Infield Woes On Full Display Yesterday

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

Question.  What do you get when you combine a 40-year-old shortstop with already severely limited range coming back from a series of various leg injuries, a 36-year-old second baseman who's played in only 29.6% of all regular season games since 2010, a 26-year-old MiL lifer playing third base, and a backup catcher playing first base for the first time since high school?  Why it's yesterday's starting infield, course!

Whether you watched it live or read about it later, you probably already know that yesterday afternoon's game was a disaster.  Ivan Nova and his poor command are mostly to blame for that, but the infield deserves its fair share too.  The argument could be easily made that nobody on that infield deserved to be a Major League starter as his position and yet there the 4 of them were.  On this day, this was the best a team with a near $204 million Opening Day payroll could muster.

AB4AR 2014 Season Preview: The Infield

(Watch the wrist, guy.  Kinda got a lot riding on it this year.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

Early in Spring Training, we heard that Larry Rothschild was stressing the importance of pitching down in the strike zone to his pitching staff this year.  A few years ago that would have been an ideal strategy for the Yankees to maximize their defensive value.  They had a Gold Glove first baseman, a pretty good second baseman, a decent-to-slightly above average third baseman, and a shortstop who, for all his range limitations at a position most requiring good range, was good at making plays on the balls he could get to.

It's no longer that infield heyday, and the Yankees enter the 2014 season much less secure in their infield makeup than they were a few years ago.  Half of those former players will not be a part of this year's team.  The half that remains is not nearly what it was as recently as 2012.  For the first time in a long time, the Yanks enter a season not knowing what to expect from their starting infield defensively or offensively.  There are more questions than answers right now, and it could be a few months before the answers to those questions materialize.  To kick off the final week of the 2014 AB4AR Season Preview Series, let's look at the 2014 starting infield.

2014 Season Preview: What We Know And What We Don't Know (The Infield)

(That's almost 80 years of middle infielder right there.  Courtesy of the AP)

While March 17th holds a special place in most of our hearts as a day of calling out of work and engaging in drunken merriment, the feelings and associations in most MLB camps today are not as jovial.  The start of this week signals the beginning of the end of Spring Training, the final 2 weeks until the start of the regular season and crunch time for those fighting for a roster spot.  The days of soft toss, base covering drills, and outfield jogs are over.  We're well into the meat of the ST game schedule and now everything matters.  Early cuts have already taken and are continuing to take place as teams whittle their rosters down to the real contenders for the Opening Day 25-man, and with the Opening Day rosters starting to take shape the questions start to shift from "who's going to make it?" to "what are they going to do?"

It is with that shift in mind that we move into Week 2 of the 2014 AB4AR Season Preview with the start of the "What We Know & What We Don't Know" series.  As always, we start with the infield.

It's Happening Again, Isn't It?

Eduardo Nunez is tricking everybody into thinking he can actually play, isn't he?  He's had a few big hits early in ST, the opportunity is presenting itself for him to get more playing time in the form of Scott Sizemore's late spring start and Brendan Ryan's oblique injury, and come Opening Day he's probably going to be on the roster.  I can feel it.  I can feel Yankee fans starting to talk themselves into the idea of Nunez as a productive bench player again, and I don't like it one bit.

It would be one thing if this was Nunez's 2nd or 3rd year trying to break into a regular Major League role.  I could look past the previous bad defense and overrated hitting performance.  But it's the 5th year, without any real indication, statistical or otherwise, that Nunez is improving and I for one am not going to fall for it again.  I'm scared to death at the prospect of Ryan's oblique injury lingering into April and May and Nunez assuming the role of Derek Jeter's backup.  I fear for the lives of the people sitting field level behind first base and I cringe at the thought of Nunez needing to come up big with the game on the line.

It's not even like he's playing THAT well so far either.  He's only 4-17, he hasn't drawn a walk, 3 of his hits came in 1 game, and he's made an error in the field.  But I've seen a few comments and I can sense the tone in what's being written about him by other writers.  People are trying to get on board the Nunez hope train again and that's not a good thing.  You won't like where it goes.

Report: Yanks Monitoring Rickie Weeks (And Others)

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

Just because the Yankees are "done" signing Major League-level players doesn't mean they're not still in the market for some more infield help.  In a story for The Post on Tuesday, George King mentioned a few names that the Yankees are following this spring, most notably Rickie Weeks of the Brewers and Gordon Beckham of the White Sox, and the possibility of using their catching depth as part of a trade package to obtain one, the other, or another infielder.

Position Players Report Date Prepper 2014: The Infield

(Teix in the cage.  Courtesy of Andrew Marchand)

Pitchers and catchers are in camp and working out, and some of their position player teammates are already on site starting their spring work but not the full complement.  Wednesday is the official report date for the rest of the position players who were invited to Spring Training, so in keeping with the theme from last week's "Report Date Prepper" series, let's delve deeper into the 2 remaining roster groups that will be arriving and participating in team workout activities in the next 48ish hours.  We'll start with the infield today.

P.S.- if you missed any of last week's posts, here they are.  Starters, Relievers, Catchers.

Emilio Bonifacio? Meh

Between Super Bowl parties and giving my hands and wrists a rest after Prospect Week, it was relatively quiet around AB4AR this weekend.  Yankeeland responded by staying similarly quiet, but there was one bit of news that most everyone touched on on Saturday.  The KC Royals DFA'd utility man Emilio Bonifacio and a good chunk of the Yankosphere reacted like this:



Alright, maybe it wasn't that enthusiastic, but really?  Is that how bad the Yankee infield situation is?  Bad enough that we're going to try to talk ourselves into Emilio Bonifacio being a viable option?  I guess he's no worse than the Nunezes or Annas of the world, but how much better is he going to be?  Dude's a below-average hitter with next to no power, an average at best defensive player, and he comes with a $3.5 million price tag for this season.  Do the Yankees need infield help that badly that it's worth paying that money and trading a player to get him?  I don't think so.  I guess it couldn't hurt to bring him to camp and let him compete for a job, but that's about as far as I'd be willing to go in terms of evaluating the guy.

Sorting Through The Collection Of Platoon Candidates At Third Base

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

Conventional wisdom had the Yankees using the announcement of the A-Rod suspension decision as the springboard towards finding another established third baseman to replace him.  A decent chunk of that conventional wisdom had Mark Reynolds' name as the one most likely to be signed next as part of a L/R platoon.  Turns out none of that wisdom was correct, at least not according to what we've heard over the last 2 days.  Ken Rosenthal reported on Sunday that the Yanks were not going to add any more third base candidates on Major League deals this offseason, and assistant GM Billy Eppler and Joe Girardi both echoed that report in so many words yesterday in separate interviews.

The plan, according to Eppler and Joe, is to head to camp with what they've got and sort out who they think the best guys for the job are there.  Eppler didn't completely close the door on the idea of bringing in another warm body, saying "“Our eyes are always going to stay open.  We’ll look left, we’ll look right, we’ll look under rocks and see if something can work itself out and make sense."  He also didn't make it sound like adding another guy was a high priority, which is somewhat surprising given the limited upside of many of the current internal candidates.

A-Rod Backup Options Not Getting Any Better

On the heels of yesterday's A-Rod suspension decision, and on the heels of the disconcerting news earlier in the week about the current backup plan at third base, the Yankees still don't appear to be making a greater effort to find a suitable replacement for the position.

Mark Feinsand reported yesterday that the Yankees only offered Mark Reynolds a MiL deal, something he won't take because some other team out there will give him a Major League one.  Apparently Reynolds' work late in the 2013 season wasn't enough to convince the Yanks to take a 1-year gamble on him, even though he's unquestionably a better everyday right-handed option than Eduardo Nunez.

One player who will accept a MiL deal is Scott Sizemore, and according to Ken Davidoff he's close to signing one with the Yankees.  Sizemore, 29, has hit .238/.328/.381 in 598 career Major League PA and has missed all but 2 games of the past 2 seasons with torn ACLs.  He's nothing more than an organizational depth signing, and based on his injury problems he's more likely to wind up back on the DL than contributing as part of the 25-man roster.

The Yankees now know they won't have A-Rod for the entire 2014 season.  Based on these latest reports, they don't seem to be in any kind of a hurry to find an upgrade for him and I really don't understand that logic.

The First Hint Of A Backup Plan At Third Base, And It's Not Good

I feel like I write this phrase every second or third day about one position or another, but the Yankees have been very slow to address their third base situation this offseason.  The slow play in this instance is perfectly understandable, as they're still waiting for the arbitrator's decision on Alex Rodriguez's suspension appeal.  Once that decision comes down and the Yankees know how long he's going to be out, they can move forward with a contingency plan.

There has been little indication so far that there is a clear contingency plan in place.  The trade talks about the Chase Headleys of the world have died down, the free agent market is very thin, and the one guy who makes the most sense (Mark Reynolds) doesn't appear to be high on the team's wish list.  According to Wally Matthews of ESPN NY, the backup plan for A-Rod could already be on the roster:

"According to baseball sources I have spoken with, who have knowledge of the club's thinking, the plan right now is to get by with Kelly Johnson and Eduardo Nunez at third if A-Rod is shelved by the arbitrator."

Yeesh.  That's not encouraging at all if these unnamed sources are reliable.  Johnson is fine as a bench player/platoon infielder but Nunez is a complete disaster in the field and not much better at the plate.  Planning to address the biggest postional roster hole with a platoon that includes a negative WAR player would not be a smart move and would weaken an already shaky projected infield.  Here's hoping this is just the plan for "right now" and not for the remainder of the offseason.  There are better options out there than Nunez.

Brian Roberts Not A Very Good Plan D At Second

(Courtesy of Derick Hingle/USA Today Sports)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

When Omar Infante signed with the Royals and the Cardinals swallowed up Mark Ellis last week, many of us went back to our mental drawing boards regarding the second base position for the Yankees next year.  The team had said from the minute it signed Kelly Johnson that he was not looked at as a full-time replacement for Robinson Cano, and the expectation was that the team would ramp up efforts to secure Infante or another more reliable Plan B/Plan C option quickly to at least provide some stability there.  They didn't, other team swooped in, and the new Plan D option, according to Ken Rosenthal's reports last night, is 36-year-old Brian Roberts.

Darwin Barney: Do Not Want

Yankees interest in Cubs Darwin Barney may pick up . (Royals sign Omar Infante) teams talked earlier.
— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) December 14, 2013

I know the options are starting to dwindle with Omar Infante off the market now, but is it really time to start slogging through the bottom of the barrel to find a second baseman for next year?  Because that's what trading for Darwin Barney would be.

The simplest way to describe his offense is to say it sucks.  In 1,799 career Major League PA, he has a .246/.293/.336 slash line (.278 wOBA).  He doesn't hit for average, he doesn't hit for power, he doesn't draw walks, and he doesn't do anything on the bases on the rare occasion that he gets there.  He is a plus-plus defensive player at second, but his offense was so bad in 2013 that even registering 11 defensive runs saved only made him worth 0.4 fWAR.

He's heading into his first year of arbitration eligibility, so he does have a few years of team control remaining at what should be a reasonable cost.  But with as much service time as he has, he's probably going to cost the Yankees a few million if they trade for him.  They're already paying a few million for a middle infielder who can't hit a lick in Brendan Ryan.  Adding another at second wouldn't make a whole lot of sense when the team still needs to replace lost offensive production.

Brandon Phillips: Do Not Want

#yankees turned down a brandon phillips for brett gardner offer. #reds
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 12, 2013

And apparently the Yankees don't either based on last night's reports.  The Reds offered up Phillips in a straight 1-for-1 trade proposal for Brett Gardner last night and were rejected.  While Phillips would fill an obvious need at second base, there's too much to not like about him to make the trade worthwhile.

For starters, he's owed $50 million over the next 4 years, a steep price to pay for a 32-year-old who's already showing serious signs of decline.  Phillips' greatest strengths are his plus defense and his right-handed power, both of which have been trending downward for the last few seasons.  His ISO has been in a pretty steady decline going back to 2007 (.197 then to .135 in 2013).  He doesn't take walks, he doesn't get on base, his speed on the basepaths isn't what it used to be, and he has a reputation for being an asshole.

That's a lot of baggage to take on for a guy who was below-average offensively this past season.  And don't talk to me about the 103 RBI because I'm not going to listen.  Acquiring Phillips based on his name recognition and past performance (like Michael Young) would have been a classic Yankee move, and probably something they would have done a few offseasons ago.  It's good to see they aren't interested in heading down that path again, even if the no-trade clause helped make that decision easier.  The Yankees need a starting second baseman badly, but Phillips isn't the answer.

Michael Young: Do Not Want

The search for help at second base and third base is on, and according to Newsday it includes a former top trade target:

"A source with knowledge of the team's thinking said Monday that the Yankees are very much interested in Michael Young."

You might remember Young's name getting thrown around a lot during the most recent trade deadline, when the Yanks needed insurance for A-Rod at third base.  Ultimately a deal never came together between the Yanks and the Phillies and that's probably for the best.  Young has been a negative fWAR player the past 2 seasons, due in tandem to his decrease in power at the plate and massive decline in his defensive value now that he's in his late 30s and only capable of playing below-average defense at the infield corners.

Young made a lot of sense as a cheap rental player this past season.  As a full-season option at a position of need he's a way less than ideal option.  Someone like Mark Reynolds could play just as horrible a defensive third base as Young and do it while offering 30+ HR power.  He could also come at a cheaper price than Young, who still has a long and successful career history to fall back on when looking for contract offers.  Hopefully this reported level of "very much" interest in Young isn't as a Plan A for the hot corner.