Jeffers and Luis Arraez as potential targets.
Kay: Jeffers would be a good fit because he’s also worked with Tanner Swanson, the Yankee catching guru, so it’s not like he’d be coming in cold into the Yankee system. I don’t think the Mets and the Yankees will make a trade, but a guy like Luis Torrens could be somebody that could fit in. People talk about Hunter Goodman, but why would the Rockies trade him? He’s their best player, he’s young, they have control of him for a long time. They’re gonna have to get creative. Tampa Bay needs catching too. Maybe this best hope is that Austin Wells suddenly gets hot.
Q: Arraez?
Kay: He doesn’t fit the perfect Yankee player profile, he’s certainly not a home run hitter, he’s improved defensively a lot. I still think that they believe in Jazz Chisholm. I think with the things that they have to get, Luis Arraez would be lower on the list.
O’Neill: Jeffers has always been rumored because it seemed like a perfect fit, because he’s a right-handed kid who can hit. [Austin] Wells, coming into the year, nobody expected him to be where he was offensively. Does he have a big second half ahead of him? Arraez has always been a guy … I like average hitters in the lineup, you’re taking strikeouts away where you have so many strikeouts in the game today, if you have a few guys in your lineup that are consistently getting on base, putting the ball in play, I think it breaks up the monotony of hit a home run or strikeout.
Q: The difference this season in Ben Rice.
O’Neill: He’s made some adjustments as far as his stance this year, he kind of opened up a little bit which you don’t have to worry as much getting to the inside pitch. He’s a smart hitter. You just hope that this is a year where you look back and say this guy really became a star.
Q: What is Rice’s ceiling?
Kay: I think he’s such a smart player, he goes up there with a plan, he’s gotten stronger every single year, you can just see by the exit velocity and the balls that come off his bat. If he can have the next five years of hitting in front or hitting behind Judge, I think the sky’s the limit. He could be a perennial All-Star, he could be an MVP, and if he does it for 10 years, you could look at him and say, “Well maybe Cooperstown will call one year.”
Q: Thoughts on Cam Schlittler.
O’Neill: I’ve been kind of blown away with him ever since he got here. What he did in the minor leagues and what he’s become in the major leagues, I look forward to calling the game every time he pitches, his ability to throw hard, to control three different fastballs … he’s an ace. On any given night, you’re looking at double-figure strikeouts. He’s not afraid to throw strikes. That’s what I always appreciate, where guys are challenging hitters, and from Pitch 1, that’s what he does.
Kay: Without injury, I think he could be one of the best pitchers of his generation. He’s smart, he’s tough, he gets angry, he takes any perceived slight and turns it into an advantage for him. Nothing scares him — nothing. The only thing that stops him from being a generational type of ace is an injury.
Q: Come the playoffs, will Cole be stronger, fresher because of the time he missed?
Kay: I think that could be an advantage for him, for Fried and for Rodón. You worry about Schlittler’s innings, because he’s gonna pitch innings he’s never pitched before, but I think Gerrit Cole is still a work in progress. When you come back from that surgery, you don’t really get it right away, but he’s shown flashes of it where he throws 98, 99, so you know the elbow is fine. I think he can be a real factor in the playoffs, and Max Fried, maybe last year he got fatigued, he didn’t even miss a start, this year he’s gonna miss two months, so he’s gonna be really really fresh going into the playoffs, and the same thing with Rodón.
O’Neill: He could be. I think he’ll be sharper. I think that you’ve seen some games and some innings where he’s Gerrit Cole. And you’ve also seen some innings where he misses the location, it’s nothing to do with stuff and velocity. That’s all up since the injury. It’s just being sharp, and I think that every single time he takes the mound, he’s gonna get closer to where he was, and that’s a great thing for the Yankees. When he’s right, he’s as good as anybody in the game, and that’s the kind of pitcher you need in the playoffs.
Q: This Yankee team is built for the playoffs because of their starting pitching when healthy.
O’Neill: I agree. And especially when Max Fried gets back in there, you’re looking at guys that can be dominant. You’re not looking at guys that need to pitch perfect, low sinkerballers that have to throw complete perfect pitches to get outs. You’re looking at guys that have the type of stuff that can dominate certain lineups. And if you do that in the playoffs, it takes a lot of pressure off your offense because you’re gonna be in the game. But that being said, a pitch here or there, and next thing you know it’s 3-0 and you’re struggling. I think this is the best starting pitching on paper that the Yankees have had since the late ’90s.
Kay: I would say that every team in the American League wouldn’t want to mess with them … People talk about, “Well they should get Tarik Skubal,” or things like that. Obviously you never turn down Tarik Skubal. What a Tarik Skubal does is every single time he takes the mound in the playoffs, you got a legitimate chance to win. I think all four of those guys, the Yankees have a legitimate chance to shut down any lineup when they’re right. I don’t think anybody would want to face the Yankees ’cause there’s no break. They don’t ever have to do a bullpen game, they’ve got four legitimate starters and then if they even had to go five, you choose between [Will] Warren and Weathers.
And then Clarke Schmidt should be coming back maybe toward the end of August. This guy could be a weapon too, if not in the rotation, probably out of the bullpen. So if the Yankees can’t improve themselves at the trade deadline with relief pitchers, some of those starters are gonna go in the bullpen. Weathers has swing-and-miss stuff, Clarke Schmidt has swing-and-miss stuff as well.
Q: What’s happened to Anthony Volpe?
Kay: I really don’t know. He’s actually hitting better average-wise and on-base percentage-wise than he has any of his three years. The power’s not there, and I think one of the things that’s happened honestly, is he’s now in the crosshairs of Yankee fans. It’s strange — a local kid, comes up through the Yankee system, that’s usually the guy they want to see really do well. I think they’ve kind of turned on him. So every time he makes an error, anytime he makes an out, he hears it. I’ve seen them do that with Gary Sánchez as well.
Maybe all of that put into the pot has contributed to him struggling a bit. The other thing that’s really happened is that when he was hurt and rehabbing, José Caballero established himself as a plus defender and a guy that can hit and steal bases.
Q: Do the Yankees believe he has a future with them?
Kay: I do. I don’t know if it’s at shortstop. … I don’t think they’ve given up on him by any stretch of the imagination. I hear the way [Aaron] Boone talks about him. Seems like he still has a lot of respect. I think everybody in the room likes him, he works really really hard. They think there’s something there.
O’Neill: I think that he’s kind of changing and evolving into the player that he should be, from where he was, and then he had the injuries. I’m sure he’s frustrated ’cause (José) Caballero looks very comfortable at shortstop and he adds a lot of enthusiasm to the lineup. That’s another thing that’s gonna be kind of played out here in the second half — is Anthony Volpe gonna be the future of the Yankees or is it gonna be another plan? That’s kind of a work in progress if you ask me.
Q: What’s happened with Wells?
O’Neill: I think it’s a confidence thing at this point. I think he’s been able to separate it offensively-defensively ’cause catching he’s been pretty solid. You just never expected to see the type of year he’s had offensively the first half. But it’s amazing how things could even out in a long season, so you’re looking at a guy that has the ability to have a big second half if his mind will allow him to, and that’s only gonna help this offense. You can kind of short-term-goal-it where you become successful again, he can really really help this lineup.
Kay: Wow, I don’t know. I don’t think they know. He is really so committed to being a great catcher that sometimes you don’t take the extra batting practice, sometimes your mind is on the game you’re calling, not so much on the four at-bats you’re gonna have. Maybe it’s that. The guy came up as a hitter catcher and then he was gonna struggle defensively. He’s a really good defensive catcher, he does everything well, the pitchers trust the heck out of him, he puts together a good game plan, frames well, does a good job throwing out baserunners. But the offense has kind of disappeared. I don’t know what happened.
Q: Paul Goldschmidt at age 38.
O’Neill: Unbelievably solid. I think that he’s had a lot of roles on this team as far as coming into the season with really just a backup job to becoming a huge part of the offense and shouldering a lot of it too because he’s swung the bat well. Veteran leadership — he fills a lot of holes on this team and it’s allowed Rice to DH a lot and that’ll help him in the long haul.
Kay: What he did early, he kept this team afloat. I know one thing — they love him in that room.
Q: George Lombard Jr.?
O’Neill: It’s always exciting to hear about big prospects. Do they take off from their first dip in the major leagues or is it a process of a year or two? Teams need energy from young players. I don’t think that you have a great team with all veterans. And you don’t have a great team with all young people ’cause you really need a mix. The youth has the energy, the veterans have the leadership and the knowledge, and if you mix that together, then I think you have a really really good team. So I always look forward to when a young guy’s called up if he can add some spark to a lineup.
Kay: I don’t know if they want to risk Lombard coming up, because I think he’s defensive ready right now, the question is offensive ready.
Q: Jazz Chisholm Jr.?
O’Neill: Truthfully in my opinion, Jazz can really really be the wild card for this team. He has so much talent for what he can do on the field. If you could just keep him directed to what you’re able to do, and that’s hit home runs, that’s steal bases, that’s play defense. But every once in a while you get caught up in these other things going on — whose pants you have on, what bats you’re swinging. He has a lot of talent if it’s directed in the right way. The Yankees’ challenge is to let him know how important his presence is in playing every single out of every single game, how important it is to this team.
Q: How critical is Caballero?
O’Neill: I just like his emotion, his intensity. He rubs people the wrong way from other sides and that’s usually a good thing because it means that you’re engaged and you’re in the game. He and [Amed] Rosario to me add some intensity to the game, and I like that. I don’t think that you have everybody on the team that are wired the same. Some guys are even keel, some guys are emotional, some guys just take it as it comes. He’s a daring runner, he looks solid at shortstop and he puts together good at-bats in big situations.
Q: This team has more speed than previous Yankees teams.
Kay: Yeah, they lead the American League in stolen bases. They’re built to be a home run team, but they can steal bases, they can create runs, they can put pressure on the defense. I don’t think they’ve had that much going into the postseason in recent years. When their bench is their bench, it matches up with any bench in baseball. When Caballero’s on base, he disrupts everything! EVERYTHING. When Chisholm’s on base, he disrupts the pitcher, and if you can get the pitcher to take a little of the attention away from the batter, that could lead to the home run that you’re looking for.
Q: David Bednar?
Kay: He’s got the guts, he’s got the courage, he doesn’t scare easily, and most importantly, he has stuff.
Q: [Brent] Headrick in the bullpen?
O’Neill: There’s certain guys that are kinda surprises year after year, I would definitely say that he is. He’s been solid against righties and lefties.
Q: Max Schuemann?
O’Neill: You’re not scared when a ball’s hit to him no matter where he is. The way the game is now you’re always trying to find somebody to play a position they’re not comfortable playing and he does a good job of that.
Q: Who can be an X-factor?
Kay: I think it could be [Ryan] McMahon. He’s hitting a lot better. He can run into one and hit a home run in a big spot, and the fact that he’s so good defensively, he tightens things up. A Max Fried start, you need a great third baseman, and he is a great defensive third baseman. You don’t need McMahon to do anything more than he ever did in Colorado.
Q: Other than Judge, who would you nominate as The Warrior on this Yankee team?
O’Neil: This team in my mind is gonna win with pitching, so I would probably say Schlittler, Cole, Fried … any of these starting pitchers that can absolutely dominate throughout the playoffs.
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Kay: I would say the guy that would run through a wall to win a game would be Cody Bellinger. He’s as good a left fielder as there is in baseball. He’s a plus-plus defender. When he’s right offensively, he hits lefties, he gets big hits, he’s an All-Star, he’s a tough, gritty player. To me, he approximates O’Neill as much as anybody.
Q: Is there any psychological component for the Yankees against the Dodgers this weekend?
Kay: I think it’s something for the fans, you like to test yourself out against the best, although the Dodgers are kinda banged up right now and they just got swept over the weekend. The important series this weekend is Tampa Bay against Boston.
O’Neill: I don’t think a weekend series in July tells you how you’re gonna play a team in the World Series. Everybody looks at that World Series where the Dodgers on paper look like they beat up the Yankees but the Yankees had a couple of games that they could’ve coulda won and it could’ve been a seven-game series. I never feel that the Yankees are truly overmatched by anyone. I would assume that the media will turn it up to be a big, big series, but Aaron Judge is not a part of it, Stanton’s not a part of it. Ohtani, who knows? He might not even be a part of it, won’t be pitching probably. It’s gonna be a different scenario if you meet them again in October.
Q: The pressure on Aaron Boone to win a championship.
O’Neill: Well I think that he understands that that goes along with New York with the Yankee logo, with the big city and the number of championships that have come before him. I don’t think he shies away from that. He does an unbelievable job at trying to protect his players as far as what he says about ’em, what the organization portrays about ’em, what the media … I think that he has everybody on a same page as far as they respect him as a manager.
I just always remember Joe Torre saying “I’m loyal to my players” until it comes down to winning playoff games and winning World Series games, and I think that there is a point where you gotta make tough decisions and put yourself in a position to win a huge playoff game rather than try not to hurt somebody’s feelings.
Q: Does Boone need to win a World Series to keep his job?
Kay: I don’t think he has to win it. I just think that Boone does the job that the organization wants him to do. He’s a great front face for the organization, he explains the decisions well, I think he handles the media well, and the players love him, would run through a wall for him. I know that Judge is a huge fan of Boone. I think something catastrophic would have to happen for them to not bring him back. I know Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner really like the job he’s doing.
Q: What would you tell these Yankees about the Canyon of Heroes?
O’Neill: It’s really hard to explain unless you go through it. You can’t tell me that anybody that was on those teams, late ’90s into 2000, it didn’t change our lives. And still to this day, people are celebrating that time every 10-year, 20-year, 30-year reunion (laughs), it goes farther and farther away, but people have the memories of it. And believe me, I still remember almost every single play and every single pitch. It’s something that comes along with winning in New York.
Q: Are you expecting the Yankees to win the AL East or get to the World Series?
O’Neill: This last week has really put them back on even ground as far as winning the East. I think this team’s gonna get better. Aaron Judge is the gigantic question mark on when and where. Stanton … the injuries that you could fill in on this team IF healthy, if they are who they’re supposed to be on the back of their card, this team could go as far as it wants.
Q: Can this team win a World Series?
Kay: I think this team can win a World Series if they’re healthy. And the most important bit of health, is the health that belongs to Aaron Judge. If he can come back the last week of August and give you 15 home runs before the end of the season, that would be an unbelievable boost to this team. When you ask me, “Could they win a World Series?” If they get all their injured players back, they most certainly can, and if they don’t get Judge back, it would be very difficult.
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