New York Yankees news, rumors: First base Competition, Potential Outfield options, Injury updates

New York Yankees, Luke Voit

When the Yankees report for camp prior to suiting up for Spring Training, there will likely be a flurry of talent at both corner IF spots, as well as various other players wanting to get in the mix. Mainly evaluating the 1B position today, there will likely be a competition between two players, if not three, come March. Especially with the departure of Greg Bird, and the shift back to full-time second base duties for DJ LeMahieu, first base has been narrowed down. The two main names to keep an eye on are: Luke Voit, and Mike Ford. The third name that comes to mind is Miguel Andujar, but only God seemingly knows what his future holds, as despite him being dangled like a freshly caught tuna over a shark tank, he remains with the Yankees as of today; the first of January, Two-thousand and Twenty!

Now — for the sake of not beating a dead horse on talking about Andujar — I’ll be more discussing the first two: Luke Voit and Mike Ford.

The New York Yankees Firstbase Competitors

Luke Voit– Voit is the most likely of the three names to be featured on a daily basis in the lineup at First, as his track record and Yankee career are the better between he and Ford, specifically. Across 2018 and 2019, in a combined 157 Games, he has OPS’d roughly .940 and has belted 35 HR’s as well. While Voit’s defense may be a bit problematic — virtualy EVERY defensive sabermetric has him very poorly rated — there hasn’t been a Yankee firstbaseman since Mark Teixeira who is capable of picking, throwing, and moving swiftly and properly. I think Voit offers the most upside, as his plate discipline (13.9% BB rate in 2019 — which ranked in the top five percent of all MLB players and was up from 10.7% with NYY in 2018) as well as his mass amounts of power & experience at the major league level play into him being the head honcho as of today. Not to mention the fact that his work ethic and determination to find his inner “Beast” and destroy baseballs are arguably second to nobody on the team. His passion and heart, and “leave it all on the field” mentality pour over into the other players as well, and Luke has a profound impact on the locker room culture and general team charisma.

Mike Ford– For Mike Ford, 2019 was everything he could’ve hoped for, in his pursuit of playing in the big leagues. The Yankees saw 30 players go to the IL this season, and unfortunately for them, DJ LeMahieu was unable to be cloned and spread across the entire infield — barring taking reps over Gleyber Torres (who was also smitten with the injury bug). However, Ford got his shot and saw AB’s when Voit was injured throughout the second half of the season especially, and boy did he deliver. “Not a Chevy” as I have dubbed him, across only 50 Games, managed to slug .559 to pair with a formidable 10.4% BB Rate to a mere 17.2% K Rate. The BB/K ratio of 0.61 was better than JD Martinez’s, who has made a living off of being able to post K%’s in the low 20’s with his BB Rates being at or over 10% — as he sat at 0.51 on the season. Mike Ford also brings power to the plate, and brings a power lefty bat as well. The lefty bat in the heart of the Yankees lineup could play very well for the team down the road, and since Ford is a pull hitter (only hit 17.4% of his hits to the opposite field), that short right porch could be brutally vandalized by his homerun balls come 2020, across the course of a full season.

Whatever the decision may be for who the “starter” is, look for both of these guys to play integral parts to the Yankees success next season. Even with Ford’s lack of MLB experience, that shouldn’t justify him not getting the reps or the respect that he very much so deserves. Him being a lefty is critical for the Yankees LU that is righty dominant. As for Voit, the 2019 season was another solid one for the man that is able to bench 185 with one arm, but I’m sure he’s looking to continue to build on his increasingly impressive Yankee resume (3.7 f WAR over 153 Games) and fully heal up from the injury that cost him most of the second half of his first full season in Pinstripes, and recover from the surgery he underwent at the end of the postseason.

Potential OF Options

While I am a firm believer that the Yankees DO NOT need to pursue another OF option this offseason, there’s always going to be rumors around certain players, and fans will always be wanting the Yankees to do whatever it takes to go 162-0, whilst steamrolling everyone in their path. With that being said, the Yankees outfield coming into 2020 is — in my opinion — somewhat solidified, even with the absence of Aaron Hicks.

For starters, the emergence of Mike Tauchman is what’s been the topic of discussion when it comes to the Yankees outfield for 2020. I have heard talks about how many Yankee fans want to see Tauchman take over fulltime in LF, or even have him move to CF to fill the void of Aaron Hicks for the first half of the season. However, despite his incredible 2019 run (13 HR, 1.6 fWAR, a VERY solid 126 wRC+, and an OPS of .865 — all across only 87 Games) I do not believe that he will maintain that consistency or torrid pace that he was on. To me, Tauchman is an essential carbon copy of Mitch Haniger (but with a bit more defense) in that he has solid plate discipline, won’t strikeout at a high clip and can hit upwards of .270, but he will be supported by a very high BABIP. Haniger in 2017 & 2018 posted a cumulative BABIP of .337, and last year Tauchman posted a BABIP of .330 (MLB Average is .300). I look for Tauchman to be a fourth outfielder coming into 2020, as I believe Stanton still should man LF. That’s not a harp on Tauchman, as much as it is him deserving a role on this team & a very solid one in that 4th OFer role

The OF market is barren right now, in terms of Free Agents available. I don’t see any situation where the Yankees are thinking about acquiring an outfielder via trade, as ultimately that is their strongest position — when healthy, an Outfield of Stanton, Hicks, Judge & Gardner/Tauchman is one of the best in baseball. Add to that the fact that Tyler Wade is able to man LF and CF as well, plus the slim possibility of Miguel Andujar potentially switching to LF (a la the Ryan Braun route) and of course the ever-so eager Clint Frazier chopping at the bit to play 2020. If the Yankees were to look into getting an outfielder from the crop of FA’s, I imagine they’d lean toward a reunion with Cameron Maybin before electing to bring in another fresh face.

Injury Updates: Luke Voit, Miguel Andujar, and others

Luke Voit, as previously mentioned, dealt with a lingering sports hernia & injured core, for basically the entire second half of 2019. Ultimately the cortisone shots & rest weren’t enough, as he had massive negative lingering effects from it for the remainder of the season (OPS’d .709 after his injury, and was left off the Postseason roster). However, it looks as if Voit is on track and should be perfectly ready to go and healed up for Spring Training, which will be nearly a half year removed from his surgery at the end of October.

Miguel Andujar is making great progress on his torn labrum that saw him miss essentially the entirety of the 2019 season — and ultimately saw him lose his starting job to Giovanny Urshela. Aaron Boone and co believe that he will be undoubtedly ready for Spring Training, and if he is on the roster come that time, Andujar will be firing on all cylinders in hopes of earning back his spot on this team.

As for other players that had injury riddled ’19 seasons: Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Gary Sanchez, to name a few, it appears that they are also recovered and are expected to be at full strength come Spring. Gary Sanchez’s cloud of criticism that follows him everywhere he goes, is also expected to be back in action come Spring 2020.

 

 

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