AL Notes: Yanks' injuries, CarGo, Sox at Astros

Rangers GM Jon Daniels was once quoted as saying, “There is no contingency plan for your best players.” The Yankees are disproving that theory.

New York enters the weekend atop the American League East following this week’s four-game sweep of the Orioles. Coming back from an 8-10 start isn’t unique in the Majors, but doing so with many of your best players on the injured list? Practically unheard of.

Before you start racing to your preferred social media outlet to besiege me with examples of teams that have done just that, consider exactly what the Yankees have overcome:

• Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton have combined for 81 at-bats this season.
• Center fielder Aaron Hicks didn’t make his debut until May 15.
• Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, one of the spring’s feel-good stories, has taken 11 at-bats.
• Neither ace Luis Severino nor relief weapon Dellin Betances have thrown a pitch in 2019.
• Miguel Andújar, last year’s AL Rookie of the Year runner-up, posted a .271 OPS in 47 at-bats and is out for the season following shoulder surgery.

Rather than the usual suspects, it’s been Domingo Germán, Luke Voit and Gio Urshela stepping up to fill the void left by the team’s various injuries.

“I think it’s a testament to the work that [general manager Brian Cashman] and his staff continue to do in building great depth in the organization,” said Chris Antonetti, the Indians’ president of baseball operations. “They’ve done an extraordinary job of contingency planning and ensuring they have quality alternatives when some of their star players or regulars that they were counting on went down with injury. Cash does such an extraordinary job; I’m not sure he always gets the credit he deserves.”

The acquisition of Voit (and international bonus slot money) from the Cardinals last summer for Chasen Shreve and Giovanny Gallegos proved to be a windfall for New York.

According to a source, Voit was also on Boston’s short list of options as the Red Sox searched for an inexpensive, power-hitting corner infielder last summer, but Dave Dombrowski opted to trade for Steve Pearce instead. Voit was a force down the stretch in New York and has continued slugging this season, showing that 2018 wasn’t a fluke.

Urshela, on the other hand, has been a revelation. The 27-year-old Colombian was signed by the Indians as a 16-year-old in 2008 and made his big league debut in 2015. He posted a .608 OPS in 81 games that season and then spent all of 2016 at Triple-A.

Cleveland executives loved Urshela’s glove at third, and although his plate discipline left something to be desired, he displayed above-average hand-eye coordination that left the club optimistic about his potential, even after he posted a .551 OPS in 67 games for the Tribe in 2017.

“Defense had always been his calling card,” Antonetti said. “Offensively, he was a guy that made good contact, didn’t strike out a ton and didn’t walk a lot. He hit for some average but was always working to tap into some of his power to be a productive offensive player. That remained a work in progress when he was with us.”

A roster crunch in May 2018 led the Indians to trade Urshela to the Blue Jays, whose GM, Ross Atkins, had come from Cleveland’s front office and was quite familiar with the infielder. Three months and 43 underwhelming at-bats later, Toronto faced its own roster decision, leading to his trade to the Yankees last August.

Urshela didn’t appear in a game for the Yankees last year, but he re-signed with the club after the season, inking a Minor League deal. Imagine where the Yankees might be had he gone elsewhere; Urshela has excelled in Andujar’s place, hitting .333/.383/.470 in 39 games while playing superb defense at the hot corner.

Can Urshela keep this up for the entire season, though?

A look at the numbers shows that his 41.9-percent hard-hit rate is up (his career mark was 31.5 percent entering this season), while his 16.1-percent strikeout rate is down slightly from his 18.0-percent career average, while his 40.4-percent ground-ball rate is the lowest of his career. Factor in his average exit velocity of 90.7 mph -- career average was 86.9 mph prior to this season -- and it’s clear that Urshela is hitting the ball harder than he ever has, resulting in more productive contact.

That’s not to say he’s made a believer out of everybody. One AL executive lauded the Yankees for getting the most out of some of their fill-in players, but like dozens of similar examples in years past, too much exposure can lead to a player’s regression to his career norms as sample sizes grow.

“It’s working out perfect for them while some of these guys are injured,” the executive said. “They’re getting lightning in a bottle from Urshela, but he’s going to turn into a pumpkin if he keeps playing. There’s not much different in what he’s doing in terms of his peripherals, so he’s going to end up being the guy he’s always been.”

If he does, the Yankees will have plenty of options in their infield. Shortstop Didi Gregorius is expected back from the injured list within the next month, as is Tulowitzki. With Gleyber Torres locked in at second base, the Yankees could simply shift DJ LeMahieu to third base if Urshela begins to struggle at the plate.

“I thought LeMahieu was one of the best signings of the offseason,” the same executive said. “He’s perfect for their ballpark, good solid player and a good value deal. They’re very smart.”

End of the line for CarGo?

The Indians designated Carlos González for assignment this week, apparently convinced that the veteran’s slow start wasn’t a temporary slump.

Gonzalez hit .210/.282/.276 with two homers and seven RBIs in 30 games (117 plate appearances), a far cry from his glory years with the Rockies and even a sizeable drop from his past two mediocre years in Colorado.

“He was always a guy who crushed Coors Field,” an AL executive said. “He seemed to have benefited more from Coors than almost anyone.”

During CarGo’s last All-Star season in 2016, he had a 41.4-percent hard-hit rate; this year, it’s 34.2 percent. He has been consistently flummoxed by breaking balls, slugging a mere .194 against them this season compared to .503 in 2016 and .405 in 2017.

Antonetti had nothing but praise for Gonzalez overall, noting the impact he had in the clubhouse. Despite the 33-year-old’s lack of production this season, Antonetti said he wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Gonzalez catching on elsewhere and finding a groove at the plate.

“We were at the point where it wasn’t evident to us so far to start the season and we had to make a roster move,” Antonetti said. “I wouldn’t put it past CarGo if he got another 200, 300, 400 at-bats, that they would be far more productive than his first 115 were with us.”

Where might CarGo wind up? Although some teams are in need of outfield help, it’s difficult to imagine a team handing him a big league roster spot right now after the struggles he’s had during the first quarter of the season.

“He’ll get a Minor League deal somewhere because he [has a] name, but that’s going to wear off at some point,” the previous executive said. “He wasn’t that bad last year on the surface if someone looks at it, but I think it’s getting harder and harder to fool people.”

Series to watch: Red Sox at Astros (May 24-26)

Houston took two of three between the clubs at Fenway Park last weekend, giving Boston a shot at revenge as they meet in a three-game set this weekend at Minute Maid Park. The Red Sox won’t have to face Gerrit Cole, who fanned seven over five scoreless innings in the series opener last week, but they’ll get their first crack of the year at Justin Verlander in Sunday’s finale. Verlander, who is 5-5 with a 2.89 ERA in 18 career starts against the Red Sox, is 7-1 with a 1.63 ERA in his past eight starts dating back to April 13.

Stealth star of the week

Rougned Odor’s first 114 plate appearances this season produced three home runs, 10 RBIs and an unsightly .146/.221/.272 slash line. Odor had only six hits in 29 plate appearances last week, but he certainly made them count. Texas’ second baseman had four homers with 11 RBIs during the Rangers’ 6-1 week, and although his .222 average and .276 on-base percentage aren’t much to write home about, his .667 slugging percentage certainly stood out.