The Yankees officially announced their signing of right-hander Marcus Stroman, with outfielder Oscar González designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
González, 26, has only been a Yankee since early December, when they claimed him off waivers from the Guardians. The outfielder burst onto the scene with Cleveland in 2022, hitting 11 home runs in 382 plate appearances. His 3.9% walk rate was quite low but he hit .296/.327/.461 overall for a wRC+ of 125. He also became a fan favorite by using the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song as his walk-up music and also hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 15th inning of Game 2 of the Wild Card series, which broke a scoreless tie and clinched the series for the Guardians.
Unfortunately, 2023 was a disaster for González. His offense fell off precipitously and he spent most of his time on optionable assignment in Triple-A. In his 180 major league plate appearances, his walk rate fell even lower to 2.8% while his strikeouts increased, leading to a paltry line of .214/.239/.312. His work in Triple-A led to a nicer line of .287/.323/.496, but that still translated to a subpar wRC+ of 98.
Since he’s considered a poor defender and doesn’t steal a lot of bases, González really needs to hit to provide value. There’s clearly some power there but poor plate discipline as well. He has swung at 49.1% of pitches outside the strike zone in his career, the highest rate among MLB hitters with at least 550 plate appearances over the past two seasons. In 2,734 minor league plate appearances, he has walked in just 109 of them, a 4% rate.
He is still young and has a couple of option years remaining, so a club could keep him in Triple-A as a depth piece while seeing if his approach improves. The Yanks likely had such a plan in mind when they claimed him, but they have since changed their outfield significantly by trading for Juan Soto, Trent Grisham and Alex Verdugo. Those moves have seemingly pushed González down the depth chart and off the roster.
The Yanks will now have a week to trade González or pass him through waivers. If he were to go unclaimed, he could stick with the club as non-roster depth, but some other club around the league might take a shot on him.
Not Ben Rortvedt? Could still be DFA’d to make room for Weaver but still.
Ben would get a muscle strain from putting the phone down after he got a call from the franchise telling him he got DFA’d
Does Ben Rortverdt even exist or is he an imaginary playmate for Gerrit Cole?
Imaginary; but we let Cole think he exists because it makes Ger-Ger happy.
Ben Rortvedt will not get DFA’d. He will be traded for BP help
I get it, but sad to see it happen. I think the kid still has potential.
someone will scoop him
From a walk-off home run in the ALWC to trying to stay alive in the Majors.
Baseball can sometimes be so cruel.
It’s a “What have you done for me lately?” business, sadly that’s how it goes.
acoss
“It’s a “What have you done for me lately?” business, sadly that’s how it goes.”
It’s more of a “what do we think you’re going to do for us in the future” business.
And the answer for OG is “probably not much”
Walk-off hit in the ALDS too. Cleveland fans will never forget his heroics, but Gonzalez is toast.
There’s still a small chance he could clear waivers and wind up in AAA.
Not happening…
Oscar, we hardly knew you
Getz has found the elusive new WSox RF…..more to come
His .214 average last year might be a little too high.
Gonzalez should be signed or acquired by White Sox. Nice stop gap while Getz gets this team contending.
Someone should scoop him up, still young with some potential
The perfect Met pickup for a week until a newly-released high K, high BB 30 yo MIRP candidate catches Stearns’ wandering eye.
Do the Roster Shuffle!!
I don’t know why any pitcher would even throw him anything in the zone, he makes Javy Baez look patient.
When do
We sign hader
I hate to break it to you, man, but as much as I like Hader’s pitching, it ain’t happening, imo.
Too much money/ too many years / and it’s Cashman’s one true strength (building a bullpen).
Please Philly just give him a shot
Oakland should be all over this!! Neither party has nothing to lose really and if he hits he can be a monster and a trade monster
Who?
Gonzalez couldn’t hit anything that broke, if it wasn’t a fastball forget it!!
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
oscar gonzalez!!!!
Arguably the most underrated city/stadium/sports team in the entire country. You can ask anybody. Stark, Rosenthal, Slusser, Kahrl, Plaschke, etc.
Going to pass through waivers
25% chance he clears? I could see my Pads grab him if he lasts that long, although I can see an OAK or COL claim.
Are you confident in, interested in, monitoring, discussing internally, or a potential frontrunner in his acquisition or all of the above?
Monitoring… from a distance. I certainly wouldn’t trade for OG, but I suppose I could settle on a Waiver Claim to bring him in for ST.
I wouldn’t mind the braves grabbing him. Can be a minors stash, see how it goes and if he does well can be our potential 4th outfielder. He has potential, but a lot he needs to work on.
“Damn, can you give me at least one At Bat before you cut me?”