Confusion at 2nd and 3rd Bases
I frequent a couple of the Yankees Fan groups on Facebook and there seems to be a bit of confusion about these two positions. I keep saying that we should get Manny Machado for 3rd base and then people respond with stuff like “No.” or “Don’t need him.” or “We should stick to the plan.” My question is ... What plan and who is playing in these two positions in this plan? But actually, I’ve been responding to these comments with ... “Why? (Just asking.)” I’m not trying to be confrontational, just want to see what people are thinking. The most common response I get is “We have Gleyber Torres and he can play SS, 2nd and 3rd!” and I ask “At the same time?!” LOL! I understand that we all have opinions about players and someone may simply not like a player. I get it, but I like when people have a reason for arguing.
What people aren’t understanding is that the Yankees have turned up the gas. Last year was a building year. That’s what we set out to do and we finished waaaaay better than the Yankee brass ever expected. That’s awesome! But, I think it was also discouraging to them to come so close, so they’ve decided that this year, they are going to do something about it. It’s NOT a regular off season. Joe Girardi was let go after 10 years. A new manager was just recently put into place. Yesterday, coaching staff began getting contracted. Giancarlo Stanton, the player that everyone thought was out of reach because of his mega contract, is now donning the pinstripes! We’re stepping up to the Mother F’n plate! So, what does that mean? I bet it means that there is NO WAY the Yankees are going to begin the 2018 with temporary players in these two positions. They will want a solid option that is considered THE starter in each of these positions. Torreyes would be GREAT, but the Yankees want him as a utility player. Wade could be great, if he gets his .300+ minor league bat back, but, he is also a utility player. If someone were injured right before the season starts, like Didi was last year, that’s one thing - but I doubt they would want to start the season that way. Last year we didn’t see the opening day lineup until August, and it happened only once the entire season! Seriously, look it up.
The next thing people say is “Well we have Andujar and Headley to play 3rd.” No, we don’t. The Yankees have been saying for quite some time now that Andujar may not be quite ready yet defensively. Although a very small sample size I saw him play this past August in Scranton and he wasn’t good on either side of the plate. Maybe just a bad day, but it sounds like consistency is what they are most concerned about. Well, then, Headley. No, the Yankees are actively shopping him to use as a trade chip. “Todd Frazier!” Umm...he was a rental and is no longer with the team. The Yankees could re-sign him if they want to, but I don’t think they do or they would have done it already ... because he wanted to stay. My feeling is that they are looking for an upgrade in the hot corner.
So, I think that we should find a 3rd baseman, but a stellar one. Manny Machado may be available. Baltimore is listening to offers but hasn’t decided if they will even deal him yet, let alone to a division rival. If we get Machado some are concerned that it’ll only be for a year until his contract runs out and he becomes a free agent. Why would I throw away prospects for a one year rental? That’s a good point! First, players that are not protected on the 40 man roster are subject (depending on what level they are) to the Rule 5 draft, which means ... other teams can just take them. So it would be better to trade some away for something good, someone with value, than to just let them be taken. I think that it’s cheapest to get Machado now, instead of waiting until he’s a free agent. Here’s why - with the addition of Stanton we have upped our chances of not only making it to the world series, but possibly winning it. With Machado on board, the odds become even more in our favor. At the end of Machado’s year with us - which may include a world series ring - why would he want to leave possibly the best team in major league baseball, which has a chance of doing it again? We’ll have leverage by having a winning ball club, one that is destined to become legendary AND we may have Miguel Andujar ready to take his place by then. As a matter of fact, Manny can help us get closer to the world series and we can decide by July 31st if Andujar is ready to take over. We can trade him to regain prospects! So, there are ways of making this work.
Other options are Evan Longoria and Josh Donaldson. Personally, I don’t like Josh Donaldson. He is one of the instigators of the 2016 brawl between the Jays and the Yanks. Haven’t liked him since. Good player though. Longoria, I think would fit personality wise and we’d be stealing a rival team’s leader, so there could be some strategy involved there, but I don’t think he’s the same caliber as the 25 year old Manny Machado - which also means he doesn’t fit into the age plan the Yankees have.
2nd base - I don’t think the Yankees will want to wait until spring training to “figure out” if Torres will be back from his Tommy John surgery and ready for action. He’s very highly touted and I have a feeling he will be ready, but there’s no guarantee. I’m betting that he’s playing winter ball given that he needs to rehab and be ready, so they’ll be watching him. I would suspect that the Yankees will find a stop gap 2nd baseman that they will call their starter, but will have Torres compete for the job - he’ll win it and we’ll trade the stop gap away again. I think the last thing they will do is use Torreyes or Wade as a starting player. They like them where they are.
Check out my blog about the 2018 - 25 Man Roster. I’ve got a list of who I think will be on the 25 man roster on opening day (or who I hope will be) and it also has a list at the bottom of those we can trade to keep our costs down and under the luxury tax!
