Yankees have 3 huge issues to address in spring training
The start of spring training is less than a month away, and it’s going to a newsworthy one for the Yankees. There’s going to be a battle for the starting shortstop job, and it’ll be an intriguing one with 2022 regular Isiah Kiner-Falefa being challenged by two of the organization’s best prospects, Oswald Peraza, perhaps the favorite to win the job, and Anthony Volpe.
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The Yankees also need to figure out who will start in left field. It could be often-injured and frequent-struggler Aaron Hicks, who still has three years and $30.5 million on his seven-year, $70-million contract. It could be Oswaldo Cabrera, a natural infielder who came up from Triple-A late last season and looked terrific playing a good bit of right and left field while also making starts at second, short and third.
It could be long-shot contender Estevan Florial, a five-tool talent and long-time prospect who’s never had a real chance. He’s out of options this year, so the Yankees need to make a decision on his future this spring. It also could be someone the Yankees trade for this spring. Bryan Reynolds would be the Yankees’ top choice, but his price has been too high for everyone with the Pirates asking for a very, very big return.
The Yankees have other important decisions to make. Will they keep Josh Donaldson as the starter at third base, demote him to a part-time player or dump him via DFA or trade in which they eat a lot of money? Donaldson leaving or having a reduced role would open up third base for DJ LeMahieu, who for the time being is set up to play all over the infield again.
NJ Advance Media baseball writers Randy Miller and Bob Klapisch break down the coming battles in our latest beat writer roundtable:
Miller: “Before we start, let’s pay homage to Brendan Kuty, who left NJ Advance Media this month for a new challenge covering the Yankees elsewhere. He and I shared the Yankees beat since 2016. When we weren’t at the ballpark together, we spent many hours on the phone at all hours of the night brainstorming ideas for posts and sharing what we’d learned from sources. I already miss working with Brendan.”
Klapisch: “Great guy. It won’t be the same without him, but he’ll still be covering the Yankees for The Athletic and we’ll still be sitting near him in the press box. It’s nice to see good things happen to good people like Brendan, so we wish him the best.”
Miller: “Alright, let’s start out at shortstop. I think the job is Peraza’s to lose even though he has just 18 games of big-league experience. Scouts say he looked ready last year in Triple-A, and he looked ready to me after his call-up, both in the field and at the plate. Aaron Boone says Volpe could ‘knock the door down’ this spring and win the job, but I don’t see it happening. He’s played just 22 games in Triple-A, none in the big leagues. He needs more at-bats in Scranton. Also, the Yankees might want Volpe to start playing some second base this year if Peraza wins the starting shortstop job. They both can’t play shortstop. Scouts I talk to say Peraza is the better defender. They say Peraza has more range and a stronger arm. As for Kiner-Falefa, I think he’s the insurance policy in case Peraza isn’t ready. I think he got a bad rap late last season. He made a lot of really good plays at short and handled the bat pretty well, albeit with no power. He also was their best base-stealer. But too many errors on routine plays eventually caught up with him. The fans turned on IKF first, then he ended up being benched for playoff games.”
Klapisch: “I agree with that blueprint, but it’s very fluid. I don’t think that the Yankees want to give up entirely on IKF. There’s something there. He’s a good athlete. He is capable of making great plays. Every once in a while he’ll take your breath away with his athleticism. But there were too many instances where the routine play was fumbled. It’s certainly not because of a lack of talent. The problem is IKF is prone to a case of nerves and self-doubt. He thinks a little too much for somebody who plays in New York. He listens to the crowd, unfortunately and is sensitive to the way he’s received by the fan base. That works against an athlete in New York. You have to block all that out. It takes a unique individual to be able to do that, and I’m not sure IKF has that makeup. Put him in another market and he’d be a terrific everyday shortstop. My sense is the Yankees would like to give him another shot to succeed. But in terms of a final decision, they haven’t reach that point. It’s still fluid.”
Miller: “I agree that it’s fluid. That said, IKF’s days are numbered with the Yankees. Eventually, the shortstop position is going to go to Peraza or Volpe. It would be interesting to see if the if the Yankees cave to the Pirates’ trade demands and include Peraza in an offer for Reynolds. They’re not trading Volpe. He’s untouchable. The Yankees don’t want to trade Peraza, but I’m not sure he’s untouchable. I think it’s unlikely but not impossible that Peraza goes to the Pirates in a deal for Reynolds with IKF starting the season as the Yankees shortstop. What I don’t see happening is IKF being the second extra infielder behind DJ LeMahieu with Anthony Rizzo at first, Gleyber Torres at second, Peraza at short and Josh Donaldson at third. IKF will make $6 million a year. I think the Yankees would rather have Cabrera on their bench in a super-utility role, but he’ll be competing with Hicks this spring for a starting job. Left field is a whole other big spring dilemma for the Yankees.”
Klapisch: “I can’t count the number of times I’ve talked to Brian Cashman about this very question. At times it’s been a formal interview. Other times we’ve just been speaking casually and informally. No matter the setting, Brian’s response has been the same about Hicks. He and the Yankees hierarchy really believe there’s more there. They don’t believe that he’s a sunk cost yet. There’s a reason why they signed Hicks to that long-term deal - his innate talent and athleticism. Cashman has been the first to say Hicks has been a disappointment but I don’t think the Yankees are ready to write off Hicks. Not unless Cashman is bluffing everybody while frantically moving behind the scenes to make a deal for Reynolds. As of today, the Yankees are nowhere close with the Pirates. In the meantime they’re intending to give Hicks a shot. Whether he’s successful or not, I don’t know.”
Miller: “Yankees fans won’t like hearing that. They can’t get that Yankees-Rays’ game last September out of their mind. Hicks screwed up two fly balls to left in a row, then was pulled from the game the next inning. I don’t think he’s been the same mentally since.”
Klapisch: “Being booed off the field in New York is like the kiss of death. Once you’ve incurred the wrath of an entire stadium and your manager has to come rescue you, it’s hard to come back from that. That’ll shatter a player’s confidence. You never forget that moment when the manager has to remove you for your own psychological well being, perhaps even your safety. How often have we ever seen that? Almost never.”
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Miller: “I think Florial makes the team if he has a good spring because he’s out of options. And if Florial is on the team, I can see him splitting time in left early on with Hicks and then maybe playing his way to getting starter at-bats. This guy was the Yankees’ No. 1 prospect a few years ago. He’s really talented. Great outfielder. He has power. He can run. His development was stunted for a few years due to injuries, but he was healthy last year and had a good season in Triple-A. I’d like to see him to get real shot. He’s got great makeup, too. My gut feeling is Reynolds stays in Pittsburgh and the Yankees go into the season with in-house options in left field. I like Cabrera a lot. If Hicks stays healthy this spring, and that’s always a big if with him, I think he’ll start the season sharing left field with Cabrera or Florial. I wouldn’t be surprised if Cabrera starts out in Triple-A, but he’ll be with the Yankees at some point this year and probably make an impact at a bunch of positions.”
Klapisch: “There are also big questions at third base that we have to put our eyes on in spring training, and that’s DJ LeMahieu’s status. How healthy is he? DJ’s toe affected him the entire second half last season and it kept him off the playoff roster. Can the Yankees trust him to stay in the lineup for the entire season? LeMahieu makes everybody else in the lineup that much better, but we haven’t seen that player for the better part of two years. His limitations have had a corrosive effect through the rest of the lineup. Can DJ be The Machine again?
Miller: “Aaron Boone has been saying LeMahieu’s toe finally is feeling good after a lot of rest this winter, but who knows if it holds up? It’s one thing to hold up hitting in a cage in January and another to hold up for 600 plate appearances.”
Klapisch: “If LeMahieu’s really OK, if the Yankees were able to solve this problem without surgery, it would be an answered prayer. But we don’t know. Talk to me in two months after we watch him in spring training.”
Miller: “LeMahieu is going to be 35 this summer, and I would say he’s an old 34-going-on-35 because he plays the game so hard. He’s been barreled over a lot a second base when he played there. He slides hard. He’s played baseball like a football player. Third base now is his best position wise. He won Gold Gloves playing second when he was younger, but he doesn’t have to move around as much at third and he’s solid there. I’d like to see LeMahieu play third regularly, but what do you do with Donaldson? Does Donaldson go into spring training as an expensive insurance policy for LeMahieu? Despite what Cashman and Boone say, I think the Yankees would like to cut ties with Donaldson before the season starts. He’s had some great offensive seasons and won an MVP before joining the Yankees last year, but he hasn’t hit much for a few years. His fielding was terrific last year, but he lived up to his bad-guy rep. Plus, he’s 37 years old and he’ll make $29 million this year. Boone and Cashman keep saying they expect a bounce-back season, but I think they’re desperately trying to create a trade market for a guy whose value is way down. If LeMahieu stays healthy this spring, I’d DFA Donaldson before Opening Day and then hope you can trade him while eating most of the money. If you can’t trade him, release him. If Donaldson is released, Cabrera could be the extra infielder if IKF starts at shortstop, or IKF could be a bench player if Peraza wins the shortstop job.”
Klapisch: “I agree LeMahieu is better off at third. You’d take away the wear and tear of turning double plays at second base and you don’t ask him to have any range up the middle. Stay at third base and field the position with relatively good hands, which he has. There’s a good chance of success across the board defensively and offensively if Yankees doctors made the right call forgoing surgery on his toe. It’s a big gamble.”
