Results tagged ‘ Carlos Beltran ’
Yankees Getting Closer To Signing New DH
Here are some news and notes updates on the Yankees:
- Buster Olney of ESPN reports the Yankees are within a week of signing a left-handed hitting veteran to be the team’s primary designated hitter in 2012. The choices have narrowed to Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui and Raul Ibanez. The Yankees are familiar with Matsui and Damon. Both of them were integral to the team’s 2009 championship season. Ibanez, 39, has apparently told the Yankees he would take less money in order to play for them in 2012. But there are also indications that the prices the players are seeking must come down before the Yankees are ready to make a deal. The Yankees’ one-year, $10 million contract offer to Hiroki Kuroda and the $4-plus million offered in a one-year deal to Freddy Garcia (which in retrospect was a mistake) have limited what the Yankees can spend on a DH to replace the bat of Jesus Montero, who was traded to the Seattle Mariners for right-hander Michael Pineda.
- Newsday reported that the Yankees signed a minor-league deal with veteran utility man Bill Hall, who played for the Houston Astros and the San Francisco Giants last season. Hall, 32, hit a combined .211 with two home runs and 14 RBIs in 62 games with both teams. Hall’s main calling card is his versatility. He can play second, shortstop and third base and all three outfield spots. With the Yankees’ signing of Hall they will not have the roster space to re-sign Eric Chavez, who was an infield backup with the Yankees last season. Chavez, 34, hit .263 with two home runs and 26 RBIs in 58 games with the Yankees last season.
- As expected, MLB.com ranked lefty starter Manny Banuelos and right-hander Dellin Betances as the top two prospects in the organization. Banuelos, 20, started 20 games at Double-A Trenton and seven games at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and was a combined 6-7 with a 3.75 ERA with a 125 strikeouts and 75 walks in 129 2/3 innings. The Yankees marvel at his fastball, curve and change-up arsenal but he needs another full season in the minors to harness his control. Betances, 23, made 21 starts at Trenton and four starts at Scranton and was a combined 4-9 with a 3.70 ERA and 142 K’s and 70 walks in 126 1/3 innings. Betances has much better velocity on his fastball than Banuelos and he has a good power curve. However, Betances’ change-up needs work and he also will have to throw more strikes in 2012. The Yankees’ No. 3 prospect is 19-year-old Gary Sanchez, who now replaces Montero as the team’s catcher of the future. Sanchez hit .256 with 16 doubles, 17 home runs and 52 RBIs in 82 games in the Sally League. Scouts project he will hit for better power and average and he already possesses top-flight defensive skills.
- Also of note in the rankings: Jose Campos, who was acquired in the trade that brought Pineda from Seattle in exchange for Montero and right-hander Hector Noesi, was ranked fifth behind outfielder Mason Williams. Campos, 19, led the Northwest League in strikeouts and ERA. He was 5-5 with a 2.32 ERA and 85 K’s in 81 1/3 innings. The right-hander will be making his first appearance in a full-season league in 2012 and he could progress quickly on the basis of his 95-mile-per-hour fastball and an excellent curve.
- A day after prosecutors brought extortion and stalking charges against a woman centered around an extramarital affair, the wife of Yankees general manager Brian Cashman filed for divorce. Mary Cashman filed the paperwork in a court in Stamford, CT, on Friday. Neither party would comment publicly. Last Thursday, Manhattan prosecutors charged 36-year-old Louise Neathway with harassing Cashman and threatening to harm his reputation if Cashman did not pay her $30,000. A source close to the family said the Cashmans have been living apart for the past year. This leads me to two observations: No. 1, it is gratifying to know that Cashman has been able to function well as a G.M. during all this personal upheaval. He has done a fine job of improving the Yankees, particularly the starting pitching. No. 2, if you took out the name Cashman and substituted the name Alex Rodriguez in the story than it would have been reported on the Yankees.com website. But because it was someone in the front office, it was not mentioned at all. That seems like an odd double standard. This is similar to Rangers manager Ron Washington failing a drug test and never being punished by the Rangers or Major League Baseball. Again, a double standard!
- This is the first offseason I can remember that no impact free agents signed with American League East teams. Yankee fans may have been stunned by the lack of Yankee offers to top-flight free agents like Albert Pujols, Cecil Fielder, Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, C.J. Wilson, Mark Buerhle or Japan’s Yu Darvish. But the other teams in the AL East whiffed at signing those players also. Boston was hamstrung from a payroll that is settling close to the mark in which they would have to pay a luxury tax to the league. The Jays lost in the posting process for Darvish. The Rays can’t attract top free agents because of their substandard facilities and a shoestring budget. The Orioles seem to be stuck in reverse as an organization and they are limited in what they can do. So you can make a case that the signing of Kuroda and the acquisition of Pineda was the two best moves involving AL East teams this winter and both of them were moves by the Yankees.
Cashman Playing Waiting Game In Buyers’ Market
MLB WINTER MEETINGS
DAY ONE
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is holed up in his suite at the Hilton Anatole like a trappist monk.
He is not meeting face-to-face with other GMs or sharing his thoughts with player agents. The reason is he arrived at these annual meetings from what he considers a position of great strength.
After all, his club won 97 games last season and came within two runs in Game 5 of the American League Division Series of going to the American League Championship Series for a third straight season. It also is a club that was one of the best, if the not best, offensive clubs in baseball and the entire group of starters are signed, sealed and ready to go.
Sure there are questions behind CC Sabathia in the pitching rotation. But they have five starters returning and Hector Noesi heads up a group of six young pitchers who are 24 years old or younger who could contribute to the Yankees’ rotation next season. With Rafael Soriano’s decision not to opt out of his contract the Yankees are assured of having the nucleus of what was baseball’s best bullpen back next season. Of course, a second lefty reliever to go along with Boone Logan would be nice.
The bench will need some work because Andruw Jones and Eric Chavez are free agents (though the Yankees would love to have both back). The backup catcher spot would seem to come down to a battle between Francisco Cervelli and rookie defensive whiz Austin Romine. Jesus Montero seems to be the favorite to become the team’s everyday designated hitter, replacing veteran Jorge Posada, who will be allowed to sign with another club if he does not retire. Eduardo Nunez seems to be a lock to return as the team’s primary infield backup.
So there are not a lot of needs Cashman has as the meetings kicked off today. He is likely looking at possibly acquiring another veteran pitcher to add to the starting staff. However, Cashman does not seem too eager to spend the $14 million a season it would take to sign 31-year-old lefty C.J. Wilson of the Rangers, who heads the list of potential free-agent starters.
The Yankees have also been very quiet about lesser free agents such as Mark Buerhle, Edwin Jackson, Roy Oswalt and Hiroki Kuroda. They even have not tipped their hand as of they intend to pay a potential posting fee of $75 million or so to gain the rights to sign 25-year-old Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish, even with his ridiculous career-low 1.44 ERA this season.
Because they do not need offense they are not a major player for top-line free agents such as Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, Carlos Beltran or Jose Reyes.
It is as if Cinderella tossed off the glass slipper after it fit and said no thanks to the prince (with apologies to Mr. Fielder of the Brewers for the pun). The Yankees have always seemed to be major players at the winter meetings but they are taking a back seat this time.
They are not alone. The Boston Red Sox will be perilously close to the $178 million payroll mark that would kick in the luxury tax after they spend the money they will need to bring back free-agent DH David Ortiz. After letting closer Jonathan Papelbon walk as a free agent and their desire to let go veterans like J.D. Drew they are staring at a more than a few major holes in their starting rotation, their bullpen, in right field and on their bench.
But they can’t spend the money to fill all those holes without incurring the luxury tax and they traded away most of their best minor-league prospects in the past few seasons to acquire Victor Martinez and Adrian Gonzalez.
The Bosox are also dealing with a new GM and manager who have their own particular likes and dislikes and ways of running things.
So it is not a great winter to be a free agent when some of the so-called “big market” teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Dodgers and White Sox can’t afford the lavish contracts those free agents are seeking.
That means it will be a buyers’ market this offseason and Cashman, well aware of that, is looking to delay any decisions he makes until the middle-tier free agents have to drop their demands enough that they become bargains.
When other GMs approach Cashman offering pitchers in trade such as Jair Jurrgens of the Braves, Matt Garza of the Cubs and John Danks of the White Sox, they are asking for in return prospects like Montero, Nunez and pitchers like Dellin Betances and Manny Banuelos. Cashman would prefer to sign a free-agent pitcher and lose a draft pick rather than have to trade his best prospects.
In the case of Danks, the veteran left-hander could become a free agent after this season. So why deal for Danks, give up Montero and Banuelos and then have Danks walk as a free agent after one year? That doesn’t seem to make much sense to Cashman and it would be a hard sell to the fans in the Bronx no matter how much Danks would help the 2012 rotation.
So Cashman remains hidden away in his suite quietly waiting and waiting and waiting for the right time to dip his toe in the market. If you are expecting the Yankees to be part of a blockbuster deal involving three teams and 10 players you just may as well get it out of your head right now. It is just not going to be one of those winters for the Yankees.
It will be much quieter. I sure hope Cashman has Angry Birds on his I-Phone to keep himself busy.
STAY TUNED
Yanks Need Fourth OF And Backup At First In 2012
With the disappointing loss to the Detroit Tigers in the American League Divisional Series a distant bad memory, the New York Yankees will look to reconstruct a championship caliber team for the 2012 season. To that end let’s look at what possible moves the Yankees might make to improve their roster. It might seem like a daunting task. But it sure could be worse. Think how tough a time the Boston Red Sox will have rebuilding without general manager Theo Epstein and manager Terry Francona.
PART FOUR – THE BENCH
PRIORITY NO. 1: Who will replace Eric Chavez and Andruw Jones?
The Yankees bench is the only place, other than the starting pitchers, where there will be a few changes. The Yankees will retain all their starters in 2012.
The bench will be a different story. starting at designated hitter.
Jesus Montero figures to be the current odds-on favorite to win that job coming off his very nice debut during the Yankees’ stretch run to the division title. Though he is only 21, Montero is showing skills with the bat that are far beyond his years.
Normally the Yankees would prefer to have a left-handed DH to take advantage of right-handed pitching and the short porch in right. But Montero has never been platooned in the minors and his power stroke is to right-center. If Montero does well in spring training it would be hard to keep him off the roster and even harder to not start him at DH.
Of course, there are those in the Yankee organization who believe Montero should develop as a catcher. But Montero’s defense behind the plate is still not as polished as it could be and the Yankees face a lot of teams like the Rays and Angels who will steal at the drop of a hat
But if Russell Martin is the starting catcher placing Montero as his backup would mean he would only start once a week and he could not DH, less the Yankees lose the DH if Martin is injutred. That is why it is more likely the Yankees will keep either Francisco Cervelli or rookie Austin Romine as the backup catcher to Martin.
Though Cervelli still needs to work on his throwing, he is still considered a very good defensive catcher who calls a good game and has the trust of the pitching staff. Likewise, both manager Joe Girardi and bench coach Tony Pena, who know a thing or two about catching believe that Romine, at age 22, is already a major-league catcher defensively.
The battle in the spring may come down to two factors:
(1) Cervelli, 25, will have to prove to the Yankees he is over the concussion that short-circuited his season in September and that he can stay healthy. Cervelli has sustained a broken wrist, various concussions and last season broke a bone in his right foot fouling off a pitch in spring training.
(2) Romine will have to prove he can improve as a hitter at the major-league level. Romine will never be the power threat Montero will become. But the Yankees would like him to at least hold his own much like Cervelli has since he has become the backup catcher.
Keeping either Cervelli or Romine will allow the Yankees to keep Montero as a DH and emergency catcher much like they had last season with Jorge Posada, though Posada was only used once in that capacity. Montero, however, could get some starts behind the plate against teams that do not steal bases. He surely will see some action behind the plate.
The only other holdover from the bench last season will be Eduardo Nunez, 24. Nunez received 309 at-bats last season as the primary infield backup in 2011. He was impressive, especially when he started at shortstop in place of an injured Derek Jeter and third base for an injured Alex Rodriguez.
Nunez hit .265 with five home runs and 30 RBIs. Nunez has the ability to drive the ball into the gaps and he also showed the ability to fly on the bases. In his 83 starts, he stole 22 bases. After that kind of rookie season, it is easy to see why general manager Brian Cashman bristled when the Seattle Mariners sought to add Nunez to a deal to bring Cliff Lee to the Yankees in 2010 that Cashman said no.
However, Nunez comes into camp with a lot of work to do on his defense. Nunez led the Yankees in errors with 20.
Nunez is tall and lean and his footwork on ground balls is atrocious. That leads to a lot of fielding errors. In addition, Nunez tends to throw wildly to first when pressed by fast runners or when he has to range deep for balls. That will take a lot of work this offseason and this spring to correct. The Yankees realize he will never be Ozzie Smith. They just would like him to cut his error rate to a respectable level.
Otherwise, 26-year-old Ramiro Pena will have a shot to reclaim his old job back. Though Pena is a lot steadier in the field, he hit only .100 in 40 at-bats last season and he does not have the line-drive bat or speed that Nunez presents.
Besides Posada, to whom the Yankees will decline to offer a contract, the Yankees also will not bring back reserve outfielder Andruw Jones or reserve infielder Eric Chavez.
Jones was largely a disappointment until midseason, when he got hot and hit .291 with nine home runs and 21 RBIs. Jones, 34, finished the season with a .247 average, 13 home runs and 33 RBIs as the right-handed=hitting DH and backup outfielder.
Chavez, 34, probably would be welcomed back by the Yankees if he wanted to play for the team. But Chavez is looking to possibly signing as a free agent to resume his career as a starting third baseman.
Chavez signed with the Yankees as a backup because of a series of neck and back injuries had him shelved for the better portions of the previous four seasons. Chavez signed with the Yankees in hopes of being able to re-establish himself as a starter who can still help a club.
He failed to stay healthy with the Yankees, though, when he broke a bone in his right foot running the bases in Detroit in early May and he did not return until July. In 160 at-bats, Chavez hit .263 with two home runs and 26 RBIs.
The Yankees would love to have his left-hand bat back as a backup to Rodriguez, who has been slowed by nagging injuries himself for the past four seasons and who is need of more rest these days at age 36. Chavez also spellled Mark Teixeira at first base and provided a veteran left-handed bat off the bench.
So now the Yankees will be looking to add a right-handed hitting outfielder and a lefty hitter who can play some first base and maybe some outfield and third.
The reason they need a right-handed hitting outfielder is because Brett Gardner and Curtis Granderson are left-handed hitters and Nick Swisher is a switch-hitter who will hit primarily as lefty with the predominantly right-handed starters in baseball. It would be nice to have a right-handed hitter to spell either Gardner, Granderson and Swisher.
In addition, Gardner hit a paltry .233 against left-handers last season. It would be nice to have a free-agent outfielder like Reed Johnson, who as a right-handed hitter who batted .309 overall and .305 against left-handers in 2011. Johnson is hustling overachiever who also plays solid defense in all three outfield spots. The only thing he can’t do like Gardner is run. He has only 39 career steals.
That is the kind of cheap role player the Yankees will be looking for. The Yankees do have a lot of young outfielders in the minors such as Chris Dickerson, Greg Golson, Justin Maxwell, Colin Curtis and Melky Mesa. But Dickerson and Curtis hit left-handed and Golson and Mawelll have been disappointments as right-handed hitters. Mesa, 24, may need a year of seasoning before he is ready.
The Yankees also will be in the market for a left-handed hitting infielder who can play first, some third and perhaps the outfield. In other words, they are looking for an “Eric Hinske type.” Hinske, 34, has made a career as backup at third, first and the outfield and he has played on a lot of teams that have made the playoffs.
Last season, he hit .238 with 10 home runs and 28 RBIs in 236 at-bats with the Braves. Hinske, however, is not a free agent.
The Yankees might take a look at Russell Branyan, 36, who has hit two of the longest home runs in Yankee Stadium history. Branyan hit .197 with five home runs and 14 RBIs in 127 at-bats for the Diamondbacks and the Angels last season. Branyan can play first, third and the outfield, however, he would be a real liability in the outfield.
But Branyan can still hit for power. He has 194 career home runs and most of them have been as a bench player.
He also could help the Yankees as a lefty DH against some tough right-handers.
The Yankees do have Brandon Laird to play both first and third base. However, Laird is a right-handed hitter and the Yankees are already loaded with right-handed hitters on the bench. Laird seems more likely to be ticketed back to Triple-A or a trade to another organization with A-Rod blocking his path to the majors.
But, in any case, the Yankees are not going out of their way to sign expensive free agent hitters this winter. If Yankee fans envision a lineup of Albert Pujols batting fourth, Prince Fielder batting fifth, Rodriguez hitting sixth, Carlos Beltran hitting seventh and Nick Swisher batting eighth and Teixeira batting ninth, you can keep on dreaming. It is not going to happen.
This team is going to allocate its free-agent dollars to acquiring starting pitching, period.
The rest of the moves Cashman will make are small ones like adding two bench players like he did in signing Jones and Chavez last winter.
This concludes the series on potential off-season moves. I will have an update to the starting pitching search in my next post. Stay tuned!
Yankees Keeping Status Quo With 2012 Lineup
With the disappointing loss to the Detroit Tigers in the American League Divisional Series a distant bad memory, the New York Yankees will look to reconstruct a championship caliber team for the 2012 season. To that end let’s look at what possible moves the Yankees might make to improve their roster. It might seem like a daunting task. But it sure could be worse. Think how tough a time the Boston Red Sox will have rebuilding without general manager Theo Epstein and manager Terry Francona.
NEXT: PART 3 – STARTING LINEUP
PRIORITY NO. 2 - Will the Yankees keep the same starters in 2012?
The simple answer to the question is yes.
What is odd about the answer is that it totally ignores the fact that the Yankees suffered a lot of defeats, including their devastating loss in Game 5 to the Tigers, due to an inconsistent offense rather than the starting pitching.
If you are wondering why the offense was inconsistent the answer is easily discernible when you look at what the Yankee starters’ established norms in their previous three seasons and what they produced in 2011. Most of their overall numbers were down and that is the reason the Yankees did not hit well with runners in scoring position. It actually lost them games all season. Ultimately, it was what eliminated them from the playoffs.
Here are the 2011 starters’ established norms and the number of seasons they have put up those numbers. For comparison, look at their 2011 numbers:
DEREK JETER – 102 Runs, 13 Home Runs, 67 RBIs, .301 Average (3-year average) 2011 Stats: 84 Runs, 6 Home Runs, 61 RBIs, .297 Average
CURTIS GRANDERSON – 108 Runs, 25 Home Runs, 70 RBIs, .277 Average (3-year average) 2011 Stats: 136 Runs, 41 Home Runs, 119 RBIs, .262 Average
MARK TEIXEIRA – 106 Runs, 35 Home Runs, 117 RBIs, .285 Average (3-year average) 2011 Stats: 90 Runs, 39 Home Runs, 111 RBIs, .248 Average
ALEX RODRIGUEZ – He has not played more than 138 games since 2007. We will discuss him later in this post.
ROBINSON CANO – 103 Runs, 27 Home Runs, 97 RBIs, .320 Average (2-year average) 2011 Stats: 104 Runs, 28 Home Runs, 118 RBIs, .302 Average
NICK SWISHER – 88 Runs, 29 Home Runs, 86 RBIs, .270 Average (2-year average) 2011 Stats: 81 Runs, 23 Home Runs, 85 RBIs, .260 Average
DH – This spot was rotated between mostly Andruw Jones and Jorge Posada. We will discuss this later in this post.
RUSSELL MARTIN – 87 Runs, 16 Home Runs, 78 RBIs, .286 Average (2-year average) 2011 Stats: 57 Runs, 18 Home Runs, 65 RBIs, .237 Average
BRETT GARDNER – 97 Runs, 5 Home Runs, 47 RBIs, .277 Average (1-year total) 2011 Stats: 87 Runs, 7 Home Runs, 36 RBIs, .259 Average
If you look at the established norms and compare them to the 2011 statistics and assign a minus for each number lower and a plus for each number higher you get a good idea about how effective the Yankees’ offense was in 2011. There were 19 minuses on this list as opposed to nine pluses. Six of the nine pluses came from Granderson and Cano and you can make the case they were the only two Yankees starters who had anything special to say about their seasons.
Can a team win a World Series with an offense where so many elements had down seasons? I don’t think so.
Yet general manager Brian Cashman is telling reporters that he is not looking to add any “big-ticket” free agents like Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder. The reason is two-fold.
One, is the Yankees already are committed to a lot of dollars to Rodriguez, Jeter, Teixeira and Cano (through a contract option) and they already absorbed the contracts of Swisher and Granderson. They already were pretty much committed to re-signing Martin with a nice bump in his $4 million salary from 2011.
So where would Pujols or Fielder play? Not first base. Not likely as expensive DHs. Maybe left field but I don’t think Pujols or Fielder would sign to embarrass themselves out there.
The second reason is that the Yankees are still over the established salary limit in which they have to pay the luxury tax and Cashman has been told to reduce it or keep it level without hurting the club he puts on the field. Cashman has actually done this over the past few years. Adding Pujols or Fielder would put a huge hole in that plan and the Yankees are just not going to do it.
So the Yankees, instead, will look to 2012 to get improved production from their starting lineup.
Jeter’s second-half re-emergence was encouraging. There is no reason Granderson, barring injury, can’t continue his new-found ability to hit lefties and hit for greater power. Cano is simply the best hitter the Yankees have and looks as if he will bat in the No. 3 spot from the beginning of 2012, which is where he belonged for a long time.
Swisher looked like he never played baseball before the way he hit in April and May, but his 2011 numbers were very close his norms. That is why the Yankees picked up his option and Yankee fans can forget the Yankees looking to sign Carlos Beltran to replace him. That is not likely.
Martin’s numbers were off but he was hurt a great deal of the season and he ended up with more than 100 at-bats less than what he did when he played in 155 games and 151 games with the Dodgers in 2007 and 2008. The Yankees have to like the power and production he provides in addition to his defensive skills. So there is no buyer’s remorse with Martin.
The places where the Yankees have to look carefully at are Teixeira, Rodriguez, the DH spot and Gardner.
Teixeira and his .248 batting average have to be a major concern. In addition, he hit only .223 against right-handers. That is troublesome because of the fact there so few left-handed starters throughout baseball.
Batting coach Kevin Long will be tasked with trying to make some “Granderson-style” adjustments to Tex’s lefty stroke to improve his production in 2012. If it succeeds, the Yankees will have a productive bat in the No. 5 spot capable of 30 or more homers and 100 or more RBIs. But they also would be happier if Teixeira raised his batting average to his career average of .281 or better.
Considering that Teixeira is signed through the 2016 season the Yankees need to make sure he is back to the All-Star level player he had established himself to be.
That also will go for Rodriguez.
The Yankees have not received a full season of play from A-Rod since 2007. A series of injuries have limited Rodriguez the past four years with 2011 being his worst so far. He played in only 99 games dues to a series of injuries including a hip injury, a knee injury that required surgery and a sprained thumb.
He hit only 16 home runs, drove in 62 runs and batted .276. By the time the playoffs began, the Yankees had no idea what Rodrigue would do because he missed most of September with recurring thumb issues. He ended up hitting a weak .111 and struck out six times in 18 at-bats.
Getting the 36-year-old third baseman healthy and productive again are pretty much essential for the Yankees in 2012. But this series of injuries in a player this age is of some concern. Could this be just a coincidence? Could this be a natural aging process? Or could this be a result of A-Rod’s taking of performance-enhancing drugs?
The Yankees, who are committed to A-Rod through the 2017 season, better hope it is not the latter.
The fact is that the Yankees are going to have to rest Rodriguez and play him at DH in some games in order to keep him ready for the playoffs. That can work for the Yankees because Rodriguez can average 30-35 home runs, drive in more than 100 runs and hit around .275 playing in 140 games. But they can pretty much kiss the playoffs goodbye if the injuries continue to keep Rodriguez on the shelf for long periods of time.
Rodriguez will be watched closely and carefully in spring training.
The Yankees also need to make an effort to find out just what they have in Gardner.
There is no doubt he is fast and he did contribute 49 stolen bases last season. He also probably was robbed of a Gold Glove by Alex Gordon of the Royals. He played a quality left-field.
But there are still holes in his game. Gardner can be productive hitting .277 as he did in 2010. But he hit a disappointing .259 in 2011. There were also many times he would fall into prolonged slumps even though he did cut his strikeout total. The real issue was left-handers ate him for lunch. He hit only .233 against them last season.
The Yankees need to look at finding a right-handed hitter who do the things Gardner can do. A good example is Reed Johnson, who is free agent that played for the Cubs last season.
Johnson can play all spots in the outfield and hit .309 with five home runs with 28 RBIs and hit .309 in 248 at-bats. He hit lefties at a .305 clip and he can play a very good outfield. His only drawback is that he is not an accomplished base-stealer. He has only 39 in his career.
But would manager Joe Girardi rather have a Johnson likely to get on base against a lefty or a Gardner who likely won’t even reach to steal? Look for the Yankees to make a move to get a righty-swinging outfielder this winter to platoon with Gardner.
The final spot is the DH. With Jones and Posada gone as free agents and likely not to be re-signed, the Yankees look to be in the market for a new DH. However, the caveat is that they will likely use the spot at times to rest older regulars like Rodriguez, Jeter, Teixeira, Swisher and Granderson.
But do not be surprised if the Yankees end up using Jesus Monetro as their primary DH in 2011.
The reason is that Montero truly impressed the Yankees with his 61 at-bat audition in September. He hit .328 with 4 home runs and 12 RBIs and made the postseason roster at age 21.
Montero is a catcher but the Yankees are not sure about his defensive work behind the plate.
With Martin scheduled to start and Francisco Cervelli to back Martin up the Yankees could keep Montero on the roster as a DH and an emergency catcher and allow defensive wizard Austin Romine catch a full season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Of course, using such a young player as a DH could be a detriment if they do not plan to develop him as a catcher. But Montero promises to be such a great hitter the Yankees might just want to see what he can do next season and worry about where to play him later.
But the bottom line is the Yankees will not be looking for any help with the starting lineup. But they will have a lot of work do to making the starters they do have more productive in 2012.
The Yankees must have a productive lineup in order to have any chance of winning their 28th championship in 2012.
NEXT: PART FOUR – THE BENCH
PRIORITY NO. 1: Who will replace Eric Chavez and Andruw Jones?
Yankees Cast Spell on Santana
“Got your spell on me baby“
The Ultimate Gift
Yankees 9, Mets 8
that before, and I’ve played for a long time,” he said . “That’s why you play for nine innings — that’s why you play hard. The lesson we take from here is to play all 27 and hustle all the time.”
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