The Yankees have been one of baseball’s busier teams this winter, bringing back Aaron Judge on a franchise-record nine-year, $360MM deal, while also adding Carlos Rodon and Tommy Kahnle and bringing back first-baseman Anthony Rizzo on a two-year pact. There’s no guarantee more moves are on the way for New York, but it seems if there is one move to make it’ll come in left-field.
Ten players saw time in left for the Yankees in 2022. Of the players who made more than ten appearances there, Joey Gallo, Andrew Benintendi and Miguel Andujar have new teams, Tim Locastro and Marwin Gonzalez are free agents, while Aaron Hicks remains on the roster. While there’s been reports of the Yankees trying to move Hicks this winter, he remains on the team and at this point figures to have some role to play in 2023. Given his presence, it makes sense to take a look at the internal candidates to man left in 2023, before taking a look at what options the Yankees have externally if they do go down that route.
Internal Options
- Aaron Hicks: The 33-year-old had a disappointing campaign in 2022, slashing .216/.330/.313 with eight home runs in 130 games. That was good for a 90 wRC+ (ten percentage points below league average), and was the second straight year Hicks has been below-average offensively. He was a solid contributor from 2017-20, but has seen his power numbers drop off significantly in recent years. Hicks did benefit from a move from center to left, and was worth 8 Defensive Runs Saved in 413 innings there in 2022. He has three years and $30.5MM (including a buyout on a $12.5MM team option in 2026). Should the Yankees opt against bringing a left-fielder in, Hicks seems to be the most likely player to be manning the position on opening day.
- Oswaldo Cabrera: Cabrera acted as something of a spark plug for the Yankees after receiving his first big league call up in August this year. Down the stretch, Cabrera played in 44 games, slashing .247/.312/.429 with six home runs while appearing in every position bar center-field and catcher. Despite having played just 34 outfield innings in the minors, Cabrera spent the bulk of his big league time in the corner spots, impressing to the tune of 9 Defensive Runs Saved in 278 2/3 innings. While Cabrera certainly put a strong case forward to be an everyday outfielder going forward, he may have more value to the Yankees as utility-type given his ability to play just about any position.
- Giancarlo Stanton: The veteran spent the most time on the grass in a season since 2018, logging 312 2/3 innings after being restricted to the DH spot almost exclusively in recent years. The bulk of that came in right-field, where Stanton was worth -4 Defensive Runs Saved. It’s unlikely to be a better picture in left, and while Stanton remains a strong offensive threat, it seems more likely that the Yankees will keep him in the DH spot more often than not and use him in the outfield only occasionally.
- Estevan Florial: The 25-year-old has been stuck in the upper minors for a while now, tallying just 63 big league plate appearances in the last three seasons. During that time he’s hit .185/.302/.278 with a single home run. The former top-100 prospect hit .283/.368/.481 with 15 home runs and 39 stolen bases at Triple-A last year. He’s out of options now, so the Yankees would have to expose him to waivers if they want to take him off the big league roster. There’s a chance the Yankees keep him around as an outfield option on the bench, but they haven’t seen enough in recent years to give him an extended look in the majors and it’s unlikely they’d do that now.
Free Agents
- David Peralta/Trey Mancini/Andrew McCutchen: The free agent market for left-fielders has been largely cleared out, but if the Yankees were to go down that path this trio of hitters would likely be the best remaining options. With perhaps the exception of Mancini, they could likely have these players on one-year deals. Peralta’s left-handedness could make him more appealing in Yankee Stadium, but ultimately all three have limitations that make it unlikely the Yankees would go down this route. At the end of the day, if the Yankees are to upgrade left-field it’d surely be for someone that vastly improves their current options. The trade market certainly has those options, but it doesn’t appear that free agency does anymore.
Trade Market
- Bryan Reynolds: The switch-hitting Pirates star has been linked to the Yankees in recent weeks since requesting a trade out of Pittsburgh. There’s no guarantee the Pirates trade Reynolds, and it appears they’re asking for a significant haul (headlined by a top pitching prospect) in return. The top of the Yankees’ farm system is heavy in position players, which may make a match tricky but Reynolds would fit their needs. He’s under control for three more seasons and will earn $6.75MM in 2023. That’s a highly affordable rate for a player who’s amassed 12.5 fWAR in four seasons. It’d be a big swing for the Yankees to go out and trade for Reynolds, and they’d have to give up a lot of prospect value, but it’d certainly put them in a strong position over the next few seasons.
- Max Kepler: Kepler is under control for another season at $9.5MM (including a buyout on a $10MM 2024 team option). He experienced a down year at the plate last season, hitting just nine home runs and slashing .227/.318/.348. He’s a left-handed pull hitter, so there’s a chance that a combination of Yankee Stadium’s short porch and the restrictions on defensive positioning can boost his offensive numbers, but a lot of his value is in his glove. While he has been playing right-field in Minnesota, he’s been worth 19 Defensive Runs Saved there over the past two seasons. The cost to acquire him would be less than Reynolds, but the production would likely be less too. While Kepler makes some sense, the Yankees may wonder whether it’s worth carrying both Hicks and Kepler on the same roster.
- Arizona’s Outfielders: Even after dealing Daulton Varsho to Toronto, the Diamondbacks are still stocked with outfielders, especially given they acquired one – Lourdes Gurriel Jr. – in that trade. Corbin Carroll, Alek Thomas and Jake McCarthy are all young outfielders that project as the future of Arizona’s outfield. They’ve been mentioned in trades and certainly could appeal to New York, but perhaps they could be motivated to flip Gurriel to New York. He slashed .291/.343/.400 with five home runs for Toronto last season, and is under control for one more season at $5.8MM. The Snakes are building a strong young roster, and while Gurriel is a solid player, his one year of remaining team control probably doesn’t align with Arizona returning to contention.
Ultimately, there’s a few different options for the Yankees to go down. As poor as Hicks was in 2022, he was still worth 1.5 fWAR and if the Yankees can’t trade him and don’t want to go after a clear upgrade like Reynolds, it does make some sense to at least start the season with him in left. That way they can see if he can rebound at the plate, and look to make a move depending on how that goes at the trade deadline mid-season.
They love Aaron Hicks
Only Cashman loves him and obviously you.
He doesn’t love Hicks, but he is stuck with Hicks.
Aaron Hicks is an oft injured, lifetime .231 hitter who is prone to hitting into double plays and striking out. He has been in the MLB for more than 10 years for anyone to think they are going to get any more out of this guy is a pipe dream.
See below
And don’t forget to give yourself a thumbs up
Oh wait, you did…
I agree
With Hicks 10/5 no trade rights kicking in April, he will likely be a goner by then, thru a trade or by being released.
ATL has a village idiot in LF, perfect for NY. Hicks for Ozuna. Bust for bust.. Wasted $ for wasted $
Let’s do it…
Ozuna is a colossal embarrassment.
Fits right into the Yanks OF
This actually makes sense to me Ozuna could hit 30+ homers & play an almost acceptable LF. Hicks can’t hit his weight, but isn’t a sociable embarrassment, & be a bench piece. Why not?
Hicks IS a social embarrassment. He couldn’t play one day because a criminal was shot…..I would still take Ozuna over him.
You’d take a player with worse fielding and hitting stats and a negative WAR, who costs an average of $6.25 million more per year?
I’d love to get rid of Hicks, but not in a foolish trade like that. But I can’t blame Curly for trying.
Bundle hicks with an enticing pair of prospects. Ring chaim bloom, swap for Verdugo.
@GASoxFan:
Verdugo can play catch with the bleacher scum between innings.
While comparing Hicks to Oswaldo Cabrera, it would’ve been useful if the same advanced measure, wRC+, had been used for both of them, the one that particularly refers to run productivity.
Oswaldo’s 111 wRC+ was 11 points above league average and 21 points higher than Hicks’s below-average 90 wRC+.
Also, they had an identical 1.5 fWAR, except Oswaldo earned his in a third of the games that Hicks played. What’s more, Oswaldo came up as an infielder and didn’t hurt the team in his brief exposure in left field and was good for 9 DRS and 1 OAA in right field. He’s likely to improve with more reps in left field.
So why, apart from his salary or the option to use Oswaldo as a utility player, should Hicks get preference in playing time in left field? I’d much rather see Oswaldo starting in left field if they don’t add a left fielder.
Paging defeated GMoney for his view of WAR…..
Sign free agent Brett gardner.
I am the lone vote for Giancarlo… is he really that bad out there? He can’t strictly be a DH only now, can he?!
This post applies to the Pads as well. Love to see McCutchen here. I agree about Stanton. Don’t know why the Yanks don’t use him in LF?
He has persistent leg issues so they want minimize injury possibilities and keep his bat in the lineup. He’s a very decent leftfielder.
He gets injured when he plays the outfield. Once or twice a week is all he can give these days…
He gets injured when he doesn’t play the outfield, or just running the bases. They may as well put them out there and see what happens. He’ll be injured anyway regardless. In the meantime you might provide some value and take care of the area of need.
Alvarez is a -11 in left field, and the Astros won the world series. Stanton is -8 they are similar. I would play Stanton out in left a couple of times a week. He is a good athlete.
The Yankees have already said Stanton would not be in left field at all in YS. Maybe he could go in left when in Fenway as they have a small left field but that would be about it.
Makes sense.
Stanton is an adequate outfielder, let’s face it, Yogi Berra played leftfield for the Yanks. Plus lef field is weak position right now in the MLB. Houston had Yordon in left field sometimes, and Stanton is better than him.
You’re right about that Joe obviously. But the Yankees say a lot of things, and then go on and do the opposite. So nothing would surprise me at this point. Stanton in left field would be the best solution and would potentially upgrade the offense markedly. Of course the big proviso is ,could he stay healthy. That’s anybody’s guess. But most likely not. But he does not stay healthy anyway, he might as well stay in left field. A cheap DH can always be obtained who is relatively productive. And the DH position can also be used for all the aging players that need a day off but can still bat.
Yup, they played Stanton in left field at Fenway in 2022. They also played him in left field at Minute Maid Park.
Dude can barely stay healthy as a dh. He’d end up a paraplegic if he started in left field.
I know this was for ha ha’s – but when he played the outfield last year he stayed healthier than just being a DH.
I don’t think they want to expose Stanton. He played well in the outfield, but now with the Achilles from last year, it would take a lot to put him back out there.
I don’t think they pay for Reynolds. For all of Cashman’s faults, he’s good at finding reclamation projects and bullpen arms.
He can because he can’t stay healthy. Paying way too much for him too…
Not that good, but Stanton is injured enough just being a DH. Playing the OF would finish him.
He can’t stay healthy as a DH and you want him in the outfield? Steroids, it doesn’t do a body good.
@dpsmith22- Stanton took steroids, and you were there? Exactly, there is no proof of all of that. What a dumb comment. Smh
Your certificate is in the mail.
Max Kepler will be playing left field on opening day for the Yankees, his lst day playing out there.
He just isn’t enough of an improvement over Hicks to make that a worthwhile trade.
Twins have dropped injured outfielders like Hicks before.
I hope not. He’s no better than Hicks.
Max Kepler missed 89 games the past two seasons. Stanton missed 75. Kepler is not an answer for having a healthy LF all year.
@larkraxm- I think the Yankees like the idea of trading Hicks and German/Schmidt for Kepler. They probably gotta throw in another prospect to make that work.
I think they do too. I’m not a huge fan of Kepler because he has missed more games than Stanton over the past two years. Seems like a moderate improvement over the current LF situation, at best, while losing Schmidt/German from pitching depth. I wouldn’t do it unless the ask for Kepler is reasonable considering his health problems.
Why.
Hayzee.
I would expect NYY to make a trade. They know some of these same prospect names we’ve heard the YES NETWORK talking heads crow about for years are likely AAAA at best. Deal them before they wait too late
Just go with your eternal options.
I also voted for the ghost of Babe Ruth.
Eternal options? You mean dead guys? Maybe they can dig up Roy White or Oscar Gamble, lol.
I would hope they could do better than White and Gamble. How about Mantle or DiMaghio?
The under-rated Bob Meusel will hurt less on the luxury tax…
Blue Baron;
Grow up.
Roy White isn’t dead.
Then take him off the list.
Look @Joe… If White lives forever, then he technically qualifies. Roy stays! He can fill-in when Mantle and others needs to stay out of sunlight during day games and $3 garlic knots nights every Thursday.
Good response. Samuel is a clown.
Samuel, bite us! All of us!
Don’t tempt him, he would definitely try!
@Samuel: To paraphrase Holy Cow, bite me. And your posts leave much to be desired in the maturity department, so don’t be the pot calling the kettle black.
Blue, you just did yourself a favor.
Now , Samuel will block you (because only he alone is allowed to insult people) and you won’t have to deal with him anymore.
Well-played.
@DogDays: Thanks, but he previously muted me for some reason. However, bozos like him can still be addressed by simply replying to another post in the thread. Great system!
Don’t talk to Susie, I mean Samuel that way.
Samuel can eat a turd.
Stanton would be nice for the lineup but they worry about injury so he probably won’t play more than 35 games in the OF. I think Cabrera is the man for now. Especially after a solid late run, including the playoffs.
My bad. He sucked in the playoffs. I was just remembering the game he homered. If they don’t work a trade my guess is he’ll still be the starter.
DJ’s toe injury, probably keeps Gleyber on the Yankee’s roster in 2023. If it wasn’t for that Torres would probably be traded for a leftfielder.
You are quite correct about that, unfortunately. Gleyber might be the only guy that they can actually get something of value for.
@Dr2022- Agreed, it’s definitely possible he could be moved for a top pitching prospect and then shipped to Pittsburgh for Bryan Reynolds in a package. I hope so.
Yes captain but we are in full agreement. I hope Cashman does the right thing this time. He makes a lot of questionable decisions. It doesn’t bother Steinbrenner obviously since he’s back for another four years. But it’s all about money with him. Not with the team wins or not.
@Dr2022- yeah I don’t know the real fascination with Brian Cashman? He hasn’t won a championship since 2009. The Steinbrenner’s definitely look at him like family, there’s no doubt. So he could do no wrong. A friend of mine always tells me if you let Cashman go, he’d be picked up as a GM in ten minutes. I’d be ok with that. Lol.
Cap’n, this is exactly what I imagine happening. They may need to include another piece along with Gleyber, but that is makes sense.
I don’t think Cashman is great by any stretch , but he’s not as bad as many of us make him out to be.
Using the World Series measurement isn’t a great standard. In reality, they are in the postseason every year, occasionally on paper with a chance to win.
So if the players came through during one of those years, does that make him awesome? Course not.
Brett Gardner got this notification and stopped what he was doing to hit the gym
That needs to happen.
Hit the roof of the dugout
Seriously though- resigning Gardy wouldn’t be any worse of an option than a lot of the current options- why not? Apart from the awkwardness of that one year layoff…
Oh please no
Nah pass on Gardner for the Yankees, since he’s more needed in the nursing home now.
At one point in time, Aaron Hicks was an under the radar stats line dream come true. He was a 7 WAR player with modest power who’s day in day out performance wasn’t impressive enough to make him obviously valuable, while he would hit the occasional monster home run to tie up games or walk them off, or produced walks like he was Barry Bonds lite. I completely understand why the Yankees traded for him and then signed him to that extension. At the time, if he had gone to free agency, Hicks was projected to get around 4 years/$60M w/ a potential bidding war pushing his free agent deal to 5 years/$70M or so. The Yankees convinced him to take that 7 year/$70M deal, arguing he’d get all the money he was projected to get in a best case scenario free agency bidding war, but he’d get more guaranteed years of income, and that $12.5M option would be an easy pick up if he maintained even 75% of his value over the lifetime of the contract- meanwhile the Yankees would have a long term solution at center field and they’d keep their luxury tax down with his $10M AAV rather than a player of similar value being picked up in free agency for $15-20M a season. On paper, at the time, it made a ton of sense and was a shrewd deal for both player and club.
That it hasn’t worked out is a disappointing reality but one we could all see coming. The potential signs were there. That all said- his repaired forearm sheath has been the main problem for Hicks and in theory, he’s had plenty of time this off season to rest and rehab that arm and he could be back to 100% next season.
So the Yankees could very well be “stuck” with Hicks and then possibly get a 15 HR 7 WAR player for a $10M luxury tax hit, which would be an incredible surplus value- which is why they keep banking on him every year- the Yankees want to see the upside in that deal, in this player, their analytics department LOVED him when they traded for him and his first couple years as a platoon player for the Yankees he provided such insane surplus value that the $10M AAV contract seemed like a steal and they’d still like it to at least recoup the on paper value- plus he’s un-trade-able at the moment so they might as well hope for the best and even if he bounces back to his version of 100%, he’s not the kind of player who would return a great haul in a trade even at the trade deadline to a borderline contender- unless that contender would be willing to take on the remaining $25M or so left on his deal, which is also very unlikely even in the event that someone did want to trade for him- it’d be more valuable to the Yankees to dump his salary than to dump him as a player.
Meaning the Yankees are stuck with Hicks and have to hope to squeeze the most valuable possible out of him.
So – when I clicked on the comments it opened up to a wall of text. I said to myself…that has to be TTO. Scrolled up and I’ll be darned. ; )
The Yankees move imho at this point, unless they pry away Reynolds which seems to be unlikely, seems to be either cutting a deal for Gourriel, Jr. and adding him to the mix or simply seeing what Hicks has to offer next season with Cabrera as the youngster to mix in there.
They would like to add a stud out there but there really isn’t much in the way of surefire upgrades, so why not patch and paste with some depth and see what happens. They probably have a better chance at Reynolds next winter or at the deadline..
which player is more valueble for the yanks?hicks or donaldson?
Donaldson can still play defense
Donaldson. He’s still an elite defender at third base and his bat isn’t worthless, just not worth what he’s paid. He still produced 2.4 WAR last year- which would be worth around $14M to $20M on the open market.
In fact, so far the Yankees have “only” paid about $23M for Donaldson. The real issue is they’re on the hook for his full salary next year and the buyout, too, so assuming he gives them similar value in 2023, Donaldson will be paid $50 million for around 4.9 WAR, which would be worth around $34M at top dollar on the open market. They’re overpaying Donaldson by about $8M a year, basically.
Hicks on the other hand is actually paid an equivalent-ish value to what he provides on the field, believe it or not. At the time of his extension, he was underpaid for his production, but now his salary is in line with his production, so he’s not actually overpaid, he’s just not providing surplus value on his salary.
Therefore, Hicks is technically closer to being worth his actual contract value to the Yankees at this point, but in a scenario-by-scenario comparison, Donaldson has been providing more real time value in games for how he’s played.
But ultimately both are budgetary bloat for the Yanks and they’d be happy to be rid of either of them in the grand scheme of things.
Imagine saying Donaldson is not overpaid because of the WAR statistic. Analytics are truly a detriment to the sport. There’s no human element anymore
Some of these stats are ruining the sport.
Agreed, at least Donaldson has a chance, albeit small, of having a better year offensively.
I have zero confidence in Hicks improving.
Both Hicks and Donaldson are more valuable to the Yanks than anything they can get for them. If they can trade for Reynolds fine, if the price is too high they should stand pat until the deadline. Cabrera can help in the outfield with Hicks, and IKF can help at third until Volpe is ready. I thing the Yanks have said they want Vople and Peraza up the middle sometime next season. DJ can play third too.
Yeah I think ultimately Hicks and Donaldson are more valuable playing for the Yankees than for whatever they’d get in a trade and they’re too expensive to completely dump while still paying the remainder of their salaries, so the Yankees are stuck with them for better or worse- and there are absolutely worse players to be stuck with than those two.
I’d expect the Yankees to keep Hicks as a fourth outfielder. They won’t find a better fourth guy that can play all over the outfield. This article is about how limited their options are for a starter.
Donaldson can and should be moved. They won’t get anything more than some salary relief and a roster spot. During a members only chat recently the chat host (Franco I think) mentioned SF would be a fit for Donaldson.
Donaldson was always a consolation pick up in an effort to get IKF and dump Sanchez while getting a defensive upgrade at third over Urshela. To that end, Donaldson has technically been exactly what we were hoping to get out of him. He’s still defensively A-list quality, it’s just the bat that’s almost worthless, despite still having some pop for some reason- for all the at bat’s of Donaldson’s where he looks lost and hacking with terrible contact and almost no power for mere singles and doubles, I am shocked at how many hits and home runs he actually produced in spite of himself last year.
@TTO; great stuff. Thanks.
IMO, and like Joe Says observes with the Yanks, Orioles may need a 4th outfielder. IE because a combo of prospects and/or Hays or Santander going somewhere for league proven SP. (a Lopez in Miami or one of them Milwaukee guys, maybe?).
Hicks for a Hays and Stower. Plus Cashman eats half of the 30.5?
They could’ve just not re-signed Sanchez, and avoided all these problems. But Cashman couldn’t stomach the idea of just releasing him and not getting anything for him, so as a result he ruined two positions to get rid of Sanchez. Brilliant moves. We had Geo, who is fine, and also could hit better than Donaldson. And cheap. For the money they’re already spending, they could have gotten a real shortstop. But meanwhile we’re still awaiting the arrival of the prodigal prospects. They better have been worth it. And not just the typical Cashman over high prospects that don’t pan out
I think at some level, the roster spots available may be more valuable than Hicks and Donaldson. That is when a player gets DFA.
Oh I think they had higher hopes for Donaldson than that. I did too.
He fell off the cliff offensively last year.
All and all a platoon of Hicks/Cabrera seems to be better than having Gallo in the outfield last year and that team won 99 games without Rodon. The Yanks also paid 35 million for Chappy/Britton/Green last year. It’s the price you pay for being a contender. Teams like Tampa rarely take a chance and haven’t won the world series ever, while the Marlins took those chances and won.
That is quite true, but they also had a bunch of guys over performing for a while including judge that help them win all those games. Carpenter was on fire for a while until he got injured. He carried the team also. He’s not there anymore which would be a big loss of his production at that time ,although I think it was a flash in the pan. It was nice while it lasted.
your also including in last year they had montgomery and taillon which is almost 300 innings of under 4 era ball and 50+ starts. I dont think Rodon is going to do that this year. You are hoping Severino keeps doing well and stays healthy but he has not had a full season since 2018 (not bettng on that myself). Cortez continues his dominance and increases his innings (i would bet on this) and Montas becomes the pitcher you traded for (50/50 on this as he seems inconsistent in his career but so far im leaning to not).
Also i havent seen his games recently so i cant tell for sure, but it sounds like Cole is regressing each year since he signed his deal and is no longer considered the real ace and rodon and / or cortez could be ahead of him by end of year. Again i havent seen him and im just looking at stats and what other yankee fans tell me so correct me if wrong.
Hicks would be fine as a back up, as long as that’s all he is. But they really need to get someone who could play that position regularly. I would give Stanton a chance myself, he gets injured all the time anyway might as well get some value out of him and take care of the position of need while he is actually playing. And who knows maybe he will stay healthy longer.
When they extended him and saw such massive value in him he was essentially a back up or platoon player and then they suddenly paid him like a cheap starter and suddenly his body broke down. Go figure.
Doesn’t Profar check more boxes than the free agents mentioned above?
I think he’s the best overall left fielder currently available in FA so it’s interesting he was left off that list. I’d rather have him over McCutchen at this point.
Same here. I’m open to the possibility that I’m missing something, but he stands out as the best FA option to me. He’s my top pick of them all unless we can get Reynolds at a reasonable price.
It depends which Profar shows up. He’s still available for a reason.
First point is completely valid.
Second point applies to every other unsigned FA.
I believe he is pretty versatile as well, or at least what I remember from his youth.
Possible, however, his current market value is $14.5M. Probably a big reason why teams aren’t running out to get him.
spotrac.com/mlb/san-diego-padres/jurickson-profar-…
The Yankees have Judge and Stanton for the foreseeable future. And Judge apparently is Bigger Bodied than Stanton. They can’t Both DH !
I would like Jake McCarthy because he bats left.
I think the Yanks will let existing options play out. I’m more concerned over SS and 3b. If Peraza can’t nail down SS and JD can’t be at least an average hitter then LF is less of a pressing issue. Nothing is currently ideal but both Cabrera and Hicks provided plus defense in LF.
Glass half empty, this team is the best in the AL according to Fangraphs.
Carroll is not going anywhere.
Lou Pinella
See if Florial has an 11th hour shot during ST? For some unknown reason, can see Oakland trading for him to roam its spacious outfield, steal bases and become an intriguing player out of the spotlight.
Yeah, Florial is clearly ready for the big leagues, just not as a player on a high profile club like the Yankees. He’d be perfectly cromulent on the Marlins or the A’s or wherever- smaller market clubs with less media scrutiny or perennial play off expectations.
It’s going to be either Oswaldo Cabrera or a trade with Pirates for Reynolds. Even Trashman recognizes that Hicks is not an option to play everyday.
Sadly, if he did he wouldn’t have given him that extension to being with. Cashman’s not emptying the farm for Reynolds and Cherington is not going to gift the Yankees by taking back Gleyber and nothing else
Agree Rsox! Still feel that Cherington is seeing if Yankees will get desperate before start of season. Most likely, trade will be done before deadline, and I’m not convinced it will be the Yankees. Other options aren’t appealing, so I would much rather go with Cabrera to start the season.
If Cashman realized Hicks was not an option, he’s realized it about 3 years too late
Quite so. But that’s often true with a lot of his over the hill players.
I know this is a reach , but given the sale of the club and maybe trying to contend for Ohtani next year… would the Angels move Trout and would he waive his ntc for the Yankees? ALOT would have to go right, but Cash did something similar with Stanton and it didn’t cost us the whole farm. He did say he’s working on something big and I don’t think it’s Reynolds.
I keep thinking this may happen when push comes to shove. But I don’t think Trout wants that. I don’t think he’d waive his NTC. A lot of players who choose to sign with the Angels reportedly do so because they get big market salaries without the media scrutiny.
It’s why Greinke signed with the Diamondbacks, it’s why Rendon signed with the Angels. I don’t think Trout wants to be any higher profile than he already is, which he would be if he went to a club with a more robust media presence, like the Yankees or the Red Sox, etc.
I can see that perspective… I also think that Trout May wanna bang with the big boys eventually and his prime is starting to pass. Going to the Yanks could inject new life into his brand and at the very least get some more exposure For advertisement deals etc as baseball starts to come to a close for him. Just a sakes pitch, but then again you’re right.. with the NTC it’s all up to him. It’d be sweet to see him and Judge swinging it though.
Trout doesn’t want a brand or endorsement deals. This has come many times in the past and he rebuffs.
True but he’s also reportedly one of those highly paid baseball players who bought and paid for everything he’d ever wanted and then some just off that first $144M extension, so the extra $330M+ he’s making is basically extra money plus endorsements that are already pretty lucrative. I don’t think he really cares about new money based on quotes from him and reports about his lifestyle. Plus with his income level I don’t think the bigger market endorsement opportunities would be a big enough boost to his income to sway him.
You never know what a player wants especially as they get older. Trout’s been under Ohtani’s shadow for a bit now, ownership is very uncertain, maybe he actually wants a shot at a ring.. I mean you or I can’t know… but hell I’d at least want the Yankees to ask.
its certainly interesting and I think Angels get more value trading Ohtani (if they could). If anything at all it , the yankee hater cry babies would be running in from every nook and cranny. given his injuries last cpl years Angels would listen
No love for Jurickson Profar? Last year he was 10% better than average as a hitter, and a plus defender in LF, mostly due to his arm. Mancini played 20 games in LF last year and he’s significantly younger than Peralta and McCutchen.
I feel like Profar is the only one of the four who is has the potential to be a 3 WAR player and he has a higher floor as well.
Yes agreed. Florial just needs the at bats to succeed for some team out there. I wish it was the Yankees. But it won’t be.
this is what I don’t like and is not the first time, his trade value years ago was higher but Cash didn’t want to trade him. They barely use him and value is minimal now.
He has played in like 30 games in the majors. Give the kid a break.
I agree i want him to get more at bats but they never give the kid enough time to get comfortable
Aaron Hicks is hot garbage.
Seems like a decent person but unfortunately he can’t play baseball at the major league level
He’s not a good person. He left his pregnant gf to marry the niece of Tiger Woods. Aaron Hicks is trash.
He married his pregnant gf, who is the niece of Tiger Woods. Cheyenne Woods gave birth to their son 7 months after their wedding.
Mancini or Peralta would be good acquisitions. Reynolds will cost too much but I say that knowingly that Cashman holds on to “top level” prospects too long until they lose them to free agency for nothing. So maybe with that being said it’s better to just go all out and trade Volpe, Peraza, and Schmidt for Reynolds
With Hicks gaining 10/5 no trade rights this season, I’d be shocked if he’s not a goner at some point.
Yanks would have to eat a lot of his salary and these Yankees don’t seem to big on that
I see teams of all walks cutting bait with players that have a fair length of time on their contracts and you’re right the Yankees don’t normally adhere to this practice. To the point of frustration. But given that they’ll have to stick with him for another 3 years if they don’t act somewhat quickly I can’t help but wonder if this will make them change their tune.
You’re right about that. They would rather suffer and abomination of a player, and squeeze every last bit of value they can out of him, then spend a couple of bucks and improve the position.
While eating about $30MM over 3 years would be less than ideal, eating a large portion of that contract in a trade would actually have 2 benefits: 1) we’d get rid of a dead wait in the line up & on the field (who Boonehead loves for some bizarre reason), and 2) the Yankees would save the Tax Penalty on some of his bloated contract, assuming someone inexpensive (like Florial) replaced him on the roster.
Moreover, someone would pick up Hicks at the league minimum salary, which would save the Yankees that much against his ill-advised contract, which is another one of Cashman’s dumb*ss moves.
Hicks had an injury problem & performance issues with the Twins, which Cashman ignored by rushing to extend him after one partially decent year in 2017 & one good year in 2018, but he was hideous in 2016 with the NYY. And he’s been bad to hideous every year from 2019 through 2022.
So, to expect Hicks to be even close to useful in ’23 would require Devine Intervention. Subtracting Hicks from the roster would constitute Addition By Subtraction.
What about the Chicago Cubs Ian Happ added him to line up would punch the NYY ticket to the world series.
I know Jed Is a hard driving POB but the Yankees has some good young talent.
Happ for Donaldson,Florial and cabrera – plus $10MM to cover donaldsons buyout
The Cubs didn’t want Moreno, Kirk, or Jansen for Happ, plus Jays top prospects, so why would the Cubs want a washed up expensive Donaldson, Florial who is totally useless and has proven nothing plus Cabrera. If the Yanks offer Volpe, Dominguez, Peraza, plus other top prospects they may get Chicago’s attention. The Cubs demanded value for Happ, not a bunch of trade fluff that no one else wants. lol
You’re right that the Cubs wouldn’t won’t that proposed deal, but your suggested deal is Insane: 3 of the Best Prospects in Baseball, plus other prospects (!) for a guy who’s averaged 17 HRs a year over his 6-year career, and who’s never had even 75 RBIs in a season?!
You must be a Cubs fan to even mention such a delusional trade. Happ is decent, but he’s nowhere near great.
Cabrera will be ok in LF, 3B is a bigger issue.
Peralta would be a decent pickup to platoon with Hicks. However, Florial needs a chance or they will lose him at the end of training camp if they don’t trade him before then
“It’s 2022? Clint Frazier is 5 time all star and World Series mvp by now in left”
-any Yankee fan in 2017
these takes are absurd and old. if you aren’t excited about upcoming players with your club then don’t know what to tell you. I guess Cleveland is also clueless as they had him #5. The dude had a couple injuries and a really bad concussion. stuff happens and its sad, but why would you want any/all young players become great?
Ohhhh it’s a harmless tiny little joke. He’ll be ok, as will Yankee fans.
The Yankees improved the Starting Rotation. That’s it.
Hicks is signed for the next few years, he is a good outfielder who can play LF or CF. He is making 10 million, and a 1 WAR player is worth 8 million. He is projected to be a 1.5 WAR, which is worth 12 million in today’s game. Cabrera will be a good platoon player with Hicks, and the both hit left handed which is good in Yankee stadium. Between the 2 they should have a 3 WAR, at one of the weakest positions in baseball right now. I say stand pat, and get another relief pitcher.
Hicks is so fun to watch play ball but the guy pulls a hammy rolling out of bed in the morning.
Hicks has been an automatic out the last two seasons and looks lost in the field, calling him putrid is an understatement. Gardy after a year off would be a better option in the field and at the dish, IMO.
Nah, Hicks is still better overall than Gardner but both are essentially useless at this point
Exactly right. And we need a major improvement in the offense this year, since with regression to the mean, it’s highly unlikely Aaron Judge will have any kind of a year similar to last year. Where will that offense come from. The only place it could conceivably come from is left field, and just splicing something together with our spare parts, and hoping it will be adequate, even if what you say is true, will not be nearly enough. Let’s also not forget that we lost carpenter who for a certain period was carrying this team. It was likely a flash in the pan, but we won’t have that this year either.
Torres, LeMahieu, Cabrera, and Judge will all contribute offensively
and Stanton
We don’t even know if DJ is going to be healthy this year, or how much time he will miss so this we do not know. The same goes for Stanton. There’s a lot of unknowns here and uncertainty.
I read on PSA where someone suggested Austin Meadows. I could live with that.
He was a Yankee killer when he was with the rays, and normally I would agree with you, but he seems to have had problems the last few years. So I don’t know if he’s the player he once was. If he could duplicate that he would be a great improvement. But it would probably be a perfect player for Cashman, as he is likely to be relatively inexpensive.
The author of this article obviously hasn’t seen Hicks play frequently the past 4 years. Anyone who watched 145+ Yankees games every year (as I have) knows that Hicks has been Awful (!) the past 4 years, and he’s gotten significantly worse every year.
Anyone who saw Hick’s horrible play in LF in ’22 has to laugh disparagingly at this statement: “As poor as Hicks was in 2022, he was still worth 1.5 fWAR.” Hicks was a Negative contributor almost every game he played in since 2019. The “fact” that he was supposedly worth 1.5 fWAR in ’22 shows how questionable that supposedly “advanced” stat is.
The article also said Hicks slashed “.216/.330/.313 with eight home runs in 130 games. That was good for a 90 wRC+ (ten percentage points below league average).” 10% worse! That’s hysterical. Hicks was one of the absolute worst clutch hitters I’ve ever seen in Pinstripes, and I’ve been a fan for 60 years.
Announcers frequently laud Hicks’ OBP, but even that’s fairly worthless. If his .330 career OBP was actually valuable, why has he only scored more than 54 Runs in a season ONCE! in his career?
If the Yankees don’t trade for Reynolds, I’d prefer going with Cabrera. Yes, Cabrera would make a Wonderfully Versatile bench player given his ability to hit & play multiple positions, but how is that more valuable that having a Certain Out playing LF every game, whose defense is also bad?
There were games last year where Hicks looked like a Little Leaguer in LF. If they can’t trade him (and eat a large portion of his contract in the process), they should release him. Someone will be delusional enough to pick him up, and that’ll not only save the Yankees the veteran’s League Minimum on his salary, it’ll also save them the Tax Penalty on the remainder of his ’23 salary.
Hicks had one 88 game season for the Yankees where he put up 3.9 WAR, all while functioning in a platoon role- this was why they extended him.
The next year he played in 137 games and wasn’t as good but still produced a very solid 4.4 WAR. He was also an OBP machine with average to above average defensive metrics.
That convinced the Yankees to keep him around. The reality was he was peaking and would’ve received 4-6 years at $14-$18M a season on the open market and then theoretically would’ve been the player he’s been for the Yankees ever since and been a horrendous albatross rather than just a really awkward roster spot commitment.
The Yankees offense is going to be disappointing this year ,unless a major upgrade deal in offense is made. Judge carried the team for most of the year last year, and he will definitely not have the same year ,so that’s an immediate downgrade on offense right there. Where will the offense come from, Carpenter also carried the team for a stretch and he’s not here either. the only place where the hitting could be improved would be Stanton, if he could finally stay healthy ,at least for a long stretch of time. And they need to make a deal desperately ,but even one player is not going to bring the offense up to the level it was last year with all the downgrades that I mentioned already.
You’re correct. There’s virtually no chance Judge duplicates his production, meaning it needs to be made up elsewhere, and when you realize that Rizzo’s another year older, Torres had his best season in three years, and the Carpenter production won’t be easy to duplicate, they either need to go outside the team or hope someone internal takes a huge step forward.
Exactly my point, I’m glad you get it. Even one additional player won’t make up for Judges dropoff in production. We have to also hope Stanton has a better year. I still think George can have a great year though, but it’s unlikely it will be as good as last year. Some regression to the mean has to take place.
I hear Brett Gardner is available and can play better LF D than 75% of those listed.
How about this trade, Hicks for Marcel Ozuna? Ozuna had a down year but still hit 20 homers
In cases like this for any MLB team, they’ll try to jimmy around with what they have to see if anyone is having a decent year. If not, they make an in-season trade.
Rosters and depth charts don’t freeze on opening day.
They have no real competition in the division, so whatever they do to start the year will be enough. Judge, Stanton, an Rizzo should be good enough run production.
The Jays and Rays will likely give the Yankees a better fight in 2023.
I agree. Making the postseason is not the problem as so many teams make it ,that you don’t even have to be that great anymore. But if they wait too long, the Yankees, they will lose the first seed again ,which will be a problem for them in facing the Astros, as it always is.
Yankee fans give your best traded for Reynolds. That who the Yankees covet.
Pirates would insist on Volpe. For a player who Ks like Reynolds, no chance.
Lol. Last year Reynolds had a 22% K rate. Volpe had a 20% K rate. Forget the fact one was in the majors and the other was two levels below.
@kwolf68- Volpe is already at AAA. He should be playing 2nd base by the beginning of the summer. Let’s face it you truly know NOTHING about this kid. If this kid is a star, nobody’s going to care if he strikes out once in a while. Smh
And if he isn’t a stud we are F…..ked. Everything has been put on hold for the arrival of the miraculous Volpe.
You missed Jurickson Profar as one of the better FA options remaining for LF.
Profar is interesting. However he reminds me of a younger Hicks.
He’s not gonna move the needle much. I wouldn’t worry waste my money or prospects on him. We need a much bigger upgrade to make a dent. Don’t forget Aaron Judge will not be as good as he was last year, simple regression to the mean, so Offense is going to have to be even worse than it was last year, just taken that into account alone. So Profar is not gonna pick up the slack there. At all.
been having “differences of opinions with a few buddies…..so just throwing this out there….(Yankee fan or not)…..what would you give up for Brian Reynolds?
Just wow as to how much of a disappointment Stanton has been since they got him from Florida. I just looked at his numbers, had no idea he has been that bad. I thought he was going to be a beast in that lineup, who knew.
Augusto Barojas;
Now they want to do the same thing with Reynolds.
Really? He missed 2019 because of injury. In the other three full seasons, he hit 30+ homers, with lots of RBIs.
I get that you expected more, but you can’t reasonably say “wow as to how much of a disappointment he’s been” about someone who keeps hitting 30+ homers. That level of disappointment should be reserved for people who don’t produce. Not to people who produce less than you expected, but still at a higher level than the vast majority of major leaguers.
@stansfield
First of all it was not a character attack, just an observation. Homers are one statistic in baseball, and Stanton hit 59 of them his last season with Florida, with a WAR of 7.9, and won the MVP. In 5 years with the Yankees he has never hit 40 homers and has finished in the top 20 in MVP voting only once, 19th in 2018. This is a guy with a $300M contract who was expected to be a stud. In his 5 seasons with the Yankees, he was pretty good in 2018 with a WAR of 4.4, and decent with a WAR of 3.1 in 2021. Not bad, but still not close to his production with Florida. In 2019 and 2020 he barely played due to injuries, and last year he hit .211, with an OPS under .800, and a WAR below 1. He only played 110 games last year so was hurt as well. So he’s been bad or injured 3 of 5 years for NY. I mean for a guy making almost 30M a year who was coming off an MVP, I think it’s very reasonable to say that he has been a big disappointment for the Yankees, largely because he has been hurt almost half the time.
I think they should stop with the “let’s DH him to protect him” nonsense, and just play Stanton in LF.
If he gets injured, he gets injured. You can’t wrap somebody in bubble wrap, and expect them to earn their $325M contract. You gotta let them play the game.
Avoid using WAR for evaluating players. If the Yankees had done this they might have taken JD Martinez over Stanton and wouldn’t have given Hicks that ridiculous extension.
If that was actually applied with logic, Correa wouldn’t be trying to argue for or receiving offers of $300M or a $35.1M one year deal, etc. he’d be offered and expect around $25M a season, have accepted a 7 year/$175M offer ages ago, etc. Except he’s basing his salary demands on his peak years of 7+ WAR, assuming WAR is around $5M for position players. Also the mega contracts are bloating that value. It was only a few years ago 1 WAR was worth around $4M and now it’s nearly $8M going by the 2022 free agency deals.
The cost of $/war isn’t linear and fluctuates in any given year based on players available in the market, demand, position scarcity, etc. It hasn’t been $4MM per war for close to a decade, if not over.
Not to mention the fact that it does not account for intangibles, which are important. Stat geeks don’t take that into account. Numbers are not everything.
The Yankees are using WAR for evaluating players. It’s just that they’re looking at other things as well. Like age, for instance, and how WAR changes with age.
Whoever the Yankees have playing LF, he’ll have to be a significant upgrade to the lineup.
More MLBTR love for the Yankees. Show me a thread dedicated to any other teams need.
All contending team do a good job in evaluating players, that’s a no-brainer. I looked at MlB prospect rankings for the Yanks, and both e and Perazal have been graded as well as Judge or better in the evlauation. Both could be starters for the Yanks next year which would be a big bonus. Looking at the last ten years of prospects, it’s the one’s that continue to improve that are the good major league players. There are only a few like Soto, Trout, Ohtani, and Harper.
Nothing new hear. Same old cut and paste.
Rangers will trade Brad Miller to them
Kepler for Hicks, kiner-falefa…gives the Yankees a left fielder, twins a back up outfielder and a shortstop. Who says no?
Twins.
Twins lol not even close.
No thank you. He’s not much of an upgrade over Hicks. Will not move the needle much or if at all.
Thoughts on Robbie Grossman?
Benitendi and Renoylds were/are the only significant upgrades in LF. Profar, Mancini, Kepler, etc. are just hoping you might get 0.5 – 1 war more out of LF. Conforto at 36 mill is just desperation.
They made the ALCS without Benitendi or Carpenter and added Rodon. DJM, Donaldson, Stanton, Montas, Sevy (heck maybe even Hicks) all have upside from 2022 if healthier. The sky is not falling.
That’s a lot of ifs there. Stanton is always injured, Donaldson and Hicks are cooked, Montas,I have no idea what the guys capable of, so far he has been a bust. if you expect everything to work out perfectly, you’re going to be disappointed because how often does that happen.
And let us not forget that Aaron Judge as great as he is, he’s not going to have the season that he had this past year, they’ll be some regression to the mean, so the teams hitting will be much the worst for it. Who’s going to pick up the slack there, I don’t see anyone who is capable of it. So even if they got another hitter , it wouldn’t even make up for the drop off from Aaron Judge. The only guy capable of picking up the slack would be Staunton, but that assumes another big if,if the guy can remain healthy for a longer period of time then he has in the past. I deem that to be unlikely.
I could see the Yankees getting Kepler if the price is reasonable. Otherwise, I think they go internal for LF. Several weeks back I mentioned Elijah Dunham as an under the radar prospect who could get a shot in LF for the Yankees. There’s also a chance Austin Wells plays LF upon his call up. He won’t be a C full time and is blocked at 1B by Rizzo for the next two years
I could meet with them when I’m there in February for New York Fashion Week or NYFW for those in the know,
Yankees needs Reynolds
Jurickson Profar could also work.
Give up Dominguez and Volpe for Reynolds and win now!
ROFL! Reynolds is not worth Volpe– ever. The guy is a very good outfielder but he’s not a superstar. Certainly not worth the #5 overall MLB prospect.
You might be over valuing Volpe. It could turn into nothing like most of them do.
Volpe is a stud. The guy has so much talent. I don’t think he’s overvalued, at least not now
I do think we’re all reasonably concerned because for a while now none of the high profile prospects have panned put. Judge wasn’t anonymous or unknown but he wasn’t a high profile stud. Frazier was one. Didn’t pan out. Remember Jesus Montero? He was that era’s Volpe.
I do think we wait way too long to bring guys up. We seem to know deep down and we call guys up who are ready and they’re not as well known but they stick around and perform fine, while our “studs” languish in the minors going from super young future cornerstone to over the hill former top prospect, like Estevan Florial, another one we heard was a future OF cornerstone player and now he’s turned into a quadruple A replacement player for when someone we take seriously gets injured…. I fear we may over develop Volpe or Volpe may not be the future stud we hope he will be.
@Dr2022- I do feel Volpe is a keeper. Not so sure about Dominguez though. We’ll see.
I have no idea, and neither do you. Talent does not always translate to the major leagues, you know that. There are many players with tons of talent, but never made it in the majors. But I hope I am wrong ,certainly since the Yankees have risked a lot by passing up on many premium free agents for his miraculous arrival.
I agree with all this. Cashman loves to manipulate service time, above all else. Even over the success of his team, or the best interests of his prospects.
Obviously I have no idea, I do not have the inside track. Let’s just say I am dubious, based on Cashmans track record. But I certainly hope I am wrong and I could very well be. We definitely need a player of that caliber, and it’s obvious that we will not be trading or pursuing a free agent such as this at least not right now.
@Dr2022- well I definitely hope your wrong. Lol. From what we hear, this kid could be the closest thing to Jeter, as they come. If he’s even close we’ll definitely take it! Thinking a 2nd baseman with power, speed, and good defense. We’ll see. Don’t wanna trade him, and definitely for not Ohtani who would get shelled pitching in NY.
Jasson is 19 and had a .906 OPS at A+. Yes, we will see.
I hear you captain and I agree with you. It’s obvious he will not be traded, and the Yankees are betting on him to become the next jeter. Like I said I am dubious, but I hope I am wrong ,and I very well could be .we certainly need another Jeter that’s for sure.This team needs something, some spark that could help us get past the Astros ,who have been whipping us for years. Maybe this kid could be it. I certainly hope so. I guess we will find out.
Aaron Hicks my gosh. Cashman was drunk.
More likely the Yankees were in the throes of their version of Moneyball and saw Hicks the way Billy Beane saw guys like Jeremy Giambi (RIP) and Jeremy Brown.
Ironically, Nick Swisher was the only true success out of the Moneyball era and lo and behold Cashman wanted him when his stock was down and he proved a fruitful trade for the Yankees and the Yankees offered him a very fair and sensible extension when he reached free agency.
When Cashman got Hicks, Hicks way over performed and it looked like a coup of surplus value. The problem is that Cashman started the trend of over extending players in years to keep their AAV’s down while still getting them all their dollars- like with LeMahieu’s 6 year deal when he was fielding offers of similar value over 4-5 years. He tried the same thing with Hicks. It didn’t work out.
I remember when the Yankees first got Hicks. He had this intense, focused look on his face during games. His intensity seemed out of the ordinary and he was doing well. I don’t know exactly when that disappeared, but I thought he signed the extension and relaxed.
It’s not working out so well with DJ either who’s constantly injured. And he’s really a shell of what he once was. Although he still better than Hicks, at least when he plays.
Yeah that DJLM extension is looking kind of awful right now…
It was needed at the time, he was awesome, and there’s a lot of fan pressure to bring him back. But six years was too long for an aging player, who was average at best, prior to coming to the Yankees.
I’d still like to see what the Twins would want for Luis Arraez. He’s played left field before and he’s been pretty good at it. Not to mention that his high average, extremely low K numbers, and ability to battle are just what we need at the top of the lineup
That sounds good to me
So, who plays center?
Harrison Bader
For the Yankees???? Harrison Bader.
Harrison Bader and sometimes Judge.
Hicks is a social justice warrior who hasn’t been good for 8 years.
His politics are irrelevant. His performance is all that matters, and it’s been bad and shouldn’t earn him a spot on the roster, but Cashman screwed up and squandered millions on a wrongheaded attempt to be frugal.
@Fink- Cashman’s performance has been like a flag that’s half-mass.
He’s made some major blunders, but I wouldn’t put the flag at half-mast. He’s had a lot of money to work with and wasted a lot of it, but he has kept the team competitive. I’d have to raise the flag up the mast a bit higher, but definitely not all the way to the top.
Also, dpsmith22, it hasn’t been 8 years since Hicks was good. He was good in 2018. The blunder was giving him a long-term contract on the strength of that season, buying high on a guy with a substantial history of injuries.
Cory Dickerson is a lifetime .281 hitter. He may be a cheap 1 year fix. Cheaper than Profar.
Ian Happ?
Happ won’t be available until the trade deadline. If the Cubs trade him now, that sends a message to the season ticket holders that they’re already giving up. After the acquisitions they’ve made this winter, their narrative right now is that they’re trying to compete this year (however unlikely).
They should sign Profar and Gamel. No RH-only hitters should be considered. That stadium was built for lefties, and they have to get more balance in that lineup.
“David Peralta/Trey Mancini/Andrew McCutchen: The free agent market for left-fielders has been largely cleared out, but if the Yankees were to go down that path this trio of hitters would likely be the best remaining options.”
Why is this likely? How about Jurickson Profar? His WAR and OPS+ were higher than any of theirs.
The only reason he might be less likely a target is the cost in dollars.
I picked other, which is odd because the man I was thinking of was actually mentioned in the article….
I think the Ya kees might scoop up Trey Mancini and play him in LF. Plus, he could also play 1B to give Rizzo a break as well, and adds a bit more flexibility than your typical left-fielder. Plus, I think Mancini still has plenty of enough pop left in his bat to thrive in the Yankees lineup, and he’ll be surrounded by other big boppers, so he’ll likely see some better pitches as well..
platoon hicks and cabrera and call it a day. the outfield is fine. the real problem is the debacle of roster management they call the infield
Assessing the Dodgers options in Centerfield….. Some NL “West” fans are curious……
“While Kepler makes some sense, the Yankees may wonder whether it’s worth carrying both Hicks and Kepler on the same roster.”
If they’re thinking that, they need to think harder.
Get Kepler, ditch Hicks. Addition by addition and addition by subtraction.
I don’t agree with this:
“Peraza will get a real chance to win the job, and if he does, they’ll have to trade Kiner-Falefa. He’s earning $6 million this year, which is too much to keep him on the bench as a fill-in.” – Bryan Hoch, Yankees beat writer for MLB.com
If he were on the Marlins or the Reds, sure — you could say that’s too much salary to allocate to a bench player. But we’re talking about the New York Yankees, estimated worth $6 billion, annual revenue $482 million. They can readily afford a salary of $6 million if it makes the team better.
IKF would be a good player to have on the bench. Baseball Reference gave him 3.0 WAR and Fangraphs gave him 1.3 WAR valued at $10.7 million. He had the highest Clutch rating on the team, and I never said, “Oh, no! Automatic out!” when he came to the plate.
He had the highest Contact % and the lowest swinging strike rate on the team. He struggled defensively late in the season, but he came to the Yankees with a Gold Glove at third base, and it’s not his fault that they moved him off his natural position. If Donaldson gets hurt, and DJ gets hurt again or is already covering second base, IKF would be a good backup to have at third.
My main point is that it’s nonsense that the Yankees can’t afford a $6 million bench player. They can afford ten of them.
To your IKF point, wasn’t he like an GG 3rd baseman in Texas? I know Donaldson is harder to move and might have a higher ceiling bat, but it seems at least monetarily smarter to move Donaldson instead of IKF. Pair them both with Hicks though and it seems like no one is interested in any of them.
Caroll is a lefty and has the #s. Why keep 3 top 50 ss in the system + isf?
Looks like they’ll run it back on offense. Should be fine for the regular season.
If the Yankees do anything about left field, I won’t be surprised if it’s a trade for Arizona’s Alek Thomas.
Start the kids! We’ve been hearing about them for years. Why trade for an “ok” player when you might already have one. There is no reason your utility player (Oswaldo) can’t be your starting leftfielder and then brought into the infield if necessary and put your 4th outfielder (Hicks) out in left. You have IKF as a 2nd utility guy.