The New York Yankees created a depth crisis for themselves at shortstop in not offering Didi Gregorius a contract. The only position that’s in more dire need of attention is our starting pitching.
Just how bad is it?
In my last breakdown of the Yankees depth, I talked about how much of a mistake it would be to move Gleyber Torres over to shortstop. He’s far and away from a better second baseman than shortstop on a professional level. And you can’t move DJ over there because he only has a handful of innings playing the position as a pro, and they never hit him the ball in those innings.
That leaves career benchwarmer/utility man Tyler Wade and rookie utility man Thairo Estrada. For the Yankees to turn to one of them as their everyday shortstop in 2020 is ludicrous. It’s not out of the question that this could happen down the line, but most definitely not for 2020.
What about the minors?
The highest prospect we have at the position is Anthony Volpe, who we drafted this year. He’s expected to be major league ready by 2023 at the earliest. It could be longer as Volpe is only 18, and may be putting off playing to get his degree. Volpe is our 10th best prospect.
The next best prospect is Josh Smith, who’s currently at the short season single A level Staten Island Yankees. He’s projected to join the show in 2022. He’s 18 on the Yankees prospect list.
Then there is Oswald Peraza, who’s playing for the A affiliate Charleston River Dogs. He’s also projected to be MLB ready by 2022 and is 28th on the list.
So… no matter what… we have to bridge the gap to AT LEAST 2022 before a homegrown shortstop is ready?! And this is at the earliest.
The Choice is Clear
Resign Didi to a 3 year, $36 million contract. That’s $12 million a year, ensuring those kids only come up when they’re ready. And that’s $5 million less than what they’d pay him on the qualifying offer.