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Now that spring training is more or less over, I thought it'd be interesting to check in on the 2013 Yankees who did not return this season.
Longtime PSA favorite Joba Chamberlain traded in his pinstripes for tiger stripes over the offseason, but he's still been pitching like the same old Joba. The Yankees got to face their former teammate on March 7th, when Joba came in for an inning where he allowed a walk, a hit, and managed to get two strikeouts. He pitched eight innings over the course of spring training, during which he allowed ten hits, four walks, three earned runs and managed just six strikeouts. That leaves him with a 3.38 ERA, .333 BAA, and a 1.75 WHIP. Can't say that I miss him, although I did just find the video where he made fun of Eduardo Nunez.
Then, of course, there's Robinson Cano. It doesn't matter how many times I've seen him in a Mariners jersey, I still kind of think that maybe on Opening Day he'll be back at second base for the Yankees and this whole offseason will have been a dream. Sadly, I have to inform you that Cano had an amazing spring. Through 46 at bats, he had 20 hits, 13 RBI, 4 BB, 0 HR, and 2 K. He hit .435/.480/.522 with an OPS of 1.002. If you divide all of those numbers by two, you pretty much have Brian Roberts' stats. That's fun.
Lefty Boone Logan signed a three year, $16.5 million deal with the Rockies which might have been especially questionable on their part since he underwent surgery during the offseason to remove bone chips from his elbow. Logan actually just made his spring training debut on March 20th, where he gave up three singles in a row to load the bases, and then walked in the run. His super inflated spring training stats are 0.2 IP, 13.5 ERA, 6.00 WHIP, and .600 BAA. Apparently he's still dealing with elbow stuff, as Logan is going to start the season on the DL with left elbow inflammation.
Despite the fact that the Yankees played multiple games against the Twins, they didn't end up facing off against Phil Hughes. Hughes was having a meh spring before Friday's outing against the Red Sox, who roughed him up pretty bad (10 hits through 5.1 innings). Through 19 innings, he allowed 26 hits, 10 earned runs, 2 home runs, and four walks. He also notched 12 strikeouts, leaving him with a 4.74 ERA, .333 BAA, and a 1.58 WHIP. I think it's only fair that every time the Yankees face him this season, he gives up multiple home runs.
Have you been missing Jayson "Does something every game" Nix? You probably shouldn't be. He made four errors through 82 innings while splitting his time between second base, third base and short stop. Comparatively, Eduardo Nunez only made two through 91 innings (Didn't think I'd ever be saying that Nunez was winning a competition based on who's made less errors). Nix hit .270/.341/.459 with an OPS of .801 through 37 innings. He had ten hits, one home run, four walks and seven strikeouts. Since we probably can't swap Nunez for Nix, here's hoping that the Rays keep him around and he makes some errors in games against the Yankees. Forget all of that, the Rays cut Nix and the Phillies picked him up for an "undisclosed amount of cash."
For some reason, the Pirates really enjoy taking catchers that the Yankees don't want anymore. Chris Stewart must have left his bat back in New York, 'cause he didn't actually use it at all during spring training. Through 13 at bats, Stewart walked once. That's it. .000/.071/.000. Then he injured his knee and ended up having surgery on the 19th. His recovery time is 4-6 weeks.
P.S. Every single one of these players decided that they needed to take advantage of their newfound freedom and grow a beard.
Are you surprised by any former Yankees' performances so far? Feeling extra relieved that Hughes is on a different team?
Edit: I 100% forgot about Curtis Granderson. Maybe because he spent so much time on the DL last year. He had a pretty awful spring training with the Mets. Through 51 at bats he hit .157/.241/.353 with an OPS of .594. Just 8 hits, three of which were home runs, and 16 strikeouts.