Does Travis Hafner's DL Trip Matter?

(Courtesy of the AP)

It got swept under the rug by the related story of Derek Jeter returning, but Travis Hafner hit the DL on Sunday with a right rotator cuff strain.  He had problems with the same shoulder earlier in the year, and it finally got bad enough where the decision was made to DL him, removing a powerful lefty bat from the lineup.  Well, in theory that's what it did.  In actuality, it cleared some dead weight from the middle of the lineup and actually gave Joe a chance to insert a potentially more productive bat.

Hafner Might Be Cooked

• .318/.438/.667, 9.9% BB rate, 13.9% K rate
• .179/.286/.299, 13.0% BB rate, 31.2% K rate
• .174/.230/.348, 6.8% BB rate, 25.7% K rate
• .171/.275/.229, 10.0% BB rate, 27.5% K rate

Those are Travis Hafner's monthly splits for this season, starting with April at the top and ending with his present production in the first half of July.  They are not encouraging.  His physical size and reputation are still enough for pitchers to tip toe around him when there are runners on base, but if they throw good stuff close to the plate there's not much Pronk can do with it.  In the season's first month he was worth 1.0 fWAR.  He's registered as a negative WAR player in each of the last 3 and now sits at just a .316 wOBA and -0.1 fWAR for the year.

Pronk was out of the lineup last night after fouling a ball off his foot and if the Yankees want to try to get anything out of him in the next 2 and a half months they might want to consider keeping him out through the ASB.  He has very little speed in his swing and very little pop in his bat when he does make contact.  He was a huge injury risk when the Yankees first signed him.  Now it appears like too much playing time has sapped him of his strengths as a hitter.

Diagnosing The Source Of Travis Hafner's Slump

(Courtesy of the AP)

He's managed to fly under the radar for over a month because other players like Vernon Wells and Robinson Cano have been slumping big time too, but Travis Hafner is in a similar production freefall himself.  After last night's 0-fer, he's down to .231/.346/.463 on the season, which is still good for a .350 wOBA that ranks second on the team but a far cry from the high .300s-low .400s value he was holding through his hot start in April.  Hafner missed a handful of games in the middle of April due to a shoulder injury and since he's come back we haven't heard much about any physical problems, yet his production continues to plummet.  What's going on with Pronk that he's become just as much of a black hole in the middle of the lineup as everybody else?  Glad you asked.

Hafner Day-To-Day With Shoulder Soreness

Actually it's shoulder "tendinitis" according to the team, but either way it means there's nothing seriously wrong with Travis Hafner.  There was a bit of a scare when his name wasn't in the lineup last night and it was reported that he was going for an MRI.  That MRI showed no serious damage, he was given a cortisone shot, and Joe implied that he could be back as early as tonight.

While it sounds like a bullet dodged here, a rare outcome when it comes to Yankees and injuries this year, it's still probably in everybody's best interests to give Hafner a day or two more than he actually needs.  If he feels like he can go today, play him tomorrow or Friday.  Hafner has been a walking DL stint for the last handful of years, and with the lack of depth in the lineup right now the Yankees need to keep him healthy and productive for as long as possible.  They're in a position where they have a small cushion in the division and are playing good baseball, so why not take advantage of that and give Pronk a little more time?  Short-term loss for a potential long-term gain.

Oh Hey, Travis Hafner! Didn't See You Over There. What's Going On, Buddy?

(Courtesy of Reuters)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

When two of the defining storylines of your team's Spring Training are "lack of power" and "injuries" and Travis Hafner is on your team, it's more than reasonable to expect that he's going to factor heavily into those stories.  After all, his calling card at the plate is power and you can pretty much set your watch to him pulling, tearing, or spraining something.  That hasn't really been the case for the Yankees so far this month, as Hafner hasn't been a presence in the lineup so much as a name on the lineup card.  To be honest, I kind of forgot he was even in camp with the team, what with the lack of power and the fact that he's still walking around without limping.

Believe it or not, Hafner is in camp and has actually been playing in games.  He just hasn't done much in those games.  Hafner is just 4-29 this spring, with a single solitary home run and an even dozen strikeouts.  He's still somewhat of a presence in the lineup with four walks, but after Teix and C-Grand went down he became a much more critical part of that lineup.  As of this morning he hasn't given much of an indication that he's ready to be that critical part of the lineup and that's a tad unsettling.

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.

BREAKING NEWS: Yankees Sign Travis Hafner

(Yeah, I used the all caps "breaking news" tag for this signing.  It's a Major League player with legitimate offensive value, so I'm a little excited about that after watching the recent string of Quad-A signings.  Deal with it.)

After reports came out yesterday that the Yankees were in serious talks with Travis Hafner, they finalized those talks today by signing him to a 1-year, incentive-heavy deal to be their main designated hitter for 2013.  The deal is reportedly a guaranteed Major League deal, meaning a 40-man roster spot will have to be cleared to make room for Hafner.  But that's an acceptable sacrifice to make to add a potential impact bat like Hafner's, injury concerns and all.

I wrote about Hafner and my desire to see the Yankees sign him weeks ago, so obviously I'm happy to see them add him and his thump to the lineup.  Hafner is a huge injury risk, and as close to a sure thing as there is to end up on the DL at some point, but his offensive production potential as a righty masher hitting in Yankee Stadium is well worth that risk.  The Yankees are very familiar with Hafner and I have to think they did their homework on his medical reports before deciding to go through with this deal.  With what's left out there on the FA market, this is as good a cheap 1-year deal as they could have found, and one that could have potentially big returns if Hafner bucks the trend and stays healthy.

** UPDATE 2/1/13 1:46PM- Deal is official according to Jon Heyman.  Hafner's base salary will be $2 million per Ken Davidoff, and his deal also includes "reachable incentives" per Dan Barbarisi.  DH- Check. **