Joel Sherman of the New York Post took a look at the Yankees’ offseason and speculated about various paths they could take once the lockout is completed. One scenario that he contemplates would involve the club acquiring Lorenzo Cain from the Brewers to act as insurance for oft-injured center fielder Aaron Hicks. Sherman then parenthetically remarks that “Milwaukee has had interest in Voit previously,” referring, of course, to first baseman Luke Voit.
It isn’t specified exactly when this interest occurred, but Voit would make for an interesting fit on the Brewers roster currently. After acquiring Rowdy Tellez from the Blue Jays in July, the hulking lefty got most of the playing time at first base for the remainder of the season. With Voit being right-handed, they could make for an interesting platoon pair, but neither player has pronounced splits over their respective careers. Voit has hit .264/.344/.516 against lefties, for a wRC+ of 130. Against righties, he’s hit .268/.362/.508, wRC+ of 134. In 2021, he also had an even wRC+ of 111 against both lefties and righties. Tellez has hit lefties at a rate of .264/.314/.441, wRC+ of 98 for his career. Versus righties, his line is .241/.305/.470, wRC+ of 101.
It’s possible that the Brewers were interested in Voit before acquiring Tellez and that the presence of Rowdy lessens their desire to bring in Voit. However, Voit would be an upgrade over Tellez, as long as he’s healthy. Also, with the designated hitter expected to come to the National League next year, it would be easy enough for the Brewers to have both players in the lineup on a regular basis, especially with the ongoing strikeout issues of Keston Hiura and recent non-tender of Daniel Vogelbach.
The Brewers have been looking to add some offensive pop this offseason to complement their excellent pitching staff. They’ve already added Hunter Renfroe, but also lost Avisail Garcia and Eduardo Escobar. Voit is certainly capable of adding some slug to any lineup, as he led the majors in homers during the shortened 2020 season. However, injuries limited him to just 68 games in 2021. The Yankees acquired Anthony Rizzo for the stretch run and have since been connected in rumors to other first basemen, such as Freddie Freeman and Matt Olson, perhaps indicating that they would be open to moving on from Voit. He comes with three years of club control and is projected to earn a salary around $5.4MM next year. It will be his second of four arbitration seasons, as a Super Two player.
I hope they don’t get rizzo an he looks like he’s on the way down. Freeman is getting up there considering the amount of years he wants. Yankees need Olson or just stick with Voit and a capable backup since Voit hurt a lot .
Olsen will be just as expensive as Freeman just with a different currency. Look at the price tag and the price just says “hurt feelings”. I suppose the one difference is, with Olsen you get two years without the tail end of regression. But then, welcome to the contracts given out to the best in the game. Everyone knows these contracts are going to have sunk years at the end. It’s part of the cost of doing business.
@SalaryCapMyth: I do agree that some teams function as if sinking money into later years is the cost of doing business but not all of them. It seems like a bad formula and any team that does it because they think every contending team does is making a mistake. I started looking into the Braves payroll and how they won it all last season. I realized they don’t do that with players. Seemingly they don’t do it at all. I don’t see a single player on that team who is expected to be overpaid past their prime. I would expect other teams to look at their continued success and championship then possibly follow suit. That seems to be a reason the Braves haven’t signed Freeman yet. He wants to be paid like a superstar when he is over 37 years old and from what I can tell the Braves just don’t do that. To be honest it seems smart on the Braves part. I would think other teams would wise up and start doing the same thing. It won’t be a problem if no teams offer to do it. Maybe pay them more on the front end with the satisfaction of knowing you don’t have to pay them at all when they are in decline.
@Yankee-4-Lifer 75: If Freeman ends up signing for 5 years it looks like it will be with the Braves. That seems to be the sticking point. The Braves offered 5 years but Freeman wants 6. The Braves see it the same way you do. The Yankees or probably any other team will have to add in that 6th year to get him from the Braves. Either that or raise his salary so high it pays him like he’s in a 6 year deal through 5 years. You might as well get the 6th year if you are going to do that. I agree with you though. Less than a year ago this site was opining that Freeman should get a contract similar to Goldschmidt’s 5 year $130 million. I think the Braves should be generous and offer an extra $20 million to make it 5 and $150 million. Freeman asking for 6 years and $200 million seems to far off that mark. Acuna, Anderson, Albies, Riley and Fried will all still be in their prime during that 6th year. The Braves shouldn’t throw that season away by spending so much of their payroll on a 37 or 38 year old first baseman. I think the smartest teams figure out a way to never do that so they have a shot every season. If the 88 win 4 time division champ Braves taught the baseball world anything this year it’s that it’s more important to have as many opportunities as possible to win the world series than it is to push all the chips in and gamble everything all at once. It’s really hard to stay continuously relative on a budget if your payroll is bloated with expensive contracts for over the hill players. Maybe Freeman is special and he will be worth over $30 million a year when he is 37 years old. I wouldn’t count on it though. Too many first baseman we’re considered good enough to be special at that age and they all disappointed. Freeman is great but he’s not Albert Pujols and even Pujols couldn’t do it at that age. Frankly, I can’t think of a highly paid first baseman who could.
@Bigtimeyankeefan- I like Matt Olson a lot, but the A’s are asking for a fortune for him. I would rather re-sign Rizzo for 2 years. I’m okay with Freeman for 5 years. But nothing more than that. Voit must be traded.
@Yankee-4-Lifer: I posted a response to yours and someone else’s comment right above. Sorry it didn’t go to the right place. I’m somewhat new to the site and still trying to figure it out. I agree with what you said though.
@Please, Hammer, Don’t hurt ‘em- hey welcome aboard to the site. Excellent comments also. I would rather just have Freeman for 5 years than to trade for Olson. If Freeman wants 6 years I would definitely pass. Rizzo on a down year with covid I would have no problem with him coming back for a few years. It’s nice to see he wants to come back. Luis Castillo is a bigger need for the Yankees to trade for than Olson. I know there is a strike right now. But when it’s over Ca$hman needs to come out from the weeds or wherever he’s hiding from and quickly. So far it seems the Mets will be the most exciting team in NY in 2022. Assuming there is a season. Stay well and safe.
It doesn’t matter how up there Freeman is getting. Freddie Freemans don’t grow on trees.
Isn’t that what the Tigers owner said when he extended Miggy? Now that Miggy’s age is “up there” how’s that working out?
To add insult to injury detroit didn’t even get a damn world series trophy either
Yankees must be trading for Olson if they trade Voit. Freddie would be sure to command 30 AAV from the Yankees for no less than 6 years. It doesn’t seem Likely Hal wants that. He probably sends Oakland a boatload of top prospects for Olson instead. I have no doubt if George was still alive both Corey Seager and Freddie Freeman as well as a TOR pitcher would already be free agent signings by the Yankees before the lockout even started.
Voit is an impact bat. I wouldn’t assume the Yankees will move him unless they bring in another 1B’man.
It seems there is major pressure on New York front office. After having to swing deals to cover Voit while injured for stretch run/playoffs Yankees could be growing impatient with Voit
Disagree about Voit….his impact opposite field bat disappeared when he fell in love with the home run and launch angle unfortunately like so many other Major Leaguers. Contact, and hard contact is now the sought after trait and Voits time has come and gone.
Voit is a flash in the pan
Strange to defend a “Yankee” but he’s overall been better than expected but injuries have made him unreliable. He’s either for a team on the fence or for a rebuilding club. Then either the near contender becomes closer to being one or he gets traded at the next deadline if he stays on the field.
The Brewers are a very well-run organization. They annually put players into spots that they can be successful in. Voit would fit in well with their structure.
“Voit is certainly capable of adding some slug to any lineup, as he led the majors in homers during the shortened 2020 season.”
Did he just call Voit some slug? Kind of salty.
I need to improve my reading comprehension.
And probably my jokes, too..
I got two sentences in before I became annoyed. If Cash is looking for someone to back up Hicks the season is already lost. Don’t care that he has $40 mil left on his contract he is a 4th outfielder.
Find a real CF
Find a real SS
Find a real C
That’s 1/3 of your dam lineup and the 3 most important defensive positions. Enough with the bull.
Wil Myers and Austin Nola for … ?
I would def make a play for Nola. Yanks are going to have to pay a premium for him now though.
Everyone says to find a real CFr. But who? There aren’t many around at all. It’s not that easy. That’s why so many teams need one. Hicks is probably better than most teams have.
I don’t know but you can’t play CF from the IL.
You also can’t trade for/sign a non-existent player. True CFrs is a very short list.
Have to settle on someone. Can’t keep putting Judge/Gallo there and have yet another player playing out of position at a key position. And if Cain is plan B I’m worried. Hicks has played a grand total of 86 games the last 2 years and Cain has played 83.
I don’t like this “hope for the best” mentality going on with the Yanks right now. This isn’t Queens.
So then what is Milwaukee’s plan? They already traded Bradley. If they trade Cain who plays center? Presumably it won’t be Yelich or Renfroe. Either they think more of Taylor than anyone knows or they have another move lined up.
Really?
How long does the list have to be for the Yankees to afford one?
Why does it have to be easy?
It’s the frigging Yankees and they can’t keep key positions like CF, SS & C staffed with competent players and maybe even depth?
How many years in a row have we been waiting for decent two way player in CF? How many years did we see viable options to Sanchez not signed in free agency?
I’m actually fine with Hicks as a player when he plays just like I’m fine with Sanchez when he’s mashing. I’m not fine with a front office watching full seasons go to waste because they don’t seem to recognize their limitations. Anyone who thought Sanchez was good enough to bet multiple seasons on or who would even bet one season on Hicks staying healthy isn’t qualified to make decisions for a MLB team.
Most of the league is having trouble fielding a true CFr, or a 2 way catcher for that matter. I just feel that if you’re gonna demand a team find such a player, you should be prepared to offer up a few examples of who that player might be.
Sanchez is the catcher next year. Otherwise they would have gone after Barnhart or Gomes. They aren’t going to make multiple trades and I think they will prioritize CF, SS, SP and first base over catcher. They will trade for the best bargain (prospect wise) on one position and address the rest through free agency.
They should’ve gotten Barnhart
I agree. He was there for the taking.
Him or Stalling. Both didn’t command much in terms of trade cost either.
@tstats-Nah sorry got to pass on Barnhart, he’s all glove and no bat. Willson Contreras is the catcher for the Yankees. German, Sanchez and a prospect seems more than plenty for Contreras. The Cubs desperately need inexpensive starters. They could also take Chad Green who could close for them.
Yeah, Contreras would be sweeet, @75.
But: for the first time in quite awhile, our pitching (both rotation & bullpen) are in pretty good shape.
That being acknowledged, I don’t think it’s quite deep enough to trade from. German & Green – for example – have pretty defined/important roles for next year’s staff; 4/5/6 starter & consistent, versatile, volume RH setup. By now both are known quantities. Sometimes it really is a matter of better the devil you know.
If anything we should be trying to add an arm or two. Not subtract. How I see it anyway.
Having a .700 OPS is hardly “no bat” for a catcher. He was league average for a majority of his career thus far
Sanchez at 9MM+ has no value to any other club. Yankees can do the release. He adds negative value to that trade.
He’d be very valuable as a first baseman or DH.
I’ve thought a lot about this and under certain circumstances I would support the Cardinals trading for Sanchez. First of all we need some clarity on the DH in the NL. Cards utilize Sanchez as a platoon DH/back-up first baseman and allow him to be the personal catcher for one starting pitcher. I suggest Mikolas a veteran with good control who can likely call his own game.
This allows Sanchez to stay fresh physically and a hopefully capitalize on his hitting potential. It would give the Cards the chance to rest Molina and evaluate Sanchez as a potential part of his replacement strategy. Even if everything goes to hell, it’s a one year commitment.
You can trade pitching to get catching and then get more pitching.
They have 10 guys who can start next year and are talking about signing or trading for more. If they can trade our 5th, 6th or 7th starter for a new catcher do it!
I would prefer to keep green though.
Based on what?
Have you bothered to look at the top 30 MLB catchers?
Not so much for the Yankees now but I’ve gone decades dreaming of a 1b/dh who can fill in at catcher like Victor Martinez. Sanchez is perfect for that role.
My God he’d be a butcher playing first.
Would he be? In any case, half the first baseman in the game are terrible fielders anyway. If you’re a righty and you play first, it’s cuz you’re terrible in the field.
I’ll take that bet!
Won’t make multiple trades… lol
Where do you guys fine these takes?
I agree. So much money spent but a rather poor roster
“Give us Hader & Burnes for Voit.”
Yankee fans, probably.
“Yankees fans will suggest a bad trade.”
Yankees haters, most definitely.
How about just waiting for the bad trade proposal and call that person out individually?
Yea it was funny once but now it’s just repeating a straw man over and over. Yankees and Mets articles really bring out the trolling.
I realize BBTV is not gospel, or whatever.
But Cain is listed at a negative $14.3 mil trade value. His AAV hit is $16MM, but his contract is a bit backloaded so his actual salary for ’22 is $18 mil. No matter how you want to look at it, he is mostly going to be a salary dump.
Luke Voit is listed as having a trade value of $3.1MM. & that makes sense too. He has always hit, but the market for RH bat first 1B/DH guys isn’t that robust. But: with a projected arb salary of “only” 5.3 mil, he is certainly worth *something*.
Jake Cousins is listed at $2.7 mil. He is still pre-arb. He is one of those extreme slider guys & I think would be a good fit for our ‘pen.
If the Yanks picked up all of Cain’s salary, trading Voit for Cain & Cousins would work out to be a nearly 15 million dollar overpay. Even if one quibbles with those exact valuations (completely understandable!), I still think that would be a fairly reasonable trade proposal.
DBF…Seasons Greetings
I would hope they pass on Cain, they should be Abel to do Better. He’s not worth anywhere close to 16 MM even with Cousins. If we had to take Cain that should mean we’re getting Hader too.
I’m not down on Voit. Yes, he’s been hurt but some of it has been flukey and he tries to play thru injury.
He carried this team in 2020 and has raked every year. I think he deserves to stay.
BTV isn’t gospel, in fact, it’s hardly even reputable.
John Bitzer has been caught, numerous times, changing values of players immediately after trades were announced, in order to force it into the algorithm.
He also believes that value is linear and that it’s consistent team to team.
BTV is a fun game, but it’s not a reliable baseball tool.
Luke Voit & Joey Gallo to MKE for:
Adrian Houser
Even trade according to BTV. Yankees shed $11MM in salary with this exchange and gain 3 years of a mid-rotation starter arm in Houser. Brewers get power bats they desperately need. Gallo to RF. Voit to 1B. Tellez & Renfroe can DH.
Same to you, Byron!
I think it’ll take quite a bit more to get Hader than Luke Voit. & you are correct. Cain’s contract is upside down at this point.
But he still does some things on the field that we really could use. He doesn’t strike out much, he was 13/15 in stolen bases, & still plays a pretty good CF (5 OAA in ’21). An outfield defense of Judge, Gallo, & Cain would be sublime.
& it is essentially a one year deal.
On Voit: yeah, I can see the argument for running him back. This is all contingent on acquiring a new 1Bman. Luke Voit is still the best first baseman on our roster.
But: I would certainly take Lorenzo Cain to buttress CF.
I’ve a hard time seeing Cashman trading Joey Gallo. He has coveted him for years. Now that he finally has him, it’s hard for me to see him swapping him just a couple months later.
With you Bucky. Would take Cain in a minute and Voit is by far the best 1B currently on their roster. Moving Voit is completely dependent on adding a left handed hitting first baseman.
Trade for Cain, sign free agent 1B probably Rizzo, and sign another SP. Trade for a catcher at the trading deadline if needed.
What about SS?
I’d take Freddy Galvis or Johnathan Villar. My extra infielder would be Oswaldo Peraza who is already defensively for the majors. You could break him in at the pace that he can handle.
Galvis signed a 2 year deal with an NPB team, Mick. Villar might be interesting. He’d help the offense at least. I still like DeJong as a stopgap. & Story would be certainly be a nice add.
But: like yourself, Joe, Clip, Bleacher Creature, etc are all saying, I think we have to add 3 bats to our lineup/bench over the winter. We need offense. We need runs. After that hopefully a SP. But get some bats first, second, & third priorities. Maybe even 4th.
Just to clarify…a SP that’s *healthy *. We all know Cash gets his guy, and he’s coveted Matt Boyd for several years now….
Cain would be fine. I think he’s better than Hicks defensively (I see Hicks as a corner fielder that can play passable CF). Definitely need bats. We know Cash will blow any chance to get Story, so it’s got to be a capable SS (DeJong, for example).
Trade for Cain, sign Story, bring Rizzo back & at least we wouldn’t all be tempted to tear our eyes out watching the Yanks “play” defense.
Mercy. Last year was some abysmally ugly baseball. Streakiest Yankee team I can remember. The worst fundamental team as well, Clip. Felt like a damn punishment to have to watch the games sometimes. Kind of like the Giants game this afternoon, now I think about it…
& yeah. Healthy would be a pretty big requirement. Good catch. No Kluber “upside signing” type of stuff.
What are the Yankees going to do with a nl mid rotation arm?
We already have an 8th man for our rotation.
As a cards fan I’d hate to see the brewers get voit. We already regret trading him away the year before he led the MLB in HRs. It would sting even worse if he came to the NL central and became a cardinal killer.
Voit can hit homeruns but I’d rather have Goldschmidt and Molina? Voit is injured to much and Giovanni Gallegos has been one of the best back end relievers in all of baseball? It worked out nicely for the Cardinals, but if Voit is to go to the Brewers and Mash through his 30’s with good health it would be sad to see. I don’t anticipate Voit having a long career he was a late bloomer already
Actually, he was traded in mid-season in 2018. He led in HRs in 2020, which was less than half a regular season.
Brewers should have won with Yount and Molitor
They would have won if Fingers didn’t get hurt right before the playoffs. That killed them.
Nah. The Cards would’ve still won. Excuses, excuses.
Ok this was 39 years ago I wasn’t even alive then
just an observation
sorry
Just saying, one player, a reliever much less, isn’t likely to change things. Incidentally, I believe every game of that series is available on YouTube in case folks get bored during the lockout.
The Yankees will trade for a 36 year old being paid $18M? It’s not impossible, but seems a little stretched. Crazy CBT consequences, would cost a lot more than $18M.
Stop!
MLB taxes are never a lot of anything except bs.
I would love
I would love Voit in Seattle.
Really, why?
France is better than Voit with less injury history and one more year of control. Out of the two talked about in this post I would much prefer Cain. Seattle needs some stability at CF and Cain only has one year left on his contract. $18 million isn’t cheap but M’s have more than enough space to absorb that salary
Voit is supposed to be part of Yankees fans dream trade for Matt olson lol
A’s fan dream is to be able to afford to field a major league team.
@Asfan0780-nah I don’t want Olson, hopefully Oakland keeps him. Voit would definitely be a piece going back to the A’s in a trade. As a Yankees fan I would rather resign Rizzo or sign Freeman than trade for Olson.
A’s guy – Who do you suppose supplants Olson’s bat while playing first when Olson goes? Matt Chapman? That’s where Voit comes in as a logical trade piece. It was a good try though (almost).
“Milwaukee has had interest in Voit previously,”
Are you sure they mean LUKE VOIT ?
Maybe they are shopping for a new athletic equipment supplier?
Voit (official name: “Industrias Voit S.A. de C.V.”) is a sports equipment manufacturing company based in Mexico. The company was founded by German American entrepreneur William J. Voit (1880–1946) of Worthington, Indiana. Current range of products by Voit includes mainly balls (for association and American football, basketball and volleyball), and also goalkeeper gloves, tennis rackets, football uniforms, shin guards, and swimming equipment (suits, goggles, caps, and fins) and accessories (backpacks, bags).
(From Wikipedia)
At this point it’s Olson or Bust. I’m done waiting for prospects that eventually could lead to nothing. The Yankees could of had Cole originally if Cashman was willing to offer both Frazier and Andujar along with others. Olson is a guarante. I’m not waiting anymore for the Volpe, Peraza, etc to be ready. The time is now if not now then trade away Cole your wasting his prime years.
Just wait until next offseason when Contreras is available and Cashman won’t pay him either because they are……you guessed it, waiting on a prospect [Wells]. So they will find a terrible stopgap option. Ugh, I hate being a fan of the Oakland Yankees sometimes.
Nentwigts: If I read your comment correctly you’re saying Voit has balls?
I’d punch a baby for Olson on my ballclub
I’m all for the Brewers trading for Voit with Cain and maybe2 low minor league players in return. Then the Brewers could look at locking up guys like Hader, Houser, Adames, Williams, and Lauer. Then next year when Wong is off the books try to lock up Burnes or Woodruff. We should have some money then because we will probably have Turang at second, Mitchell in center, and Feliciano catching.
Love LoCain, but if you’re looking for insurance vs another injury prone player, he is not the guy (especially at $18M at the end of his contract).
Hopefully the Yankees pass on Cain. I would rather just keep Aaron Hicks. The Houser for Voit seems like it could have some legs. The Yankees should try harder for Luis Castillo on the Reds. He definitely needs a change of scenery. The Yankees have the pieces to get that done. Castillo is much bigger need than Matt Olson.
Houser would be beneficial to the rotation. Good pitcher by all accounts. I’d be in on that deal.
They should trade Gallo and get a second cf to play left. That way you have coverage for Hicks without putting an expensive player on the bench.
I see that, the problem is, who? They don’t have a CFer to play CF. How would they get one to play LF.
Not a snowball’s chance in you-know-where that the Brewers would trade Houser for Voit, straight up.
Controllable, cheap pitching is much harder to find than a 1B.
If you read through the thread I don’t think anyone is implying that. Most suggestions center on dumping the Cain contract on the Yankees. So, in essence, you’re looking at Voit + $15M for Houser at a minimum.
If Brewers can get Voit for a 36 year old $18mil Cain after snagging Renfroe for Jackie Bradley, I think Stearns is well on his way to Exec of the Year.
“Stearns exec of the year”? Yeah, executive trash collector of the year!
The annual one step forward, one step back approach.
Garcia, Escobar, & Pina out the door. Trading Bradley was a mistake. Sending out Cain and acquiring someone like Voit sounds like another typical dumb Stearns/Counsell move. Trade speed & athletes for slow a foot high strikeout power hitters who are average at best defensively.
Stearns and Counsell won’t be happy until the Brewers team looks like a typical Northwoods tavern softball team!! Just a bunch of good ‘ol boys … yeeee-haaaa!
One World Series appearance in 50+ years!! Yet the Brewers usually end up in the top 10-15 in MLB home attendance.
Lifetime Brewers fan here and my patience is getting real thin with the current Brewer front office.
There’s no way I’m hell the Yanks take Cain contract which based on his on field performance is a huge salary dump for Voit who is a year away (2000) from leading the league in HRs. I agree there could be a match with Milwaukee but not for Cain straight up. That traded makes no sense for the Yanks. Maybe the Yanks add in German and a prospect and in return with Cain they get Hader which I highly doubt Milwaukee does but Yanks are not looking to just dump Voit and his very reasonable contract for a awful contract.
As soon as the story started with……” act as insurance for oft-injured center fielder” Obviously two oft injured CF are better than one!?!?!?!?!?!?
Voit is better option but you can not make a trade on the “idea” the NL will have the DH.
Highly unlikely the Yankees have any interest in Cain. This isn’t even a rumor, just speculation by one writer.
“Voit would be an upgrade over Tellez, as long as he’s healthy.”
“And if a frog had wings, he wouldn’t bump his ass a-hoppin’!” – Nathan Arizona
Gotta love the stuff that they pass of as rumors during this time.
Why is everyone so focused on Voit? I mean sure, if Hal is willing to actually spend big, and the Yankees can get a massive upgrade at first by signing Freddie Freeman, then that’s a legitimate idea. Not sure if it’s a good investment, but it’s worth a discussion.
But that seems like an unlikely proposition. More likely, the Yankees will again be on a severely restrictive budget, and all Cashman can do is attempt minor upgrades.
In which case, Voit’s not the guy to look at. They are short on left handed slugging because Hicks hasn’t done anything since signing that extension, and they struggled defensively because they played Gleyber at the wrong position.
And Hicks doesn’t look particularly interested in ever doing anything, either. So that’s the problem. That’s the sunk cost that needs to be acknowledged, and that’s the position that needs to be filled. Gallo and Judge can’t play center field on a permanent basis. The Yankees need a lefty or switch hitter who can play center field…at least part time. Then, they can keep Voit…who, occasional injury problems aside, has done nothing but perform for them.
With Gleyber back where he belongs, the other hole is on the left side of the infield. Urshela can handle either third or short. But they need another player. That’s another opportunity to add a middle of the lineup hitter, without messing with Voit, who, again, has been good for them.
“Then, they can keep Voit…who, occasional injury problems aside, has done nothing but perform for them.”
Occasional injury problems? Come on, man. He missed 45 days with two different injuries in 2019; he missed 100 days this year with an oblique injury and recurring knee injuries; and in 2020 he stayed in the game but played through foot injuries all year and couldn’t run.
On top of that, when he returned from his ill-considered comments about Rizzo (welcome to the Yankees — wish you weren’t here), he went to the plate with an all-or-nothing mentality regardless of the situation in the game, trying to hit home runs and frequently whiffing with a second-half K rate of 32.3%.
Too much is made of his HR lead in 2020. That was less than half a regular season.
This year, Gallo hit 24 HR with a 31.2% HR/FB rate in the first half. In the second half, he hit 14 HR with a 22.2% HR/FB rate.
Is it likely Voit would’ve hit 44 HR if 2020 had been a normal 162-game season? Possibly; but probably not. He’s never played more than 118 games in a season, and in that season, 2019, he hit 17 HR in the first half and 4 in the second half.
First base is the lowest position on the defensive spectrum, but his lack of range is still a liability and he has one of the lowest fielding percentages at the position. He’s a slug on the basepaths. And his injury proneness is more of a problem than you seem to want to admit. If he can be packaged in a trade, it should happen.
That’s some harsh criticism for a guy with 130 OPS+, in four years as a Yankee. Misguided, imo. His performance at the plate has been similar to Stanton’s and LeMahieu’s.
OPS+ isn’t cumulative. Estevan Florial has a career 161 OPS+ … in 28 plate appearances.
The ability to get on the field and play is a component of player value. You can’t perform at the plate if you’re not at the plate.
Since 2019, DJ has scored 95 more runs than Voit, and DJ had a lousy 2021. He also drove in 37 more runs, even though he usually batted leadoff. He has the added value of being able to competently play at multiple positions.
I started out as a Voit fan and spent a fair amount of words defending him against detractors when he first came over from St. Louis. But I’ll be honest — his comments about Rizzo really soured me on the guy. Still, if Stanton weren’t on the roster, being paid sick money to be a DH, I could live with Voit DHing full-time. But there isn’t enough to his game to keep him at first base, and the chronic injury issues seal the deal for me. I’d trade him.
BTW, don’t misconstrue this as advocacy for the LeMahieu extension. I think it was ill-considered. I said at the time that they should let him walk and sign Marcus Semien instead. But everybody in Yankeeland was clamoring for Cashman to bring back DJ.
You’re misusing the term “sunk cost”.
This is a big (lotsa guys) deal.
NY Offer : 1B Voit, #3 (pipeline) SS Peraza, #11 SP Garcia, #15 SP Wesneski, #21 OF Florial, #24 OF Dunham, 3B/OF Andujar, RP Luetge
to Oakland
for 1B Olson, LHP Manaea, #27 C McCann
Oakland perspective: Get adequate 1B replacement cheaper, add 2 possible SP at low cost, get OF prospect of some renown, get decent bounceback prospect, get MLB RP, add SS to minor league stash. Basically save like 14M.
save 14 M , add 8 players under various control terms…several long term.
Yankee perspective: Upgrade large at 1B with LH hitter in Olson. balances lineup. does NOT solve all issues, just one. Getting Manaea helpful even if just for 2022. so helps a 2nd issue. Paying high price. C McCann another LH hitter but C is always area of thinness.