Yankees IF Competition (2B, 3B & Utility)

[Carpin]

Bellow is the list of players which are competing for an IF spor, I know Didi has secured the SS position but the second in that position might have a shot at the utility spot, very interesting battle right now:

 

 

Name Pos Age G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS

 

Espinosa, Danny NRI 3B 30 8 22 18 4 4 1 0 1 4 3 9 .222 .364 .444 .808

Andujar, Miguel NRI 3B 22 7 19 19 5 8 2 0 4 8 0 4 .421 .421 1.158 1.579

Wade, Tyler NRI SS 22 7 18 14 3 5 1 0 0 2 3 3 .357 .444 .429 .873

Torres, Gleyber NRI 2B 20 7 17 16 3 2 2 0 0 0 1 4 .125 .176 .250 .426

Drury, Brandon NRI 3B 24 6 16 14 2 4 1 1 1 1 1 3 .286 .375 .714 1.089

Peterson, Jace NRI 2B 27 8 14 9 2 1 0 0 0 0 5 3 .111 .429 .111 .540

Torreyes, Ronald NRI 3B 24 6 14 10 0 4 1 0 0 2 2 2 .400 .429 .500 .929

Gregorius, Didi NRI SS 27 5 13 13 1 4 0 0 0 1 0 2 .308 .308 .308 .615

Holder, Kyle NRI SS 23 7 13 12 1 4 2 0 0 0 1 1 .333 .385 .500 .885

Avelino, Abiatal NRI 3B 22 2 3 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .500 .667 .500 1.167

 

 

Let me find the fielding stats to have a better understanding of the whole picture.

[Carpin]

As of right now, based on numbers, the leaders for the open spots are s follow:

 

2B

Brandon Drury

Tyler Wade

 

3B

Miguel Andujar

Brandon Drury

 

Utility

Tyler Wade

Ronald Torreyes

 

I know it's too early in spring but the way I see it, taking everything into consideration:

 

2B Tyler Wade

3B Brandon Drury

Utility Ronald Torreyes

 

Even if Andujar is ready I believe he will be sent down to get that extra year of control, specially if Drury keeps playing the same way towards the end of the spring. torres just needs to take the rust off, let's remember this is a guy who has only a handful of games in AAA.

[jacksonianmarch]

Cashman maintains that service time will have nothing to do with his decisions. I think he’s full of s***. There’s no way you forgo a year of control for 2 weeks in the minors.

[Carpin]

Cashman maintains that service time will have nothing to do with his decisions. I think he’s full of s***. There’s no way you forgo a year of control for 2 weeks in the minors.

 

In the case of Andujar it will be closer to 40 days, you need to discount the days he spent in the ML last year

[jacksonianmarch]

40 days might be a bit much, to be totally honest. A couple weeks for a prospect to get a rolling start, 40 days takes us into early May. If Andujar is indeed the better player, then he should play out of the gate

[bkzwhitestrican]

Neil Walker being signed now almost guarantees Torres and Andujar start in AAA. Walker can play 1B so he can effectively replace Tyler Austin. My guess is Wade, Toe, Romine, Ells are the bench guys.

[OH FOY]

As a Sox Fan I hate this deal. It was very smart, and pretty cheap too. Switch hitter who has some Power, get the kids a little more seasoning. Hate it. Edited March 12, 2018 by OH FOY!

[a700hitter]

Walker is a subpar fielder.

[bkzwhitestrican]

His -2.1 UZR looks a lot better than whatever Castro had. Infield defense definitely won't be a strength for the Yankees, but Didi is an above average fielding SS and everyone else is average or slightly below average.

[Carpin]

Neil Walker being signed now almost guarantees Torres and Andujar start in AAA. Walker can play 1B so he can effectively replace Tyler Austin. My guess is Wade, Toe, Romine, Ells are the bench guys.

 

What about Lind? do they release him before the end of ST?

[bkzwhitestrican]

I think Lind will be gone. Of course they'll offer him a minor league contract but I don't think someone as established as him would be willing to settle for that. But I could be wrong about the whole thing.

[jacksonianmarch]

While I’d love to see the kids, you just can’t turn this kind of deal away. He’s a high OBP 2b who has consistently shown plus power for the position. The better part of his splits is as a LHH as well which works well with the Stadium. He’s a touch below average defensively, but is far better defensively than what we had last year.

 

I’m not sure if this “dooms” both of the kids to AAA for the season. Walker has some injury issues, so counting on him for a full year might be a bit much. Also, with Drury being a righty and capable of covering both positions and Walker being very deficient as a RHH, I think long into the year we could see either Andujar or Torres carve out time against left handed pitching with Drury shifting to 2b. Either way, this allows us to re-set the clocks with the kids and earn another year of service time without tanking the production for a month

[Carpin]

It looks like the odd man out is Espinoza

[Carpin]

@BryanHoch

 

Full deal for Neil Walker: $4M base salary, plus $125K for 425, 450, 475 and 500 plate appearances.

[jacksonianmarch]

That’s a steal

[Carpin]

That’s a steal

 

Yep

 

Even better than originally reported, minimum financial exposure.

 

I'm a little torn because I was ready for Andujar/Torres in the lineup, but it's not like we are losing them, that extra time in the minors will only be good for them

[jacksonianmarch]

Extra year of prime we just gained

[OH FOY]

He has 115 HRS as a LHB, in that park, he could put another 20 easily. Also, makes him Trade bait for more Prospects, these are deals all GM's should make. Sometimes your not only looking at the present, but things could change as season progresses to help team in long run.

[jacksonianmarch]

The big thing about Walker is it gives us someone who is as consistent as they come on a short term, minimal money deal at a key position of need. Gleyber is proving this spring that he isn't ready. Wade is proving he could be ready. Torreyes is holding his own. Andujar is hitting the s*** out of the ball. Drury is hitting the piss out of the ball. Now you add in Walker. I agree on the trade front. If Walker puts up his standard .260/.340/.440 line and Gleyber is just killing it in the minors, then deal Walker for useful parts and bring up Torres. He cements our ability to give the kids more time AND add a year of control onto their prime. He also will give us consistent offense. The lineup is bonkers. I love the move

[Carpin]

Looking better and better, it looks like the IF will be something like this:

 

2B Walker

3B Drury

UT Toe or Wade

 

I love Toe, but he's the one with the lowest ceiling and his floor is as low as the one for Wade, so ideally he might go back to AAA he still have options left

[jacksonianmarch]

I send Torreyes down since Wade is a speed demon. Also, Wade is the better fielder as well as a natural SS and I think Wade has a lot more offensive potential than Torreyes. I think Wade can be a .280/.350/.400 guy one day with 30 steals and play top notch D as a 2b. Torreyes just doesn't have that in him

[Carpin]

Torres optioned to the minors

[jacksonianmarch]

Its reasonable. Send him down, let him get comfortable. It wont be the last we see of him

[jacksonianmarch]

Andujar sent down. Wade may win the starting 2b job, although I doubt it

[Carpin]

Andujar sent down. Wade may win the starting 2b job, although I doubt it

 

Wade doing a terrific job, he's auditioning for the utility job

[jacksonianmarch]

Wade is definitely auditioning for a utlity job. I do wonder, though, if Wade might be showing enough to make Walker be more the utility guy. I think Walker ends up winning the job out of ST, but he and Wade might be on a time share to start

[Carpin]

Wade is definitely auditioning for a utlity job. I do wonder, though, if Wade might be showing enough to make Walker be more the utility guy. I think Walker ends up winning the job out of ST, but he and Wade might be on a time share to start

 

Either way they are punching Toe's ticket out of town

[jacksonianmarch]

Wade has earned a spot on the opening day roster per Aaron Boone

[bkzwhitestrican]

Wade and Toe both probably start on the 25 until Ellsbury gets off of the DL. Then who knows.

[Carpin]

Wade and Toe both probably start on the 25 until Ellsbury gets off of the DL. Then who knows.

 

IT will be a nice audition for Wade, any word on when Ellsbury is coming back?