Within the Yankee organization, the first rule of Caleb Durbin is: Nobody talks about Caleb Durbin.
That might soon change for the 5'6," 185 pound infielder, who turned 24 in February. (For comparison: Anthony Volpe is 5'9," 180.)
It's too early to go Zippy the Pinhead over Durbin, but - hey - there isn't much else at Scranton worth monitoring, unless you've still got a romantic soft spot for Jeter Downs (.316 with 1 HR.) For now, the IL simply doesn't know how to deal with Durbin, in the batters box or on first base. He's running wild and free. Let the little dogs run!
Of course, Yankee injuries are so rare that it's hard to see a path forward for Durbin. Still, photos of him standing next to Judge - priceless!
So Ben Gamel is still hanging around, now in the Mets organization. He's burning up the league along with Caleb. And he's 31.
ReplyDeleteI can understand, I think, why he just doesn't throw in the towel. All you need is one good run, make the majors again, and maybe catch on somewhere.
It's probably not going to happen, but one year of earning the major league minimum and he might be set for retirement by now. If he's been saving his money or putting it into Nvidia stock or something.
No doubt the brain-dead dilettantes in analytics detest Durbin. His current hot streak will cool soon enough, but he still remains an intriguing prospect.
ReplyDeleteLooking ahead, if the team intends to make a serious run at extending Soto, it would likely preclude them from resigning Torres. There are several in-house options available, but Durbin seems to have the most upside.
Re Gamel...he might he close to vesting in MLBPA's very good pension system. 5 qualifying years required, I think. Not sure what constitutes a "qualifying year" but Gamel's seen plenty of big league time, and played well here and there. He must he close. Keep at it, kid.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Gamel was the IL ROY in 2015 and IL MVP in 2016. That might be the perfect resume for a AAAA player. Best competition is his old Scranton teammate Rob Refsnyder's AAAA resume: only player ever to win College World Series MVP and Governor's Cup Championship Series MVP.
"Yankee injuries are so rare"
ReplyDeleteAppeasing the juju god, I see.
$^@%& sPeL cZecK!
ReplyDeleteJuju gods, it's a pantheon.
Re: pensions: After 43 days of service, (defined as days spent on an active MLB roster or injured list) a player qualifies for 2.5% of the max payout. Every additional 43 days will accrue another 2.5% and so on until a player hits 10 years of service, which would qualify them for the max payout, currently $265,000 per year.
ReplyDeleteI shit you not.
I'm surprised the analytics department didn't kibosh Volpe's bid for the majors. At 5'9", he fails the tape measure test. But perhaps they were so googly-eyed at his exit velocity, they ignored the rest (as they usually do).
ReplyDeleteMaybe Caleb can pull the same trick and slip past the guy with the tape measure.
Re: Durbin
ReplyDeleteDon't know about him but I always liked his grandma'
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/54/63/64/5463647d5e6aff145b65262fe5d0298f.jpg