In an unprecedented move, it appears every single MLB team Googled “Victor González Savant” at the same time, leading to a somewhat unexpected Yankees return.
The Yankees, in desperate need of between four and seven bullpen shakeups, pulled the plug on González late last week, opting to promote Phil Bickford and Yoendrys Gomez with the Atlanta Braves on the horizon. Though many were surprised at first blush that the Yankees picked Caleb Ferguson over González between the former Dodgers, one look at González’s predictive metrics portended disaster. Ferguson, at least, misses bats, though he’s next on the chopping block after Michael Tonkin’s surge.
Maybe, when that day comes, González will replace him.
The rest of the league didn’t find the Yankees’ decision to part ways with the 2020 World Series hero quite so surprising. Nobody put a claim in on González, who will return to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with the Yankees this week. When he arrives in Central Pennsylvania, he’ll see Scott Effross, midway through his potentially impactful rehab.
Yankees left-hander Victor González returns to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre unexpectedly
The offseason hope was that González could continue to perform his particular brand of wizardry in New York, relying on two of Matt Blake’s favorite tools in the sinker and changeup. While he mostly danced around disaster in April and May, the raindrops got him in several of his June appearances, leading the Yankees to read the writing on the wall.
Writing, again, that the rest of Major League Baseball also read.
Now off the 40-man, González will now likely be a “break glass in case of emergency” option for the rest of the season, but the Yankees need swing-and-miss much more than they need what he provided to start the campaign. This trade deadline’s bullpen overhaul will be expansive, and González is unlikely to sneak into the mix for anything more than a Clayton Andrews-esque cameo.
That said, the Yankees certainly liked him this offseason, and more time in the lab is never a bad thing. If González has more room for growth, that’s great. If not? Thanks for this madcap win-sealing play against Harold Ramirez and the Rays.
