Yankees’ infielder Gio Urshela spoke to Ken Davidoff of the New York Post about switching from third base to shortstop this season and had positive things to say about the move.
“I played my entire minor leagues [and major leagues] at third base. Then, moving to shortstop, I kind of liked it,” he said. Urshela was exaggerating a little bit, as he had played a little bit of shortstop before this year, but not a lot. In 2017, he logged 20 innings at short while with Cleveland, then racked up 65 more for the Blue Jays in 2018. That was the sum total of his big league shortstop experience, 85 innings. He got a bit more in the minors, 276 1/3 shortstop innings from 2013 to 2018. But over 2019 and 2020, he didn’t play shortstop at all, majors or minors. “I really enjoyed playing shortstop because you get more involved in the game,” Urshela continued. “Every play, you’re going to be involved. Third base, I just wait for the [ball] and that’s it. You don’t move that much.”
On September 13th, Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone announced that the club would be moving Gleyber Torres from shortstop to second base “to take some pressure off” him. This followed years of speculation about the eventual move, given Torres’s defensive struggles. At that point, Urshela had appeared in parts of 11 games at short on the campaign, but then made 17 more appearances there over the season’s final three weeks. And how do defensive metrics like Urshela’s work? On the season overall, Statcast’s Outs Above Average rated Urshela at zero, Defensive Runs Saved had him at minus-1 and Ultimate Zone Rating gave him minus-0.2.
It’s probably not wise to use these small-sample numbers as any kind of cudgel to attack Urshela’s future as a shortstop, but he was around average offensively this year as well, as his slash line of .267/.301/.419 amount to a wRC+ of 96. (League average is 100.) That’s a drop-off from his 2019-2020 output of .310/.358/.523, wRC+ of 132. It seems fair to deduce that the Yankees will consider shortstop an area of potential improvement and will thus be very interested in this winter’s crop of shortstops. The market is loaded with stars, such as Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Trevor Story, Javier Baez and Chris Taylor.
This will be lead to an interesting financial decision for the Yankees, in terms of the luxury tax. In the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource, their 2022 luxury tax number is already $222MM, when factoring in estimates for the team’s massive arbitration class of 19 players. That’s well over the lowest threshold for this season, which was $210MM, a line the Yankees made a point to avoid crossing. However, it’s entirely possible that the entire luxury tax landscape looks completely different in a few months, given that the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and MLBPA expires December 1st, with the negotiation of a new CBA widely expected to be contentious, leaving many variables undetermined for the time being. Regardless of whether the thresholds change significantly or not, that’s a heavy payroll to be carrying before the offseason even begins. Any of those aforementioned star shortstops would likely add at least $20MM to their luxury tax ledger, if not more, taking the Yankees above $240MM, before even factoring in any other offseason signings. Under the current CBA, the luxury tax penalties increase at $230MM and again at $250MM.
If the Yankees do add a shortstop of some kind before next season, it might squeeze Urshela’s playing time, as moving Torres to second base means DJ LeMahieu should be slotted into third base most of the time. Urshela played 2021 on a salary of $4.65MM and MLBTR’s arbitration projections for 2022 estimate that could increase to the vicinity of $6.2MM for his second of three arb years. That would be a bit steep for a bench infielder who offers up league-average offense, but it could also be a bargain if the club thinks he’s capable of returning to the form he showed in 2019-2020.
Urshela making his pitch to stay a Yankee if they decide to do a stopgap at SS.
The problem with moving Gleyber to 2B, Gio to SS and DJLM to 3B is it weakens all three positions defensively. LeMahieu remains an excellent 2B’man, but only an ok 3B’man. Urshela is stellar at 3B, but league average at SS. The Yankees are going to do something unexpected here as they do some lineup reconstruction in the offseason.
I’m not convinced they’ll add one of the top SS’s, although if the Dodgers actually let Brother of Kyle leave (which I don’t think they will), then the Yankees might be tempted to add his lefty bat.
L99: I think he’s the top of the wishlist because of his offense from the left side but, as a Borassss client, he’s going to hold out and ask way too much. Let someone else overpay. I agree with your overall sentiment that they won’t get a big-name SS. However, if they do, I could see them leveraging Story (Lifelong Yankee fan) as they did DJL with a short-term contract and a subsequent extension if he performs. Plus, he’s the best defender of the bunch, outside of the Cheatin’ Astros Correa.
You place players in a position to succeed – by putting them in roles to maximize their strengths. Cashman does not do this, and that’s the problem with the Yankees.
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Urshela is an excellent defensive 3B, but he doesn’t hit much. He’s a better makeshift SS than Gleyber, but he’s not a full-time MLB SS.
I’ve read scouts and FO people that believe Gary Sanchez is the best hitter on their roster. The Yankees (and Sanchez) persist in playing him at C – the most demanding physical and mental position in MLB. This past year – in his prime at age 28 – Sanchez slashed at .204 / .307 / .423 / .730. This is ridiculous. He should be at 3B (the position requires the same skills as C – reaction skills, good hands, and a strong arm), 1B, or DH. Not only are the Yankees wasting their best hitter, he’s a substandard C.
Voit is nice to have. But they already have RH 1B-DH type bats in Sanchez and Stanton. Then Cashman figured the Yankees need more LH bats that could hit fly balls to the RF porch in Yankee Stadium for HR’s, so he brings in LeMahieu, Odor, Rizzo, and Gallo – thereby screwing up his entire defense.
The Yankees need to find a C to share the job with Higashioka, which will be a boon to their pitching staff. Either play Sanchez at another position or trade him.
If they want LH hitters, than they need to play LeMahieu and Odor in the infield and trade Gleyber and/or Urshela. Voit is superfluous – trade him for something.
They don’t have a defensive CF. Estevan Florial is soon to be 24 years old, plays the best CF of anyone on their roster or in their system, and bats LH. He looked ready to play at the ML level last year, give him the job in 2022 and hire a manager and coaching staff that can develop him (and others) at the ML level.
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Cole, Stanton and (soon to be) Judge eat up too much of a percentage of the Yankee payroll. Chapman and Britton are overpaid – a quality pitching coach can bring along back-end bullpen guys for far less money.
In short – Cashman (and quite possibly Hal) are so enamored with paying “stars” that they have the payroll out of line, forcing the manager to use players in roles that is neither good for them nor the team. They can beat up on the also ran’s for a good winning percentage, but they don’t go anywhere in the playoffs when they have to play the quality teams. Last in a WS in 2009. One would think they’d wake up.
I’ve discussed position changes with my wife constantly & it never got me anywhere. Good luck with that Gio
you lost all credibility as soon as you suggested that Gary Sanchez could play catcher
If the Yankees trust their player talent evaluators, would it make sense to use a combination of Gio/the Bronx kid until either Peraza or Volpe are ready to man the position in 2023? As opposed to spending the last of the available dollars the Yankees have on one of the free agent SS’s especially when they have gaping holes to fill in CF, Catcher, Relief, 1st Base?
If you spend on SS, you’re probably bargain basement hunting again for critical positions.
would it make sense to use a combination of Gio/the Bronx kid until either Peraza or Volpe are ready to man the position in 2023?
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I agree 100%. You cannot get one of the premium shortstops without a long contract, and that just makes the team more expensive and creates a backlog at SS.
I would make the IF DJ-Urshela-Torres-Voit Urshela leaves in two years, and you drop one of the kids into the slot. Torres leaves in three years, and you drop one of the kids into his slot.
It won’t be a great IF, but it will likely be better than league-average, and it’ll give the Yankees the opportunity to direct money elsewhere. As a RS fan, I’d prefer them to spend big on a l/t SS contract, FWIW.
Just imagine if the Yankees axed Cashman then got Billy Beane to GM. I think if you gave Billy Beane a 200 million plus payroll the fans would love the results. Look at it like this how successful would Cashman be with 1/3 the payroll he’s used to working with? Most of the core of the late 90’s Yankees was the framework of the previous GM Gene Micheal.
The core 4 of the 1990’s Yankees dynasty teams. Jeter/Mariano Rivera/ Pettitte/Posada all drafted or developed by Gene Michael.
No, just….no. Urshela is a good third-baseman and sufficed as an emergency fill-in, but no more of this out of position nonsense. The defense sucks as it is. Get a real SS: Story / Seager, or trade for one: Paul DeJong, maybe(?).
Agreed. They need to tighten the infield defense by putting them at their proper position. There was a moment when they had Rizzo at 1B, DJ at 2B, Velazquez at SS and Gio at 3B and I remember thinking this is collectively probably as good as any infield defense in the league. Then they started shifting everyone about.
There are some fielding first SS out there like Simmons and Iglasias too.
They could get Dejong very cheap because of his contract.
Paul Simon just wrote a new song that includes the line “Where have you gone, Miguel Andujar.”
Andujar should never even sniff the infield again unless it’s a short emergency type situation. He was awful at 3rd. You can’t fix how bad he was playing the position.
When the new wave of “defensive position flexibility” made it’s way into the game, figured it wouldn’t take long before the complaints about moving guys around would happen. It’s here.
yanks need to just blow it up
Yes because there are plenty of teams out there lining up to take players past their primes on multi year bad contracts.
Example? Which players are you referring to?
Guess you missed the part about 19 players being eligible for arbitration. Not sure how so many have ignored the way the Yankees have put a team together since the signings of Ellsbury, Beltran and McCann. That was the last year they chased all top FAs to fill their lineup holes.
You want to really blow it up ? Trade Judge. He finally logs an injury free season, his value will never be higher, the gaining team can put the franchise tag on him at the end of the year when he’s a free agent (unless the new CBA gets rid of that). Judge is a better defender, but essentially, he and Stanton are the same player. The Yankees (and Judge with injuries) squandered his youthful years. He is going to want big money, will not age well, and I don’t see this group winning. Good pitching kills them every time. You would get a nice package for him. You would be selling low on Torres and Voit, snd practically giving away Frazier, Andujar, Sanchez. The nerds like Gallo, but he’d net less than he cost. Judge is the piece you move. The Sox did it with Mookie. Something has to give.
This is a totally absurd take…first off this poster doesn’t even know what sport he’s talking about. “Franchise tag”? What are you even talking about? This isn’t the NFL Bud. On top of that, you want the Yankees to trade their biggest homegrown star since Derek Jeter?? A ultra-superstar on AND off the field. Nothing even remotely close to his status in the clubhouse. He’s an ultra star in the biggest, toughest market in US Sports. Besides him they have no leader, none. Cole is an “I” guy and talks to much. Does not have the respect of his teamates like a true leader does, like judge does. Stanton is a good role player. He doesn’t want the “leader” tag. If they let Judge walk, it will be the modern day equivalent of Babe Ruth. Boston is sitting in the weeds just waiting to pounce.
Man what a big offseason for this core. Really interesting to see what they address. Just hoping there’s no standing pat changes HAVE to be made.
Trade Urshela to the Phillies for Didi Gregorious or to the Marlins for Miguel Rojas if the Marlins decide to put Brian Anderson back in the Outfield.
I would not expect the Yankees to spend on one of the big free agent Shortstops so if they look outside the organization than guys like Freddy Galvis, Jose Iglesias, and Andrelton Simmons are possible but probably not upgrades over Tyler Wade or Andrew Velazquez
The Yankees got the best of Didi and then let him leave. I don’t think he has the glove anymore or the bat, and he’s set to make $15M next season.
100% Didi has maybe 1-2 years left of average SS. Just in time for the kids.
I’d rather have Squid.
GT at 2B
GU at 3B
DJ at DH
Stanton to RF. He was a far better player at the plate when he played the field.
DJ at DH with his 97 OPS+ and .268 AVG?
Even though Giancarlo hit better when playing the outfield, I think they’re not going to risk his getting hurt again by playing him full-time in the field, and he doesn’t have the sprint speed anymore to cover a lot of ground, probably because he’s afraid to pull a muscle. I expect he’ll alternate between DH and the outfield again like he did in the second half.
Didi rated worse than Gleyber at SS this year defensively, and waaaaaaay worse than average. No!
I loved Didi with the NYY, but no, his time is now past.
RS get Urshela and top blue-chip prospects Frazier and Andujar for Bogaerts. That’s my ridiculous proposal.
Random pet peeve. Why are teams popping champagne after every round of the playoffs, imagine lebron popping some champagne after beating the wizards in the first round?!
If MLB changes the playoff format to include over half the teams in both leagues, I would agree with you.
I don’t understand why Gio or DJ would be moved out of position for Torres. Torres’ production has dropped each of the last 2 years, and his bat would have to be a lot better to justify either of them playing out of position or sitting.
The Yankees also have a long history of injuries, so they realistically need all 3 of those guys + a shortstop. That’s way better than relying on Roughned Odor or Tyler Wade or Andrew Velazquez.
Moving Gio from 3B would be a mistake.
forgot about taylor. he might be a fit because the yankees also need help in center field. i’d be interested to hear from dodger fans about his defense at shortstop
What this article doesn’t address is which of their arbitration-eligible players might not get tendered. For example, are they willing to pay Gary Sanchez ~$10M to be a below average catcher? Will they tender Joey Gallo? Does this $222M include the $7M Brett Gardner team option or his $2M player option? I believe the Yankees will make moves to lower that $222M number considerably before pursuing free agents outside of the organization regardless of what the new CBA does with luxury tax. This team needs an overhaul, so I wouldn’t count on all of those players being back in pinstripes next season.
It’s hard to imagine Cashman not tendering a contract to Gallo after giving up four players to get him, one of whom was already starting games for the Rangers and was 23rd in FIP and 20th in K/9. It wouldn’t be like Brian to admit defeat so quickly.
They should buy out Brett for $1.15M if he declines his option — but why would he? Stupid Cashman put the ball in his court, and it’s going to cost $2.3M. Either they’ll have to play Brett or eat the $2.3M to make him go away.
@person. I agree Time to put Gardner out to pasture They have Greg Allen and Tim Locastro cheap.
There is absolutely no way Cashman non-tenders Joey Gallo. Just bonkers.
He put up 4.6 WAR in ’21. He has a career OPS of .821 & plays gold glove caliber defense. He is athletic, runs well, & can play multiple spots. He’s a lock to hit 40+ jacks in The Stadium.
Gallo is a very good player whom the Yanks acquired using Real Assets.
The idea that Cashman would get rid of him is…man, I don’t really know how to phrase it gently, as it lacks so much basic sense.
I seriously doubt that the NYY move on from Gallo, Sanchez or Gardner. Gallo was weak with the NYY, but I think that comes with the territory of being a TTT hitter. Similar to Dalbec, when they look good, they are overwhelming. But when they are in a slump, they become unwatchable. But with these guys, you have to take a look at their entire body of work, and not 1-2 months.
IRT Sanchez, he is similar to Vazquez.in that you don’t have any good alternatives. There aren’t any worthwhile FAs. You could trade for someone like Zunino or Contreras, maybe, but I wouldn’t trade good prospect(s) for a one-year upgrade.
And Gardner, on a net basis, is too cheap to pass up.
JoeBrady: I agree with most of your points. I would not trade for Zunino – Contreras, yes. Grandal, yes, if available.
Gardner: oh, what a contentious issue his retention has become. But, as Ducky calls him, GGBG has been the most most consistently reliable outfielder we have. On offense, although poor, he’s not underperforming in comparison the the rest of the roster.
Zunino is a FA this year. I would definitely sign Zunino and move on from Sanchez
I should be hired as the Yankees short stop. I have a GG
Moving Urshela to shortstop would be less of a problem than making LeMahieu a starting third baseman. Gio is better at short than DJ is at third.
I don’t think for a minute that they’re going to trade Torres, and he showed his greater comfort level at second immediately, so that position is his.
If the Yankees don’t spend to keep Rizzo (I doubt they will, and they shouldn’t give anyone his age more than three years), they’d get better defense from DJ at first base than at third. His not a typical first baseman as a hitter, but what can you do? This is the jigsaw puzzle that Cashman created.
Fans keep opining that the Yankees have to get into the sweepstakes for one of the big-ticket shortstops, but I doubt that’s happening either. Either Peraza or Volpe is going to be ready sooner rather than later and the front office won’t want to block a cheap alternative by adding yet another to their collection of huge contracts.
I think they’ll move Gio back to third base and acquire a stop-gap shortstop. I suggested here a while ago that Chris Taylor would be a good choice because of his versatility. He could be shifted to a fourth outfielder and backup infielder after Peraza or Volpe gets promoted.
If he’s too expensive or unavailable, they could let Gio stay at short and sign Adrianza, a good defensive third baseman and switch hitter, to play third base. Or they could move Gio back to third and play Adrianza at short. As a hitter, Adrianza doesn’t profile as a third baseman, but neither does LeMahieu. Adrianza has played at least 100 innings at every defensive position except center field and backstop. They could stick with Wade, but Adrianza is better on both sides of the ball. This is all assuming that Hal keeps Cashman on a budget again.
This is a good take on how the offseason will likely play out. A few of us have been discussing a possible trade candidate for SS as well in Paul DeJong, who would be a nice stop-gap, although right-handed.
There are also other options similar to Adrianza in Villar or Leury Garcia. Garcia has played nearly every position on the diamond as well, but I haven’t seen enough of Villar to know if he’s still capable of playing passable D at SS. IF they acquired Chris Taylor, he would immediately be our best FT CFer too…
Gio doesn’t have the athleticism to play SS. He’s also was a terrible terrible hitter this year. There wasn’t any logic in starting him over Wade. He’s part of the problem.
Ditto for Gleyber.
I guess you missed his highlight reel plays, like the one where he leapt full-extension to snag the ball and then made an accurate throw to first from the seat of his pants.
Gio has the athleticism.
Gio does lack the range, but his athleticism, glove, and intuition are some of the best on the team. I don’t want him playing FT SS, but for different reasons. An example is his ~129 foot catch while flying into the opposing dugout. I think Urshela’s hitting regression was due to a variety of reasons (ie, injury, lack of added protection from the lineup due to Ks and versatility, etc).
As an aside, Adam Weinrib reports that the Astros’ 2021 #s “suspiciously similar” to their 2017 #s at Minute Maid Park, after being called out by Ryan Tepera for drastic difference in swing-and-miss once they left the confines of Minute Maid Park.
Astros’ ChestFest 2021 almost a complete success again!
I despise the Astros, but the trouble with Tepera’s theory is that the Astros were fourth in batting average at home and first on the road — .267 at home, .268 away.
FYI, Astros are a pretty good team.
Yes, they are, no doubt. Good becomes great when cheating. Those Cheatin’ Astros….
LOL
Yankee fans are the dumbest in sports.
JD: You’ve proven your own statement to be incorrect in one short sentence. Good job!
They’re signing Seager. Book it.
Does your crystal ball specify which Seager?
I’m guessing Bob Seagar, to be their PA announcer, and occasionally sing God Bless America!
That would be pretty cool.
Would he have to change the spelling of his name?
What about Jason Giambi?
Torres is the piece to the puzzle that just doesn’t fit. It isn’t that he isn’t a nice guy, it isn’t personal, he just doesn’t fit.
If you deal Torres for a shortstop, what do you get in return? What does a package of Torres and Voit bring you? Add Hicks to the mix. Take all of the pieces that don’t fit and start plugging the holes.
Yes, exactly. Many will argue those guys have zero trade value, but package them with prospects and/or cash and we may be able to get a decent return. Especially with Torres who has shown he is capable of a great bat and plays a passable second base. Plus, he’s just 24 years old. I’d rather us signed someone other than DJL given our roster construction. We need contact/speed. I’m high on Rizzo because he’s a high OBP guy.
LeMahieu was a mistake.
It also seems to be the one Yankee fan are most willing to gloss over. I am routinely wrong about all kinds of stuff. & my record of making mistakes is fairly extensive on the board.
But I was right about DJ.
I posted a lot last winter about how that was a floor raising/volume signing free agent market. LeMahieu’s money should have gone to Wong/Hernandez/LaStella & another starter.
DJ killed us all year.
A slow, below average batter out of the lead off spot is a huge detriment to scoring runs. The results showed. & he kicked the ball all over the infield. He seemed to be at the plate in a Big Spot over & over, & all he ever did was ground out.
Major disappointment.
@Ducky. DJ’s season surprised me this year. He is a better player than that. I imagine he’ll be better next year. At least he can play multiple positions too which has some value.
@Ducky Buckin Fent
You were right about DJ.
Cashman made the most fundamental of blunders, buying high on an aging player on the basis of two outlier seasons in which he vastly outperformed his 7-year performance in Colorado, where he owned an underwhelming .760 OPS and a 93 OPS+.
I think I get what they were aiming for: they thought a high-contact/high-average hitter would complement a lineup that had none except Gio, who batted .310 in 2019-2020. And they were right about what they needed. But it was a huge overpay in money and years for the wrong player.
I hope he can rebound at age 33, but that’s not the usual trend. And now he’s hurt. If they don’t sell low on him now, they might have to sell lower later.
What does a package of Torres, Voit, and Hicks get you?
Laughed at by 29 other GM’s…
The Yankees almost always surprise me during off season. Even though they have a big financial web to untangle for 2022, they will have an absolute financial mess for 2023 and 2024.
I think Gio can handle SS until Volpe comes up. DJ can move to third, Torres stay at second.
I would concentrate on a starting catcher who pitchers love to throw to and can make contact.
Than identify a CF who has high end defense range and can put the ball.
Next go get a first basemen. We need to either bring back Rizzo or go sign Freeman or trade for Olsen on Oakland who has one year before free agency.
I would trade Sanchez and Voit. Two players who lack defense. I would love to deal Hicks but he has zero value right now but he cannot be the everyday CF.
Clint Frazier and Andujar also have zero value but may become useful this season if they have bounce back and increase their trade value.
We will have an outfield logjam with Judge, Stanton, Gallo, Hicks, maybe Frazier, and a new CF! Gardner cannot be brought back.
Until we either deal Hicks or Frazier looks like Frazier will start in minors because regardless if Yankee fans have given up on him, if he is healthy again we cannot just release him.
Yankees will have one of the most interesting off seasons of all the teams
The fans are growing impatient that they haven’t been to a World Series in 18 years! (Wow sooooo long!)
I think they should trade Judge. He’s a yankee kid but they’ve been cautious about the luxury tax and need to plug multiple positions. Trade Judge, get prospects, use that salary to plug holes.
No one is taking Stanton from them. That’s the way forward, unless they’re willing to pay the tax.
There’s been a lot of talk about how inconsistent the Yankee offense was over the past season. True enough, but their defense was atrocious. Start a season with a third baseman playing shortstop. That’s a truly terrible idea! Either trade or sign for a stop gap shortstop or spend the big money and get Seager or Correa.
unless story or taylor fall into their lap they’ll sign a stopgap like simmons. if they go with DJLM at 3rd and gio at shortstop they have officially given up on anything more then a wild card
torres is not going anywhere. he’s figured out that his home run binge was the result of historically-bad baltimore pitching and has adjusted his approach. he was also particularly hurt by the deadball (never been a huge exit velo guy). assuming the ball is re-juiced next season he could bounce back strong
gallo is not going anywhere
the front office (IMO) overvalues gardner’s clubhouse leadership so if he wants to come back they’ll find a way
sanchez is here to stay. he’s “very good enough”
they will lowball rizzo and hope he likes the yankee spotlight enough to give a discount
to me the biggest X factor (after the labor situation) is how the shortstop market plays out. the yankees won’t go after any of the top-tier guys like they did with cole. they will cry luxury tax and lay in the weeds. in this scenario, the mets may have done them a favor by setting a ridiculously high bar with lindor. correa and seager will understandably ask for more than lindor and teams will understandably refuse. this could lead to guys still unsigned in late january and the yankees swooping in out of nowhere
IMO Yankees should platoon Wade and Velasquez until Volpe is ready. I wouldn’t mind Gio at SS however I would like to see what Yankees could get for Gio or Voit. Sanchez, Frazier, Andujar, Hicks, Gallo have zero trade value. Hopefully Voit or Gio have some trade value