2014 Storylines: Platoon City

(Kelly Johnson, king of the platoon possibilities.  Courtesy of Corey Sipkin/NY Daily News)

As baseball continues to evolve and become more specialized, platoons have become a common part of most team's lineups.  Rather than plug 1 player with a skill or 2 and a weakness or 2, or a substantial hitting split, into a full-time role, teams have learned that it's more valuable to split those roles up among 2 players to cover for their combined weaknesses and lessen the negative effect of that hitting split.  The Red Sox and the Rays are 2 teams that have utilized the platoon strategy to great success recently, and it's no coincidence that they've been 2 of the best teams in the American League.

The Yankees' strategy when it comes to platoons has been more reactionary over the past few seasons.  Rather than proactively attempt to build a lineup that includes 1 or 2 platoons, their attempts at utilizing them usually come as a response to injuries to their everyday starters.  That's a dangerous strategy to employ when the core of your lineup is as old as the Yankees' has been, and their failure to adequately prepare for the injury situations that have arisen in part led to the carousel of suck we saw at third base and shortstop in 2013.

The strategy has taken a small step forward with this season's roster construction, although it hasn't fully made the leap to completely proactive.  The Yankees enter the 2014 season with an array of platoon situations, some born out of injury-related necessity and some out of proactive strategy.  The effectiveness of these various platoons will be a season-long factor in determining how good this team can be.

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.

Outfield Platoon Coming Soon

(Ichiro's everyday days could be coming to an end.  Courtesy of Reuters)

With Curtis Granderson getting closer to returning - a report earlier today by Chad Jennings had him now taking indoor BP - the Yankees are approaching the point where they'll have a lot of decisions to make with respect to their outfield construction.  Where will Curtis play in the outfield?  Where will Brett Gardner play in the outfield?  Who's getting bumped to the bench?  Who's getting sent down to Triple-A/DFA'd/outright released?  In that same post, Jennings mentioned (correctly) that it's still a bit premature to bring up some of these ideas now, particularly the one about how right field will be settled since it's an unspoken given that C-Grand and Gardner will be in center and left.  But based on what we've seen so far, the most logical choice, whether they like it or not, might be a Vernon Wells/Ichiro Suzuki platoon.

Lineup Vs. Lefties Still Needs Work

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

Despite having two consecutive games rained out in the middle of a major offensive outburst, the Yankees didn't miss too many beats this past weekend against Baltimore, winning the series and continuing the positive trends that we started to see last week.  Their top two starting pitchers each threw their best games to date on Friday and Sunday, combining to allow just 1 ER in 17 IP; they continued to get production from their collection of new guys as their injured lineup core mends; Robinson Cano and Kevin Youkilis continued to pace the middle of the lineup with patience and power, and even Brett Gardner started to show some signs of life at the plate.

There is still one key area on this team that needs to be addressed, however, and that's the lineup against lefties.  It hasn't gotten much attention lately as the Yankees have faced a long string of right-handed pitchers, but against Wei-Yin Chen last night Joe made wholesale changes to his lineup card to try and generate some more offense and, save for one inning, his changes didn't lead to much.

Revisiting The Early-Season Platoon Lineups

Platoons were going to be a part of the Yankee lineup decision-making process one way or another this season.  They've become an even bigger part for the month of April as Cash has signed or traded for a variety of platoon-worthy players to fill in for the injured everyday guys.  Whether the collection of new players has regular or reverse platoon splits, the fact that other teams were willing to give them up already gives insight into their offensive production potential.  All the Yankees are really trying to do in this first month is find a formula to get the most out of those players' potential, including the ones we already know need a platoon partner, and score enough wins to support their strong pitching.  Now that we know who's on the Opening Day roster, let's take a quick look at the two versions of the starting lineup we're likely to see.

Who Really Needs A Platoon Partner In 2013?

(How many lefties should this guy be facing?  Courtesy of the AP)

"Platoon" is a word that's slowly worked its way into the collection of words typically associated with the Yankee lineup over the past few seasons, right next to "patience" and "power."  Older veterans on the downside of their careers who are drawn to New York to chase a ring, lack of impact bats coming up from the farm system, and the newly implemented payroll restrictions have all combined to make the Yankee lineup a safe haven for the still productive but no longer well-rounded hitter.  This season, the reliance on platoons will play an even bigger role in the everyday lineup as the Yankees have their fair share of guys who only excel against one category of handed pitchers, guys like Ichiro, Hafner, Gardner, and Youkilis.  Joe has shown before that he's not afraid to mix and match and play with the lineup, but how necessary is it for every one of those players to be platooned?  Does the Yankee lineup really need to be turned into Version R and Version L?  Let's take a look.

Building The 2013 Batting Order- Take 2

(Where to put Pronk?  Courtesy of the AP)

It's like revision week here at AB4AR when it comes to roster discussions.  Spring Training is bearing down upon us (and the players who will actually be participating in it), and the Yankees continue to add pieces to the roster competition.  First it was sorting through all the cheap 1-year signings and MiL players to determine who were the leading candidates to take the final 4 open roster spots.  Now with the additions of Juan Rivera and Travis Hafner, and the ever-uncertain situation surrounding Alex Rodriguez's future with the team, it's time to once again take a look at the potential batting orders for the Yankees in 2013.  I probably don't need to remind anybody of this, but I use the word "orders" because there is more than likely going to be a lot of lineup juggling and platoon splits from Joe this season to maximize the output potential of the players he has and keep everybody as healthy as possible.

Matt Diaz Is Better Than Nothing (Slightly)

He may not have played in 100 games in 3 of the last 5 seasons; he may not have posted a wRC+ above 100 in each of the last 3 seasons; he may not even be completely healthy.  But in signing Matt Diaz to a Minor League deal yesterday, the Yankees at least gave themselves another option to find a right-handed platoon outfield bat, and the more options the better right now.

As first reported by Mark Feinsand, the Yanks signed the 34-year-old Diaz to a non-guaranteed MiL deal with an invite to Spring Training that gives him the chance to earn up to $2 million if he makes the team out of camp.  Diaz is far removed from his best year in 2009 (.383 wOBA in 125 games), and has had major problems with his thumb, but reports are that he's feeling better and swinging a bat.  He posted just a .268 wOBA and 64 wRC+ in 118 PA with the Braves in 2012, but managed a .269/.329/.410 line against left-handed pitching (.320 wOBA) and still has a .324/.364/.498 career slash against southpaws.

He's absolutely not a full-time player anymore, and he could very well be washed up after all the thumb problems the last 3+ years.  But Diaz is the type of low risk/high reward veteran bat the Yankees have had success with in recent years.  It worked with Marcus Thames in 2010, it worked with Raul Ibanez in 2012, so why not take a chance on Diaz for 2013?  If he gives the team anything it's a good move.  If he doesn't, the Yankees cut bait and lose nothing.

Thinking About The 2013 Batting Order

I know a lot of people are going to say it's way to early to start talking batting orders for next season, what with there still being a solid 2 months left in the offseason and the Yankees possibly being without a couple key members of their everyday lineup when the regular season starts on April 1st.  But I don't see it that way.  Injured or not, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez are going to be part of the everyday lineup when they do return, and with the signing of Kevin Youkilis and the pending signing of Ichiro Suzuki, the starting 9 for 2013 is all but intact.

The lineup next year is going to be flush with platoon bats, which likely means a lot more of the lineup juggling that we started to see late last season.  The presence of Youkilis and return of Brett Gardner should bring back some of the classic Yankee "grind it out" at-bat tactics, but the middle of the order has lost some of its luster with the injuries and natural decline of A-Rod and Teix.  Even without a good everyday catcher, there is still the potential for the Yankees lineup to be relatively deep and dangerous next season, but a lot of things are going to have to turn around.  After the jump, check out my preliminary ideas for next season's batting orders.

Some Positives To Signing Ichiro

(I'll admit it.  He looks pretty good right there.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

By now I don't really need to remind everybody that I'm firmly against re-signing Ichiro Suzuki for next season (even though I just kinda did right there).  But with the available free agent cupboard left pretty bare after last week's Winter Meetings, and the Yankees appearing unlikely to get seriously involved in the Josh Hamilton sweepstakes unless his price goes WAAAAAAAYYYY down, talks about the Yankees and Ichiro started heating up again over the weekend.  Yesterday Ken Rosenthal reported that there was "strong interest" on both sides in bringing Ichiro back for 2013, and this morning Jon Heyman reported that the Yanks and Ichiro were hoping to have a deal done "within the next few days."

I'm not going to be happy if/when this deal becomes official, and everybody knows my reasons.  But there's been a lot of support for Ichiro in both the comments section of this blog and on the AB4AR Facebook Page anytime I bring him up in a negative context.  So in an attempt to shelf the negativity until the deal gets done, and to appease the AB4AR masses who are so pro-Ichiro, here are some positive things I can say about him and what he'll be able to offer the Yankees should they re-sign him this week.

The First Base Black Hole

6-40 (.150 BA), 8 R, , 1 XBH, 5 RBI, 8 BB, 18 K

That's the combined batting line from the first base position in the Yankee lineup since Mark Teixeira went down with his calf injury.  Or more accurately, that's the combined first base batting line since Teix went down with his calf injury, got rushed back into the lineup before he was ready to play because the offense was complete ass without him, and then had said calf blow up on him again in his desperate attempt to break up Saturday's still bullshit game-ending double play.  You don't have to be a sabermetric genius to figure out that the batting line you see above is terrible, even if there is some marginal value in the runs scored and walks.  What's worse is that this type of marginal production might be all the Yankees get from first base from here on out.

A Demonstration In Extreme Roster Rigidity

(I pictured Cash doing this in his office after yesterday's game)

I've tried to touch on the subject in more positive ways over the past few days, but after yesterday afternoon's debacle, I really don't have the energy to try to put a positive spin on the situation.  I really don't even have the energy to try to analyze or hypothesize what could be done to help the situation.  So instead, I'm just going to state the facts and the numbers that make up this ever-expanding 25-man roster of underperforming platoon players.

Optimizing The Platoon-Heavy Lineup

The announcement of the Mark Teixeira injury was the latest blow in the battle between the baseball gods and the health of the Yankee players, one that will leave the lineup even shorter and less flexible than it already was with Teix still active.  The Yankees made a move to add Steve Pearce to the roster yesterday, but that's hardly enough to make up for the loss of Teix in the middle of the order.  A post by Mike Axisa on RAB yesterday on how the Yankees can go about managing the lineup with Teix and A-Rod out caught my attention, in particular Mike's idea of just playing to the platoon splits:

"With Teixeira out of the lineup, the Yankees would have four players for four spots against righties — Dickerson, Ichiro Suzuki, Raul Ibanez, and Eric Chavez. Chavez has to play third and Ichiro an outfield corner; that’s the easy part. Having Dickerson around allows them to keep Ibanez at DH and put Dickerson in the other outfield corner while the switch-hitting Nick Swisher plays first. Against lefties they would have Andruw Jones, Casey McGehee, Jayson Nix, and the recently-acquired Steve Pearce for those same four positions: Jones at DH, McGehee at third, Nix in left, and Pearce at first with Swisher in his usual right field."

It's not ideal in the sense that there will be a lot of guys not getting regular at-bats, but with the collection of slightly-below to slightly-above average platoon hitters the Yankees have at the moment, it's probably the best option to maximize the lineup's output potential.  If you'll allow me a moment to put on my manager pants, here's how I would build off of Mike's suggestion and create the 2 platoon lineups.