It would have been difficult to fathom for most of the year, but thanks to a late-season slump, first baseman/designated hitter Luke Voit might not make the Yankees’ ALDS roster, per George A. King III and Dan Martin of the New York Post.
Whether Voit participates in the Yankees’ first-round series will depend in part on the status of fellow first baseman/DH Edwin Encarnacion. An oblique strain has kept Encarnacion out for more than two weeks, but general manager Brian Cashman said (via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com) that the Yankees “expect him to be available Friday” when the series begins.
Voit and Encarnacion were similarly productive during the regular season, but the former’s numbers dipped amid a rocky finish. A sports hernia led to multiple stints on the injured list in the season’s second half for Voit, who missed almost all of August. While Voit boasted an .886 OPS upon his return a month ago, he ended the year a .263/.378/.464 hitter after an ice-cold September in which he batted .194/.326/.347 in 86 trips to the plate. Voit inflicted a particularly large amount of damage on his numbers from Sept. 15 onward, as he closed the season on a 1-for-32 skid with 13 strikeouts.
Now, with an October matchup against the similarly home run-happy Twins looming, the Yankees may opt to shelve Voit in favor of Encarnacion and rookie Mike Ford. Unlike Voit, Ford was an offensive machine during the last several weeks of the season. One of the many unsung Yankees to step up during an injury-riddled 2019 for the club, the 27-year-old Ford slashed a power-packed .259/.350/.559 with 12 home runs, a lofty .301 ISO and a low 17.2 percent strikeout rate in his 163-PA major league debut.
I’d be shocked if Voit was left off the roster.
Prepare to feel shocked, Cotton.
To be fair, this article did provide some logical argument to why Voit should be left off the roster.
He’s been slumping. Very hard. There are alternatives in Edwin and Ford at DH.
He also needs hernia surgery.
True!!!
I would be too. But it makes sense with his slump and Ford’s lefty bat.
Short sighted moving omitting Voit. Give him the first series, if they advance and he doesn’t perform then bring back Ford.
*move
Sorry clout. Play Ford. He’s the hot hand. Too bad for Voit, however figures don’t lie.
I guess it’s a good problem to have but I feel bad if Voit doesn’t play in the post-season. He helped out a lot in the power area when Stanton and Judge were both on the IL. He and EE are similar in many ways but I like Voit’s ability to get on base more.
And here is where the human element comes into play. Voit gave the Yanks way more than Stanton this year and yet Voit might not get playoff action. Guys talk. Guys have feelings. Clubhouse drama when big salary IL guys come in and steal a show they didn’t earn a right to be a part of.
If Voit gets left out I dont think anyone would get mad at Stanton and say he didnt earn a right to be part of the team. It has nothing to do with his salary either, Stanton is just one of the best hitters in the game.
It would be a decision between Ford and Voit, if anything. And if we’re talking everything besides recent numbers (i.e the human element), Voit would edge him out.
Hey EJ—it’s not Voit CS. Stanton. It’s Voit CS. Ford. They are the 1B players and are not playing left field.
Too bad for Voit, however he lost the edge when he injured himself.
No as for whining about Stanton, it is true that he is prone to striking out. However time to bite the big lip buddy. Stanton has the ability to get hot and carry the team on his back. Shhhhhh….
Where have you gone, Greg Bird? Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
@Bocephus Isn’t that just a waste? HIs swing is tailor made for YS and his minor league stats (.281/.396/485 showing power and “walk-ability”) suggested he should have fared much better than he has.
I believe his potential has been severely stunted by all those injuries. Spent too much of the time he needed to spend growing at the big league level being injured. He had potential, which people like Texiera raved about, but im not sure he has that potential anymore because not only does he need to get physically healthy he needs to get his mind right. His confidence wasnt there at the plate in the small amount of time he played the last two seasons. He was hesitating too much, not fully committing to swings (i.e not getting his A-swing off), and just overthinking at the plate and watching good pitches to hit.
He might be able to grow and become a decently-slightly above average 1B if he can log consistent AB’s for a couple years in a low pressure environment. Its the juiced ball era too, so its not entirely inconceivable. Before the injuries, he was a better version of Mike Ford and look how Ford is faring in the juiced ball era.
Stop whining Benjhi
+fits65
What?? I didnt know that giving a critical assessment about a player was whining.
Instead of Rhymin Simon, it’s Rhymin… Voit?
I pray he is left off. Good story last year. Can’t hit his ass with both hands right now. Ford is by far the best of the 3 mentioned
@Ricky Jackson In what way is Ford far superior to Voit? Voit’s in a slump. All hitters, Trout and Babe Ruth go thru it. But his batting average is higher. His OBP is hire. And his slugging isn’t that far off from Ford’s. I like both but Voit has a longer and better track record.
I think the thought process might be to pair EE and Ford together for the RH/LH benefit but Voit absolutely crushes RHP (.860 and 16 homers) vs LHP (.790 and 5 homers). And Ford, even with a small sample size hits LHP better than RHP.
Hey Bully—stop pontificating a dumb position. Longer and better doesn’t matter. What has happened in the past 4 weeks.
If Voits slump was ten days its one thing. There is NO proof that he has fully recovered from his previous injuries.
No REAL Yankee fans want to risk losing and then finding out that Voit was not 100%.
Well there’s no way he recovered from his injury, it’s a hernia. The only way to repair it is surgery, which he will probably wind up getting after the playoffs. Now, it may not be significant enough to be an issue at the moment and be something he can play through, but clearly something is not right given his numbers since his return.
What are you talking about? Voit had an ops of almost .900 this season even with the slump….voit also carried the offense when Stanton and judge were injured.
My God did you forget already ?
Baseball is a game of streaks, Ro. Get with the program. Do you want to win, or talk like a Mets fan with excuses why they didn’t win???
Ya gotta play the hot hand. If Ford poops out, you can always change the roster before Round 2 (if they get there).
Or, more likely, add Rob Refsnyder.
Refsnyder, I’ll write you, in spite of years of silence. You’ve cleaned up, found Jesus, things are good oh so I hear…
This bottle of Stevens awakens ancient feelings…
future hall of famer and best trade chip of all time Rob Refsnyder?
Wow Bob. Such an original Refsnyder post. Why don’t you give it a quit? Or are you consumed by someone from many years ago?
If that’s the case, start rooting for Mo Vaughn.
I don’t know if Voit is still affected by the hernia or muscle strain but he is not the same guy we saw earlier this year. They don’t have to replace Voit with Ford. With LeMahaeu and Encarcion available at first they could go elsewhere.
Can’t understate EE’s experience and composure, either. He’s delivered big in playoff games.
Can’t dump Ford for Voit, since Voit will be your starter next season.
He knows it.
Putting Mike Ford of all people on the playoff roster instead of Voit would be taking the term overthinking it to the next level and beyond.
Ford had about a .900 ops in a little over 150 at bats..that’s something . Can’t be ignored
Ford deserves to make the roster and DH, even over Encarnacion. Encarnacion hasn’t played in a few weeks, not a good recipe for success when facing the best pitching staffs in the playoffs.
Also hope they don’t let Gearrin or Tarpley anywhere near the bullpen. I’d like to see them take Heller or Loaisiga.
Heller over Jonny lasagna for me . Lasagna walks way too many batters and you can’t do stuff like that in the post season . Heller would be a great number 7 or 8 option out of the pen.
As I eluded to in my seperate post I hope the yanks only go with an 11 man pitching staff..and hopefully Heller gets the last spot
Voit clearly appears to be playing hurt. Giving him the extra time off may help him heal up and be ready for the ALDS depending on the performance of the other players.
The next series is the ALDS.
The yanks could go with both and carry 11 pitchers.. I mean how often is the 12th man going to pitch in a 5 game playoff series with 2 built in off days? Essentially your 7 relievers can each go an inning in back to back nights
If they go 11 pitchers
Sanchez
Romine
DJLM
urshela
Didi
Gleyber
Wade
Stanton
Gardner
Judge
Maybin
Wade
EE
Ford
Voit
Sevy
Paxton
Tanaka
Happ
Cc
Ottavino
Britton
Green
Kahnle
Chapman
7th reliever
I know it may seem strange to carry 3 first base dh types but EE & voit are both coming off injuries …if they’re healthy however they can greatly impact the series…if they get hurt during the series or prove to not be healthy the yanks can adď back a pitcher . Ford has been scorching hot and that can not go unnoticed . Also hes I think 5 for 11 as a pinch hitter and that has extreme value in the playoffs. Plus as a lefty he does bring some balance to the lineup.
In all honesty I hope the yanks just roll with 11 pitchers . There is no need to have a tarpley of a Lyons on the playoff roster to only pitch in the 16th inning ot in a 12 to 2 game