The New York Yankees seemed to have plenty of depth at the beginning of the 2018 season but injuries and ailments began to take their toll before the playoffs. Having the necessary depth to push through those injuries is essential for any professional team looking to succeed in the playoffs.
The New York Yankees made a silly mistake:
The Yankees released Ronald Torreyes, or rather designated him for assignment to make room for right-handed pitcher Parker Bridwell. They claimed him off the waiver wire from the Los Angeles Angels several months ago.
Bridewell, 27, spent a majority of 2018 on the disabled list with an elbow injury. His finishing stats look like this — 1-0 with a 17.55 ERA in five-games. In 2017, he recorded a 10-3 record in 21 games (3.64 ERA).
Allowing Torreyes to walk turned out to be a bad decision by the Yankees, who are now in a a serious predicament. Starting shortstop and team leader Didi Gregorius is healing from Tommy John surgery and will likely miss a solid chunk of the 2019 season.
The 5-8 listed infielder, was a fan-favorite and positive influence in the clubhouse. Torreyes has a career batting average of .281, but didn’t play much last season due to a favorable lineup including Gleyber Torres, Miguel Andujar, and Gregorius. But injuries are inevitable, and now we are playing the “woulda, coulda, shoulda” game.
What can the Yankees do to hold over the short-stop position?
It’s possible Torreyes is designated again, in which the Yankees would surely be keen on bringing him back. In the mean time, it seems as if Manny Machado is at the top of the list for the Yanks — a player who could influence the infield and batting lineup more than any other player out there. Additionally, he could fill in for Didi until his return.
However, I wouldn’t rule out Tyler Wade as an alternative for the time being. His defensive abilities and speed make him a solid option, but his hitting is below average. Wade has a strikeout rate of 31.6% and a walk-rate of 6.8%. These numbers are very troubling as the Yankees already have a strikeout heavy lineup — Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Gary Sanchez…
His wRC+ marks the last two years have been 17 and 29, which is far below average. In fact, it’s somewhere in the realm of a pitchers batting average. The bottom line is the Yankees are likely going to avoid playing Wade at all costs unless it’s a last resort situation. They would be sacrificing a good bat in the lineup for a decent defender.