With Didi Gregorius leaving the New York Yankees for the Philadelphia Phillies, a lot of things will change in New York’s infield. Gleyber Torres will be the starting shortstop, and DJ LeMahieu will be the starting second baseman. It’s likely that Luke Voit will be the everyday first baseman, but Mike Ford will likely be carried on the roster as well.
Previously, Ford was far down on the list of first base candidates. But with Didi gone as well as Greg Bird, it gives him a chance to be on the MLB roster permanently.
The 27 year old out of New Jersey is no stranger to proving everybody wrong. He was named the 2013 Ivy League player of the year as a pitcher, yet went undrafted. Ford converted to a full time position player and worked his way up the minor league ranks, finding himself making his major league debut for the injury depleted Yankees in 2019.
Ford took advantage of his opportunity last year and went on to hit .259 with 12 home runs in just 143 at-bats. He even had a walkoff home run against the Oakland Athletics.
Ford brings to the table exactly what the team is looking for: a lefty with power that has a decent glove. He made just three errors in all of 2019, in AAA and the MLB combined.
Mike Ford has proven himself worthy enough to have a role on the New York Yankees in 2020. Him along with Luke Voit are an amazing combination of power hitters to have at first base. Even though Voit will start the majority of the time, Ford should see his name in the lineup a lot whether he’s playing the field or DHing.