In an unprecedented move, it appears that every MLB team searched for “Victor González Savant” at the same moment, resulting in a somewhat unexpected Yankees response.
The Yankees, in desperate need of four to seven bullpen shakeups, released González late last week, instead promoting Phil Bickford and Yoendrys Gomez with the Atlanta Braves on the horizon. Though many were surprised that the Yankees chose Caleb Ferguson over González among former Dodgers, a look at González’s predictive stats foreshadowed disaster. Ferguson, at least, misses bats, but he’s next on the chopping block following Michael Tonkin’s rise.
González may be able to take his position one day.
The rest of the league wasn’t as surprised by the Yankees’ decision to break ways with the 2020 World Series hero. Nobody filed a claim on González, who will return to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with the Yankees this week. When he gets in Central Pennsylvania, he will visit Scott Effross, who is in the middle of a possibly life-changing rehabilitation program.
Victor González, a Yankees left-hander, has suddenly returned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
The offseason hope was that González could continue to perform his unique brand of sorcery in New York, relying on two of Matt Blake’s favourite tools, the sinker and changeup. While he mostly avoided disaster in April and May, the showers caught him in numerous of his June games, prompting the Yankees to see the writing on the wall.
Again, writing for the whole of Major League Baseball to read.
González, who is no longer on the 40-man roster, will most likely remain a “break glass in case of emergency” option for the rest of the season, but the Yankees require swing-and-miss more than they did to begin the season. The bullpen turnover at the trade deadline will be extensive, and González is unlikely to make more than a cameo appearance a like Clayton Andrews.
However, the Yankees clearly liked him this offseason, and additional time in the lab is never a bad thing. If González has more space to grow, that’s fantastic. What if not? Thank you for this crazy win-sealing play against Harold Ramirez and the Rays.
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