00:00All right, the Yankees got themselves a well-needed day off.
00:03They're back home after a three-city road trip,
00:05so let's hit all the storylines that are trending
00:08heading into Friday's series against the Orioles
00:10with my guy, Ryan Garcia of Fireside Yankees
00:14at Empire Sports Media.
00:16Ryan, appreciate you hopping on with us, man.
00:19You know, a couple weeks ago, the stash made his debut,
00:21and now it's gone, but let's talk about somebody else
00:24who made their debut.
00:25Elmer Rodriguez had his MLB debut Wednesday night,
00:30but it was nothing like Cam Schlittler's.
00:32He gave up two runs across four-plus innings,
00:35and out of his 80 pitches, my man only threw 42 strikes.
00:40Glass half full or glass half empty on Rodriguez after his debut?
00:47I think I'm glass half full here,
00:50and the reason is because getting him MLB experience now
00:53when you know you're going to pull him from the rotation
00:55for Colos Rodon, and then Garrett Cole will come back after that,
00:59it means that Elmer's getting some experience in the big leagues.
01:02He's getting to figure out what does or doesn't work.
01:04I imagine he was incredibly nervous going into this outing,
01:07and it did reflect in the command.
01:09There are things the Yankees are going to be able to work on with him.
01:12They're going to send him back down to AAA in a couple weeks
01:14and say, hey, work on X, Y, and Z,
01:16and when he comes back up and is needed for a longer period of time,
01:19he'll be more prepared.
01:20Jason Dominguez, a guy that I've been rooting for for quite some time now.
01:24He left the game early after being hit by a pitch on the left elbow.
01:28He gets a CT scan today, which is Thursday.
01:32Are you worried about the latest Dominguez setback
01:36when it comes to his availability and his consistency for this team?
01:43Yeah, I mean, he wasn't going to get a bunch of run
01:46because Giancarlo Stanton being out is the reason he came up,
01:50so any missed time for Dominguez feels like a wasted opportunity for him.
01:54This is a tricky situation because if he's placed in the IL,
01:58they're going to call up somebody else.
01:59That person's going to get an extended look,
02:01and I don't know if Dominguez would be able to come back before Stanton.
02:05And so this is a pretty tough blow and an unfortunate situation
02:09for a guy who had been waiting all year for this exact opportunity.
02:12You know what I've been waiting on all year or who I've been waiting on?
02:17That's my guy Anthony Volpe,
02:19and he's on track to make his season debut on Friday.
02:22You know about the rollercoaster of emotions
02:25he invokes within this franchise, in this fan base.
02:29So what are your expectations on Anthony Volpe when he returns?
02:35Yeah, I think it's very much hoping that the defense rebounds.
02:38He had plus 14 outs above average, plus 8 fielding run value in 2024.
02:43The year prior, he won a gold glove at shortstop.
02:46But in 2025, he did take a big step back defensively.
02:50If he can recoup some of that defensive value,
02:53if he can get back to being a premium defensive shortstop,
02:56the other traits that he needs to bring to the table
02:58or that we hope he needs to bring to the table,
03:00they're not going to be as important.
03:02If you have a really good defensive shortstop,
03:04it's pretty hard to be a negative impact player.
03:07So I'm just hoping that the defense is really good
03:10and that there are some steps forward on offense.
03:12Do you feel like he's playing for that starting shortstop job
03:17and fighting or playing for his future with this franchise
03:23the rest of this season?
03:25Yeah, to an extent, I think so.
03:28I think there is the immediate answer in Jose Caballero,
03:31who has really good defensive numbers on the season.
03:34He's plus 6 in defensive runs saved.
03:36He's a top-rated defensive shortstop this year.
03:39You look at the immediate future.
03:41You've got Caballero.
03:42You look at the long-term future.
03:43You've got George Lombard Jr., who's just got called up to AAA.
03:47He's only 20 years old.
03:48So the fact that he's in AAA is incredibly impressive.
03:51There's a lot of pressure both on the roster
03:53and in the not-too-distant future
03:55that could challenge Anthony Volpe's starting job.
03:58All right, let's talk about the Yankees as a whole.
04:0020-11 on the season.
04:01They actually went 7-2 on that three-city road trip
04:05that they just got back from.
04:07So you glass half-empty or half-full on this roster
04:11that they ran it back with,
04:12and of course the Yankees season so far?
04:15Yeah, I mean, I'm glass half-full here as well.
04:18I think that this team is what I expected them to be.
04:21They were a good offense.
04:22They're inside the top 10 in OPS, in runs scored.
04:25This pitching staff has looked so much better
04:29than I even thought it could on the rotation side
04:31without Garrett Cole and without Carlos Rodon.
04:34There are flaws on this team, much like the 2025 Yankees.
04:37The bullpen is very shaky.
04:39I don't know what the bridge is to Bednar.
04:41Bednar's velocity is down in and of itself,
04:43so that's a little concerning.
04:44But I think that this team has an elite rotation,
04:47and they've got some cavalry on the way
04:50in Garrett Cole, Carlos Rodon,
04:51and maybe not too far away, Carlos LeGranje as well.
04:54All right, Ryan, appreciate you hopping on with this, my man.
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