Stephen Drew Archives - River Avenue Blues

Scouting the Free Agent Market: Low-Cost Infielders

January 17, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Drew rhymes with boo. (Patrick McDermott/Getty)

With Spring Training less than four weeks away, the Yankees do not have established second or third basemen, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. You could do worse than going into the season with Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar at those positions. A lot worse. A lack of established players doesn’t mean a lack of options.

At the same time, going with rookies at two infield positions is risky, especially when one has not played in nine months due to an injury. The Yankees have already signed Jace Peterson to a minor league deal for depth, and in all likelihood, another infielder is on the way. Maybe it’ll be Josh Harrison. The Yankees have been connected to him for weeks and the Pirates are clearly selling.

If the Yankees don’t swing a trade for Harrison or sign a bigger name free agent like Neil Walker or Todd Frazier, they could seek out a lower cost option, which would fit nicely under the $197M luxury tax threshold. They’ve done this stuff before. Remember Brian Roberts? Kelly Johnson? Stephen Drew? All bargain pickups to plug roster holes. Here are some low-cost free agent infielders who could interest the Yankees.

Stephen Drew

2017 Stats: .253/.302/.358 (70 wRC+) and +0.1 WAR
2018 ~~ZiPS~~ Steamer: .234/.301/.407 (86 wRC+) and +0.1 WAR

What does he offer? Drew has spent the last two seasons as a utility man with the Nationals, playing the three non-first base infield positions and occasionally running into a fastball off the bench. He’s still a fine defender — Drew’s always had that going for him — and as a left-handed hitter in Yankee Stadium, there’s always a chance his offense will tick up. With Drew, you’re getting a good glove and at least a chance at some offense.

Why should the Yankees avoid him? We’ve been here before, right? Drew was terrible in his only full season with the Yankees, hitting .201/.271/.381 (76 wRC+) and falling out of favor. Even with a new manager — Aaron Boone would represent a fresh start after Drew played under Joe Girardi — the Yankees may not want to go down this road again. Been there, done that.

Yunel Escobar

2017 Stats: .274/.333/.397 (100 wRC+) and +0.8 WAR
2018 ZiPS: .263/.319/.353 (87 OPS+) and +0.0 WAR

What does he offer? Escobar is one year removed from hitting .304/.355/.391 (107 wRC+) and he’s a high contact bat who would help balance out a lineup that probably has more strikeouts than the Yankees would like. He’s been a full-time third baseman for three years now, but he could play shortstop in a pinch. His second base experience is limited. Contact and some infield versatility. That’s what you’re getting here.

Why should the Yankees avoid him? At this point, Escobar’s value is tied up almost entirely in his batting average. He doesn’t walk much, he doesn’t hit for power, and the defensive stats hate him at the hot corner. Also, Escobar has long had a reputation for being a headache in the clubhouse. He wore out his welcome in Atlanta, in Toronto, in Tampa, in Washington, and in Anaheim. Even when he produced, those clubs weren’t sad to see him go.

Danny Espinosa

2017 Stats: .173/.245/.278 (41 wRC+) and -1.0 WAR
2018 ~~ZiPS~~ Steamer: .202/.280/.344 (66 wRC+) and +0 WAR

What does he offer? Espinosa is a more extreme version of Drew. He’s a worse hitter and better defender, plus he’s also played a little first base and left field. And he’s a switch-hitter, which is potentially useful. Keep in mind the Yankees have had interest in Espinosa before. So much so that I once wrote a Scouting The Market post on him. That was back when Espinosa was coming off a few good seasons with the Nationals and seemed salvageable. That interest could linger.

Why should the Yankees avoid him? Good gravy Espinosa was sooo bad last year. So bad he was released by two teams. This is a guy who has hit .207/.282/.353 (70 wRC+) in his last 1,839 plate appearances dating back to Opening Day 2013. Espinosa is Brendan Ryan with a lesser glove, basically. At the same time, it would be the most Yankee thing ever for them to sign Espinosa and have him inexplicably hit .280/.395/.500 for two months until Gleyber is ready.

J.J. Hardy

2017 Stats: .217/.255/.323 (50 wRC+) and -0.6 WAR
2018 ZiPS: .232/.274/.330 (63 OPS+) and +0.1 WAR

What does he offer? Remember when there was some thought the Yankees would sign Hardy to replace Derek Jeter? Good thing that didn’t happen. Hardy signed an extension with the Orioles before becoming a free agent and the Yankees wound up with Didi Gregorius. Phew. Anyway, Hardy lost his shortstop job to a wrist injury and the Tim Beckham trade last season, but he still offers a good glove and a contact-oriented approach.

Why should the Yankees avoid him? The wrist problems and the fact he hasn’t been even a league average hitter in five years. Also, Hardy has never played a position other than shortstop in his big league career. Not even DH!. So, to sum it all up, the Yankees would be asking a guy who hasn’t hit much the last few years to learn a new infield position on the fly. What could go wrong?

Brandon Phillips

2017 Stats: .285/.319/.416 (93 wRC+) and +1.6 WAR
2018 ZiPS: .267/.297/.375 (86 OPS+) and +0.3 WAR

What does he offer? Phillips for Brett Gardner, who says no? Remember those days? That was a long time ago now. Anyway, Phillips had arguably the best offensive season of any player in this post last year, and he also played third base for the first time in deference to some younger players with the Braves. The ability to play second (well) and third while being more than a zero at the plate seems like exactly the kind of low-cost veteran the Yankees would target.

Why should the Yankees avoid him? As with any 36-year-old player, there’s a chance Phillips will suddenly fall off a cliff, though the fact he’d be on a small one-year contract would mitigate the risk. If he stinks, you cut him. Also, Phillips has a rep for being a bit of a jerk, though I wonder how true that really is. Is he cool with his teammates and a jerk to the media? Being a jerk to the media is the fastest way to get a bad clubhouse rep. I mean, Phillips spent eleven years with the Reds. Would they have kept him around that long if he was really a bad clubhouse dude?

Jose Reyes

2017 Stats: .246/.315/.413 (94 wRC+) and +2.0 WAR
2018 ZiPS: .255/.311/.405 (93 OPS+) and +0.9 WAR

What does he offer? I’m surprised Reyes’ numbers are as good as they were given how much Mets fans complained about him last summer. (He bottomed out at .184/.261/.286 on June 15th, then hit .292/.356/.511 the rest of the way.) Reyes is a switch-hitter who makes contact and can still run a little — he went 24-for-30 in steal attempts last season — and last year he embraced a true utility role, playing second, third, short, left, and center. The defensive numbers weren’t good anywhere, however. They weren’t even average. The stats say Reyes is a bad defender all around the field.

Why should the Yankees avoid him? Even with that big finish last year, Reyes has hit .261/.315/.406 (92 wRC+) in his last 1,359 plate appearances, and he’s at the age when middle infielders tend to fall off a cliff. The versatility is nice and we can’t ignore his big finish last season, but the bad defense means that if he doesn’t hit, Reyes has no redeeming qualities at all.

* * *

There are other potential low-cost infielders out there like Darwin Barney, Alcides Escobar, Ryan Goins, and Cliff Pennington, all of whom are no bat/good glove players. If the Yankees were going to go that route, the defense-first route, I think they’d target someone who offers a little offensive upside, like Drew or Espinosa. Those guys are at least capable of making a pitcher pay for a mistake. Barney, Escobar, Goins, or Pennington? Nah.

Here’s what we know. One, the Yankees have about $22M to spend under the luxury tax threshold, minus what they set aside for midseason additions. And two, they want Torres to take over at second base sooner rather than later, and chances are they feel the same about Andujar at third. In a perfect world they would spend as little of that $22M as possible on a stopgap infielder who won’t block Torres or Andujar long-term. That could lead them to one of these flawed low-cost infielders who don’t appear to have much of a market right now.

Sunday Mini Mailbag: Gleyber, Rotation, Infield

January 7, 2018 by Matt Imbrogno Leave a Comment

Happy Sunday, RAB readers. I sincerely hope you’re keeping warm as you read this. As I write this, I’m wearing two hoodies and multiple pairs of socks. A touch dramatic? Sure, but I’m okay with it. To invoke a common metaphor, the Hot Stove season seems to have frozen along with the temperatures. Yeah, the Yankees signed Jace Peterson to a minor league deal, but that’ll keep the stove about as warm as lighting up a single piece of newspaper would. To cope with this, I turned to social media to see if anyone had any burning questions (I promise I’ll stop it now). Here are the results.

Harsh asks: How should Yankees fans temper expectations for Gleyber Torres if he does start at 2B (presumably after 2 weeks)?

The answers should be self-evident, but after what an expectation-shattering year 2017 was, we may need to remind ourselves of a few things. If the Yankees do call Torres up in a timely manner, he’ll be making his debut well short of his 22nd birthday; he just turned 21 in December. As such, he’ll be one of the youngest players in the Majors, as he has been at almost every level he’s been at in his career; he’s never been more than 2.8 years younger than his competition and was 6.7 years younger than his counterparts at AAA in 2017. That alone should be enough to temper expectations. On top of that, he is also coming off of an injury and still learning a new position, and would be doing so at the highest level possible. It’s hard enough to succeed when you already know how to play a position, let alone when you’re trying to master a new one AND learn how to be a Major League quality hitter at the same time. Chances are that Torres will be a good player, but it might not happen right away.

Harsh (also) asks: Why are/were the Yankees looking at SP when they have 5 capable starters (Sevy, Tanaka, Sonny, CC, Montgomery), Chad Green coming to ST as a starter, and a couple of guys in AAA (Adams and Sheffield)?

Say it with me, everyone: You can never have too much pitching. I’m a big fan of the Yankee rotation, but to play Devil’s Advocate for a moment, there are some question marks. What if Masahiro Tanaka keeps giving up homers at a high clip? What if 2017 was an extreme outlier or Luis Severino? What if CC Sabathia falls off a cliff, as old guys are prone to doing? What if Sonny Gray gets hurt again and Jordan Montgomery takes a step back? Every team has questions about their rotations that are similar to these ones. Additionally, the Yankees may have concerns about the workloads of their pitchers and another starter could help mitigate that. While Chad Green is preparing as a starter, I think that’s mostly for show and a fallback option, just like it was for Adam Warren when he would come to camp prepped for starting. Green’s best role is likely as a long reliever/swingman, with the ability to make an emergency spot start if needed.

As for Chance Adams and Justus Sheffield, they’re great depth and I’m sure we’ll see them–and their upsides–at some point in 2018, but if they’re major parts of the rotation this year, something may have gone wrong. Getting another starter allows the Yankees to be more patient with Adams and Sheffield and bring them up when their time is right, not just when the team’s time is right.

Rich asks: 2018 Yankees as Star Wars characters?

In the interest of brevity, I’m going to limit this to one character and one player, the first thought that I had: David Robertson as BB-8. Both are relatively ‘compact’ and both are very good at getting those around them out of tight spots.

Nick asks: Is it possible the limited prospect sacrifice for Stanton jaded Yankee fans into thinking one doesn’t need to sacrifice quality pieces to bring back value? The outrage over dealing a Clint Frazier for an average to above average MLB arm seems silly.

Part of me agrees wholeheartedly with Nick’s first assertion. Consciously or not, we’ve got the robbery that was the Giancarlo Stanton trade in our minds and we’ve forgotten what a real MLB trade looks like. Then again, we were also told that the Yankees made and were rejected on offers for Chris Archer and Michael Fulmer, which is a ‘nice’ dose of reality. As to Nick’s second point, again, my gut is to agree. The thought of trading a prospect for a need shouldn’t scare anyone off. But as I laid out a few weeks ago, not all trade targets are created equally. I’m fine with trading Frazier in the right deal, but it has to be the right deal. Despite what I said above, the Yankees do have five capable starters and could go without trading for a sixth. Holding out on trading Frazier until you make sure you’re getting back talent and control seems most prudent.

Sam asks: Given where the Yankees are today what combo do you start at 3B/2B on opening day?

As the team is currently constituted, I might bite the bullet and roll with Miguel Andujar at third and a platoon of Tyler Wade and Ronald Torreyes at second, with the latter two submitting to Gleyber as soon as he’s ready. With Stanton, Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, and a hopefully healthy Greg Bird, the Yankees can absorb a bit of lost offense at those positions. Wade and Andujar have offensive upside–even if it’s in different ways–and Toe is a competent defender who can put together good at bats. Wade is also a good defender. This combo should be able to hold down the fort. If not, a veteran who can play either position, like Stephen Drew or Howie Kendrick, might be worth a shot. He .could then slide to a bench role with minimal fuss or long-term damage once a solution–Torres–presented itself.

The Yankees are likely taking the long view with the infield. My guess is that they’re going to go hard after Manny Machado when he is a free agent and they won’t want anyone blocking third. This will shift Torres to second with Didi Gregorius still at shortstop. That means that Andujar probably won’t be with the organization long term. It’s possible (probable?) that if the Yankees sign Machado, Andujar will be traded.

Rob, a Mets fan asks: Will the Mets ever win anything in my lifetime? Plz advise

No.

Yankees do not make any qualifying offers before Friday’s deadline

November 6, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

As expected, the Yankees did not tender any qualifying offers to free agents prior to today’s 5pm ET deadline. They haven’t officially announced anything yet, but yeah. Their only free agents this offseason are Chris Young, Stephen Drew, and Chris Capuano. None of worth even half a qualifying offer.

Long story short, the QO is a one-year contract worth $15.8M that entitles the player’s former team to draft pick compensation if he signs elsewhere. The deadline to accept or reject the QO is next Friday. No player has ever accepted the QO and I don’t think anyone will accept this year either.

Here’s the list of QO for this offseason. (Warning: Auto-play video.) There are several surprises so far (Marco Estrada! Ian Kennedy! Colby Rasmus!), so we might actually see a player accept this year. Except we’ve been saying that four years in a row now. Either way, no extra 2016 draft picks for the Yankees.

Capuano, Drew, Young become free agents; Yanks outright Santos, Moreno to Triple-A

November 2, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

At 9am ET this morning, a total of 139 players officially became free agents. Here’s the full list. Only three of those 139 players are Yankees: Chris Capuano, Stephen Drew and Chris Young. The Yankees hold exclusive negotiating rights with them until 12:01am ET this Saturday, when free agency officially begins. Here’s the offseason calendar.

Also, the Yankees activated both Sergio Santos and Diego Moreno off the 60-day DL and outrighted them to Triple-A Scranton today, the team announced. Santos refused the assignment and instead elected free agency. Moreno could not elect free agency since this was his first outright assignment, but he’ll become a minor league free agent in a few days anyway.

Santos, 32, appeared in only two games with the Yankees this season before blowing out his elbow and needing Tommy John surgery. He started the season with the Dodgers, was released in early-June, then signed with the Yankees a few days later. Santos’ most notable act as a Yankee was escaping a bases loaded, no outs jam against the Marlins on June 15th.

Moreno, 28, threw 10.1 innings across four appearances for the Yankees this season as part of the bullpen shuttle. They originally acquired him from the Pirates as part of the A.J. Burnett salary dump trade a few years ago. Moreno had surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow late in the season and did not pitch after August 1st.

Moreno’s most notable act as a Yankee was throwing 5.1 hitless and scoreless innings of relief against the Rangers on July 28th, after Capuano failed to escape the first inning.

Rico Noel was outrighted off the 40-man roster earlier this month, so between that move and today’s moves, the Yankees now have four open spots on the 40-man roster. They’ll be filled when Domingo German (elbow), Jacob Lindgren (elbow), Chase Whitley (elbow), and Mason Williams (shoulder) are activated off the 60-day DL in the coming days.

A Bad Beginning, a Bad Ending, but Three Good Months in the Middle [2015 Season Review]

October 28, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

Thanks to free agency and Derek Jeter’s retirement, the Yankees were faced with replacing three-fourths of their starting infield last offseason. Mark Teixeira was the only holdover. The Yankees traded for Didi Gregorius to replace Jeter, and they wound up re-signing Stephen Drew and Chase Headley to play second and third bases, respectively.

Headley has a history of being an above-average player, so he received a multi-year contract. Drew? He was coming off a miserable 2014 season in which he hit .162/.237/.299 (45 wRC+) in exactly 300 plate appearances after sitting out the first few weeks because no team wanted to forfeit a first round pick to sign him. The Yankees felt Drew was a better player than what he showed and gambled he wouldn’t be that bad again in 2015. Technically, they were right.

The Return

Around this time last year, we were all looking forward to a free agent class loaded with shortstops. It never materialized. J.J. Hardy re-signed with the Orioles before free agency opened and no one loved the idea of giving Hanley Ramirez or Jed Lowrie multiple years to play shortstop because they’re no good defensively. Asdrubal Cabrera’s offense and defense had both been declining as well.

A very good case can be made Drew was the best shortstop on the market last year. I mean actual shortstop. Capable of playing the position defensively. And yet, he was unable to find work until the Yankees re-signed him in mid-January, after they traded for Gregorius to play shortstop. Drew had to settle for a second base job. The cost: one year and $5M. That’s nothing in baseball dollars these days. It was a low cost flier.

The Importance of Spring

One of the reasons the Yankees hoped Drew would bounce back in 2015 was Spring Training. He would have a normal Spring Training for the first time in three years — he missed Spring Training in 2012 with a fractured ankle, missed a big chunk of Spring Training in 2013 with a concussion, and missed all of Spring Training in 2014 because no one signed him. Drew would finally get a proper spring to prepare himself.

Drew, who turned 32 in mid-March, played in 22 Grapefruit League games, the most of any regular. He played well too, hitting .256/.310/.481 with three home runs in those 22 games. Also, the Yankees kept Drew at second base so he could continue to learn the position after making the switch at midseason last year. He played only one game (six innings) at short. That’s all. Everything else was at second base. All things considered, Drew had a solid spring, which he needed.

Home Runs … And Nothing Else

When the season started, it quickly became apparent a full Spring Training hadn’t helped Drew a whole lot. He went 2-for-17 (.118) in his first four games, then hit a solo home run off Clay Buchholz to cap off a seven-run first inning in his fifth game of the season. The next night, Drew had what was legitimately one of the biggest hits of the season, a go-ahead pinch-hit grand slam against the Orioles:

That was incredible. Even that early in the season, it felt like a huge hit because the Yankees — and Drew, for that matter — stumbled out of the gate. That was as big a win as you’ll see in April.

In the following days Drew continued to hit the ball out of the park and do little else. He went 8-for-42 (.190) with four home runs in his first 13 games and 31-for-177 (.175) with nine home runs in his first 53 games (58 team games). That’s 25-homer pace across 162 games, but he was also hitting .175 with a .237 OBP, so yeah. The homers were nice, but Drew was a black hole through the first third of the season.

Sneaky Good Production

From June 2nd through September 2nd, a totally arbitration three-month stretch of season, Drew quietly hit .250/.320/.485 (117 wRC+) with 12 home runs in 68 games and 225 plate appearances. That’s really good! Especially for a second baseman. I mean geez. Middle infielders who can put up league average offense are hard to find these days. Drew was quite a bit better than average during those 68 games.

And yet, because he started the season so terribly, his average remained under the Mendoza Line and everyone wanted Drew out of the lineup. It wasn’t entirely undeserved either. Drew was awful last year and awful for the first two months this season. We’re talking close to 500 plate appearances. And with Rob Refsnyder sitting in Triple-A, it was not at all unreasonable to want the Yankees to make a change. Aside from Refsnyder’s four-game cameo around the All-Star break, they never did.

It was not until August 30th in Atlanta that Drew finally (finally!) saw his average creep over .200. All it took was a 4-for-4 day. He homered and also drew two walks that day. Drew went into the game hitting .192/.262/.369 (69 wRC+) on the season and left hitting .201/.274/.385 (77 wRC+). I can’t imagine many everyday players raise their wRC+ eight points in a single game in late-August.

The grand slam against the Orioles was certainly important, though Drew’s biggest hit as a Yankee came on September 1st against the Red Sox, his former team. The Yankees had slipped behind the Blue Jays in the AL East but were still within striking distance (only 1.5 games back), so they needed every win possible. Drew went 1-for-3 on the night, and the one was a go-ahead two-run double in the fifth inning.

The Yankees held on for the 3-1 win and kept pace with the Blue Jays. That was part of a ridiculous four-game surge for Drew, during which he went 9-for-12 (.750!) with two doubles and two home runs. That raised his season batting line to .211/.281/.404 (84 wRC+) in 399 plate appearances, which is still comfortably below-average, but it was much better than what the Yankees got out of Drew in April and May.

The Premature End

Drew limped to the finish line the last few weeks of the season. He went 2-for-27 (.074) to close out the season and seemingly lost his starting second base job to Dustin Ackley. It wasn’t entirely performance related, however. Drew took a bad hop ground ball to the face on September 12th and suffered what was eventually diagnosed as a vestibular concussion. It was the same thing that cause him to miss most of Spring Training in 2013.

Drew played again on September 13th and that was essentially his final game of the season. He never played a full nine innings after that, instead coming off the bench for defense and occasionally to pinch-hit. Drew didn’t play at all after September 22nd, the 150th game of the season. He missed the team’s postseason berth clinching celebration because he was seeing a specialist in Pittsburgh, which sucks. Drew was there all season and deserved to celebrate with his teammates.

When it was all said and done, Drew hit .201/.271/.381 (76 wRC+) with 17 home runs in 131 games and 428 plate appearances this season. (His average was over .200 for only 20 of those 131 games.) He actually finished with the fifth most homers on the team, behind Alex Rodriguez (33), Teixeira (31), Brian McCann (26), and Carlos Beltran (19).

Normally when a player has better than average strikeout (16.6%), walk (8.6%), and ISO (.80) rates, he has a good offensive season. Not Drew. The first few weeks and the last few weeks were a mess, among the worst hitting performances I’ve ever seen, but those three months in the middle were really good too. The overall numbers were very bad, but, for those three months there, Drew was an asset at the plate.

The Other Side of the Bag

The Yankees moved Drew to second base in the middle of the season in 2014. He had never played a position other than shortstop (and DH) in his entire career, Majors or minors, but they felt Drew had the athleticism and instincts to handle the move, so they took a shot. Drew went through some growing pains last year before settling in.

This season Drew looked much more comfortable on the other side of the second base bag. It’s a bigger adjustment than you may realize! Turning a double play is completely different for a second baseman, mostly because you have to make the blind pivot with the runner bearing down on you. It’s not as easy as Robinson Cano made it look. There are also cutoff assignments and whatnot.

The one-year sample of defensive stats — not even a full season at that — say Drew was right in the vicinity of average in the field. Total Zone liked him the most (+3 runs) and DRS liked him the least (-3). UZR was in the middle (-0.2). I thought Drew was solid, not way better than average and not below-average either. He made all the routine plays and occasionally spectacular ones, especially going to his right.

When the ball was hit to Drew, I didn’t freak out. I guess that’s the best way to evaluate defense across one season. I felt comfortable with Drew handling the baseball even in big situations — if the Yankees needed a double play to escape a jam, cool, hit it to Drew. I was confident he’d make the play. He is as sure-handed as you could want.

Between solid defense and his three strong months at the plate, Drew had a nice stretch of production this year. The middle of the season was good! The beginning and end? Eh. Drew finished with +0.2 fWAR and +0.4 bWAR, though the defensive stats might be underselling his glove a bit. Normally when a player sits below the Mendoza Line most of the season, he’s sub-replacement level. Drew’s power and glove helped him contribute in a positive way, albeit slightly.

Looking Ahead to 2016

Drew is once again a free agent this coming offseason. Gregorius is entrenched at short and the Yankees are “leaning towards” using Ackley and Refsnyder at second base next year, meaning there’s no room for Drew unless he’s willing to be a backup infielder. I’d rather have Drew on the bench than Brendan Ryan, but, given the dearth of middle infielders, my guess is Drew will find a greater opportunity for playing time elsewhere. (Plus it would be nice to have a righty bat on the bench.) Bringing Drew back at a low cost this year was a fine move. It was a risk worth taking. It just didn’t work out too well.

Injury Updates: Eovaldi, Drew, Headley, Ellsbury

October 3, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

The Yankees and Orioles will play a split doubleheader later today following last night’s rainout. The first game will begin a little after 12pm ET. Here are some important injury updates via George King, Meredith Marakovits, and Ryan Hatch.

Nathan Eovaldi (elbow) threw a bullpen session yesterday, his first since going down with inflammation. “Everything felt great. I threw 25 pitches, 18 fastballs and seven splits,” he said. Eovaldi will throw a 35-pitch bullpen session Monday, and if that goes well, he’ll then face hitters in live batting practice or a simulated game. There is no chance Eovaldi will be available for the wildcard game Tuesday, but Joe Girardi acknowledged an ALDS roster spot “is something we will look at” should the team advance.
Stephen Drew has a “vestibular concussion” and he is unlikely to return this year, even if the Yankees go deep into October. “Right now (his return is) doubtful because he still has the symptoms,” said Girardi. That’s a shame. Drew wasn’t great this season, but you never want to see anyone’s season end due to injury, especially a brain injury. Also, this more or less guarantees Brendan Ryan will be on the postseason roster as the backup infielder.
Both Chase Headley and Jacoby Ellsbury are scheduled to play one game of today’s doubleheader. Both were sidelined Thursday with back soreness but were available off the bench if necessary. “They are both better,” said Girardi. Headley said he wants some at-bats this weekend and not have such a long layoff before the wildcard game.

Building the Wildcard Game Roster: Position Players

September 30, 2015 by Mike Leave a Comment

The Yankees are in position to clinch a wildcard spot very soon, possibly tonight, so it’s time to start thinking about the wildcard game roster. Earlier today we sorted through the pitching staff, trying to figure out which ten or eleven pitchers the Yankees will carry in the wildcard game. It was easier said than done.

Ten or eleven pitchers — my guess is ten, but you never know — leaves 14-15 position player spots to fill. Joe Girardi will have a decent-sized bench at his disposal, but ideally it won’t come into play too much. The starting lineup will decide the game. As we did with the pitchers, let’s go through the position player group and try to figure out who will be on the wildcard game roster next Tuesday.

The Locks

This is the easy part …

Catcher: Brian McCann, John Ryan Murphy
First Base: Greg Bird
Second Base: ???
Shortstop: Didi Gregorius
Third Base: Chase Headley
Outfield: Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran
Designated Hitter: Alex Rodriguez

That’s nine of the 14-15 position player spots right there and they’re all self-explanatory right? Right. That is eighth-ninths of the starting lineup and the backup catcher. All easy calls. Next.

Second Base

For most of the summer, Stephen Drew and Brendan Ryan platooned at second base. That is no longer the case. Drew has been dealing with some dizziness/concussion issues that may end his season, but even before that Dustin Ackley wrestled the starting job away from him. Ackley got some playing time, hit right away, and he’s continued to play against right-handers.

Meanwhile, Rob Refsnyder has started each of the Yankees’ last four games against left-handed starters, not Ryan. Chances are Refsnyder will start against lefties Wade Miley, Rich Hill, and Wei-Yin Chen the next three days too. Like Ackley, he got a few at-bats, got some hits, and has received more playing time. That Drew/Ryan platoon was together for 140 games or so. The last 16 have gone to Ackley/Refsnyder.

At this point there is no doubt Ackley will be on the wildcard roster. The rest of the guys is where it gets tricky. Refsnyder is starting against lefties, but would the Yankees actually start him in the wildcard game if they face, say, Dallas Keuchel or Scott Kazmir or Cole Hamels? I get the sense Girardi would stick with Ackley in that situation and just roll with his best player.

If Refsnyder’s not going to start the game, then what’s his role? Pinch-hitter against a lefty reliever. That’s all. I guess he could pinch-run too, but there figure to be other guys on the roster to do that. Refsnyder’s not going to come in for defense. Pinch-hitter against a lefty is a big deal though! It could be the difference in the late-innings of a close game. Given the extra bench spots, I think Refsnyder’s in.

With Ackley and Refsnyder on the roster, the Yankees will need to carry a shortstop-capable backup infielder. Neither of those guys can play short. Not even in an emergency. That leaves a spot for Drew or Ryan. In a vacuum, I’d take Drew over Ryan eight days a week and twice on Sundays. But Drew isn’t healthy and we shouldn’t count on him getting healthy before the wildcard game. He’s still dealing with this dizziness/concussion stuff and has been for almost two weeks now. That puts Ryan on the wildcard game roster along with Ackley and Refsnyder.

The Pinch-Runner

Rico Noel will be on the wildcard game roster. I’m sure of it. One of the benefits of shrinking the pitching staff in the postseason is creating an open roster spot for someone just like Noel. A burner who can come off the bench to pinch-run in the late innings of a close game. Look at Rico run:

The kid can fly and his speed can potentially have a huge impact in the wildcard game. The Yankees brought Noel up this month strictly to pinch-run and I fully expect him to be on the postseason roster. Remember, they carried Freddy Guzman on the postseason roster in 2009 for this exact reason. Noel’s on the wildcard roster. I have no doubt about it.

(Since he wasn’t called up until September 1st, Noel will technically have to be an injury replacement. The Yankees have two position player injury spots available thanks to Mark Teixeira and Mason Williams.)

The Backup Outfielder

Noel will be on the wildcard game roster but he’s not really a backup outfielder. He’s a pinch-runner and that’s all. (The scouting reports indicate Noel is a pretty good defender, but the Yankees haven’t used him defensively all that much.) The Yankees will still need to carry a legitimate backup outfielder if for no other reason than to replace Beltran for defense in the late innings. Chris Young, who is the only righty hitting outfielder on the roster, held that job all season and I expect him to be on the wildcard roster. I know he’s stumped lately, but there’s no reason to think the Yankees won’t carry Young in October. In fact, I’m not sure how you can look at the 39-man active roster and saying Young doesn’t belong on the wildcard game roster. He’s in.

The Final Roster Spot

We still have one last roster spot to fill. The nine locks above plus Ackley, Refsnyder, Ryan, Noel, and Young gets us to 14 position players. I suppose the Yankees could carry eleven pitchers, but I doubt it. It was hard enough coming up with ten pitchers worth a spot on the wildcard roster. One last position player makes sense.

There’s no point in carrying three catchers, so Austin Romine and Gary Sanchez are out. The remaining candidates are Jose Pirela and Slade Heathcott, assuming Drew is indeed done for the year. With Refsnyder on the roster, there’s no need for Pirela, another righty hitter. Yeah, Pirela can play the outfield if necessary, but he’s an emergency option out there only. Noel and Ackley are available as emergency outfielders. I also think Pirela would have played more this month if he was a serious wildcard game roster candidate.

That leaves it between Heathcott and a possibly but not likely healthy Drew. If Drew is not over high dizziness/concussion symptoms by next week, this questioned gets answered for us. In the unlikely event Drew is healthy though, would it make sense to carry another infielder or another outfielder? I think an extra outfielder makes more sense. Between Ackley, Refsnyder, and Ryan, you’ve got the second base starter and two backups. The only backup outfielder is Young considering Noel’s job is pinch-running.

Heathcott gives the Yankees another potential pinch-runner — he’s no Rico, but he’s faster than Young or Refsnyder — and another quality defender, as well as a left-handed bat on the bench. In fact, Drew and Slade are the only possible lefty bats off the bench, and one’s hurt. Besides, if Drew is healthy, it’s Ryan or Heathcott, not Drew or Heathcott. I’d take Heathcott over Ryan.

With Slade on the roster, the Yankees would have two backup infielders even without Drew (or Ryan), and Heathcott at least has a chance to contribute offensively and defensively. I mean, if Drew’s healthy and on the roster, what’s the point of Ryan? What does he offer in a winner-take-all game? I’d expect neither guy to actually play in the game, but, if pressed into action, it’s easy to see Slade having more potential impact than Ryan.

So after all of that, here’s the 25-man wildcard game roster we’ve kinda sorta pieced together today:

Catchers (2)	Infielders (7)	Outfielders (6)	RHP (5)	LHP (5)
McCann	Bird	Gardner	Masahiro Tanaka (SP)	Andrew Miller
Murphy	Ackley	Ellsbury	Dellin Betances	Justin Wilson
	Gregorius	Beltran	Adam Warren	Chasen Shreve
	Headley	Young	Andrew Bailey	Chris Capuano
	A-Rod (DH)	Heathcott	Nova/Severino/Pineda	CC Sabathia
	Refsnyder	Noel (PR)
	Drew/Ryan

Remember, the Yankees can change their 25-man roster prior to the ALDS should they advance, and they’ll have to change it too. They’d need to get more starting pitchers on the roster. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though. One thing at a time.

That appears to be the best 25-man roster the Yankees can carry in the wildcard game. Maybe not the most talented, but the most useful given the circumstances. We’re not planning for a best-of-five or best-of-seven series. It’s one game. One stupid little game where anything can happen. Hopefully Girardi won’t have to use anyone beyond the nine starting position players, Beltran’s defensive replacement, Tanaka, and the big three relievers. That’s the best case scenario. If the Yankees need to dip any deeper into their wildcard game roster than that, then, well, just hang on tight.