AB4AR 2011 Season Review: The Bench

(Best bench player ever?  Probably.  Courtesy of The Daily News)

As I stated in the bench season preview post, the 2011 version was expected to be better than those of '09 and 2010.  The Yankees added some experience in Andruw Jones and Eric Chavez and seemed committed to giving Eduardo Nunez a real shot to prove his worth as a potential everyday player.  They were covered at all spots on the roster and had the flexibility to platoon against left-handed pitching without sacrificing productivity.  For guys who are only expected to fill in as needed, the bench in 2011 lived up to that job and then some.

Nunez was expected to back up the left side of the infield this year, and thanks to injuries he actually ended up playing more than the Yankees originally intended.  As far as auditions for a future role go, Nunez achieved mixed results in 2011.  In 338 PA he showed a little oomph with the stick, hitting .265/.313/.385 with 25 XBH, good for a .313 wOBA.  Nunez also stole 22 bases, which helped make the Yankee offense a bit more dynamic when he was at the bottom of the lineup.  He certainly didn't make anybody forget about Jeter or A-Rod, but Nunez wasn't a complete black hole at the plate.  His problems are all field-related.  I can't think of any other way to say it than to just say that Nunez was a disaster defensively.  He committed 20 errors on the year, 12 fielding and 8 throwing, and by the end of the year he had Yankee fans cringing and covering their eyes every time the ball was hit his way.  The horrific fielding ended up bumping Nunez down to a -0.6 WAR, and probably locked him into a career backup role, at least with the Yankees.

Any time you can add 2 former All Stars and Gold Glove winners as backups, that's a good thing.  And that's just what the Yanks did with Andruw Jones and Eric Chavez this year.  Jones was brought in to replace Marcus Thames as the "vs. lefties" 4th OF and he did that job even better than Thames did in 2010.  For the year, Jones hit .247/.356/.495 in 222 total PA and .286/.384/.540 in 126 AB vs. LHP, good for a .371 wOBA overall.  And as an added bonus he played above average defense, something Thames can only dream of, and racked up 1.4 WAR in his limited playing time.  Chavez managed to give the Yanks 175 PA thanks to injuries, and while his .256/.320/.356 line wasn't all that productive, he played solid defense at the hot corner and helped keep things moving along while A-Rod missed his time at 3rd.  It remains to be seen if either of these guys will be back for 2012, but there's no denying that both were more valuable to the lineup this year than Ramiro Pena and Thames were last year.


Behind the plate, it was another year of the Francisco Cervelli Experience and once again, Frankie didn't disappoint.  From being a black hole in the lineup one minute to cracking multiple HRs in a week the next and pissing off the entire Fraud Sawx roster, it's never a dull moment with Cervelli.  His reputation as a solid defensive catcher took a bit of a hit this year, but his pitchers and teammates love him and his final batting line (.266/.324/.395, .322 wOBA in 137 PA) is acceptable for a backup catcher.  Cervelli will have to be closely monitored this offseason and early next season, though, after he suffered another concussion at the end of the year.  With Jesus Montero's future as a viable option still undetermined, the Yankees are going to want to have the security of knowing they have Cervelli, but it's in his best interests to make sure he's fully recovered.

And that brings us to The Jesus.  It seems like we've been waiting forever to see him in the show, and this year he finally made his debut.  It was in the middle of the summer like I predicted, but Montero still made a spark upon his arrival in September.  Montero only got 69 PA after being called up, far too few IMO, but showed exactly why he's one of the most highly-regarded prospects in the game with his bat.  Montero hit .328/.406/.590 with 8 XBH and 12 RBI, good for a .421 wOBA and 165 wRC+.  He showed patience, pitch selection, opposite field power, and ability to hit to all fields well beyond what a player his age should be able to do and has positioned himself as the clubhouse favorite to replace Jorge as the full-time DH in 2012.  I still feel that the Yankees need to give him a real shot to be a catcher, but that's a plan they'll have to iron out before next year.  The important thing is that The Jesus has arrived, his power is almighty, and he will bestow all his gifts upon us.

So there you go.  That was the bench in 2011.  They did their job just like everybody else and were a big factor in helping the Yankees achieve what they did this season.  Not all of the faces will be back next year, but with Nunez, Montero, and likely Cervelli still there, the Yankees won't have to do quite the "start from scratch" makeover that they've done the last couple seasons.