Entering the season, the New York Yankees were one of the teams with the most outfield depth in the major leagues, both in quantity and quality. They had a former MVP in Giancarlo Stanton, a Rookie of the Year in Aaron Judge, an all-around two-way star in Aaron Hicks, two excellent defensive contributors with offensive potential in Brett Gardner and Mike Tauchman, and two former top prospects with excellent bats but lots of questions fielding-wise in Clint Frazier and Miguel Andujar.
Andujar had been converted into a utility-type for third base and left field, but that experiment hasn’t gone particularly well, as he has a -5 DRS at the hot corner and a -1 in the outfield.
Of the seven names, two got injured and have been on the shelf for much of the season for the New York Yankees. At last, it seems like they are going to be back by next weekend, per manager Aaron Boone.
The Yankees will welcome Judge and Stanton with open arms
Their pending return will boost the Yankees’ lineup, as they both had been raking before they got hurt: Stanton was at .293/.453/.585 with a 180 wRC+, whereas Judge had a .292 batting average with nine home runs, a .739 slugging percentage and a 182 wRC+.
Three other names in the Yankees’ OF depth chart have been badly underperforming. Brett Gardner has a troubling .267 wOBA and a .165/.293/.299 slash line, while Tauchman is at .237/.347/.300. They both have underperformed on defense, as well. Andujar has slashed .218/.259/.327 with just one home run and a 57 wRC+ in 58 plate appearances, and although he seems to be improving at the right time, he has also been a disappointment at the dish for the Yankees.
Only Frazier and Hicks (and he has a .209 average, but a healthy .377 OBP thanks to his keen eye at the plate) have been decent out there. You could say that Frazier has broken out, both with the bat and with the glove.
That’s why the Yankees needed Stanton and Judge to return, and soon. They need it badly. Their formerly outstanding outfield depth is now virtually gone.