The thing about "on paper" is that injuries are not usually part of the equation.
The Yanks are still loaded with injury prone players.
We have our share, but the Yanks always have double their share.
How is it so "clear?" Can you see the slowed bat speed?
How did he hit so well at the end of the season, the playoffs and the season as a whole, with such a reduced bat speed?
Are you assuming his bat speed with keep slowing down?
Here's what the best 3 teams in MLB had for their 3-5 slot hitters' OPS:
SFG
3. 817
4. 813
5. 879
TBR
3. 645
4. 833
5. 722
LAD
3. 905
4. 765
5. 746
JD .867 (.883 3rd and .945 5th. He was .352 4th in just 35 PAs)
.815 from June 2nd.
.815 since July 6th.
.838 from Aug 3rd.
.899 from Aug 28th.
(not counting the 1.135 playoff OPS in 32 ABs)
YES!
My bad. So it's about 800 good PAs lost and 650 bad PAs lost, and maybe about 400 iffy players still on the roster but may get more or less PAs in 2022- Arroyo, Duran & Arauz.
I didn't either. I was more surprised about the elusive 2 year deal than the $4M, and the fact that we added nobody much better.
He'd have been fine as the 7th or 8th guy, but he might be more like 4th or 5th, to start.