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The Yankees take on Chris Tillman and the Orioles as they try to prevent their second five-game losing streak of the month. The team has gone 11–15 in the month of June and currently has the worst offense in all of Major League Baseball with a 68 wRC+ over the last 30 days.
#Yankees lineup at Orioles: Gardner CF, Ichiro RF, Cano 2B, Hafner DH, Almonte LF, Overbay 1B, Nix SS, Stewart C, Adams 3B, Kuroda P
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 30, 2013
Brett Gardner and Ichiro Suzuki at the top of the lineup is an interesting idea, one I hope will pay off. It makes little sense as to how Joe Girardi determines this arrangement, because Ichiro has hit lefties much better than righties this season, yet Jayson Nix is always in the two spot against lefties.
Vernon Wells is finally out of the lineup, but now Travis Hafner is back in and batting cleanup. Neither player is hitting much, but I feel more confident with Hafner at this point. I like seeing Zoilo Almonte hitting higher up in the order, so we'll see what he can do in a more prominent role. He did hit two hard balls in two at-bats with the bases loaded last night, but was only able to manage one RBI on a sac fly.
Lyle Overbay is back at first base with a righty on the mound and David Adams is at third and batting last. He's fallen pretty far if he's batting behind the likes of Chris Stewart and Jayson Nix.
The Yankees have been said to be interested in the Domican Republic's Rafael Devers and Leonardo Molina. Devers, a third baseman, is ranked third on Baseball America's list of top 30 international prospects, while Molina, a center fielder, is ranked fifth. The Yankees only have $1.8 million to play with because of the new international free agent spending restrictions, but could seemingly trade for a bigger international pool if they want.
The Yankees have also scouted Cuban right-hander Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, a non-restricted 16 26-year-old free agent, in Mexico, but are not planning to offer him a contract. Instead, the Dodgers look to be the favorites on signing him.
Yankee people watched Omar Luis Rodriguez pitch a simulated game in Tampa yesterday. The Yankees spent $4 million on the 20-year-old lefty last June, but the Cuban had to wait in Haiti before his immigration papers were approved. After eight month of waiting he has seemingly gotten heavier and might be out of shape.