The New York Yankees have not gotten a ton of production from the third base position this season, which isn’t shocking considering their depth chart going into the year. Oswaldo Cabrera was slated as the starter, with the options behind him not presenting much upside if something were to happen to their switch-hitting utilityman. Unfortunately, a brutal play in Seattle would result in Cabrera undergoing a season-ending procedure, and now they find themselves without much of an option to fill in for him.
While it wouldn’t be a perfect solution, Jesus Rodriguez’s experience at third base could come in handy since he’s both on the Yankees’ 40-man roster and is crushing in Triple-A. A well-rounded hitter who could bring solid plate discipline, good bat-to-ball skills, and a right-handed batter to a left-handed heavy offense, Rodriguez might fit this team like a glove.
Jesus Rodriguez Could Provide Offensive Support For Surging Yankees
Jesus Rodriguez earned a promotion from Double-A to Triple-A after 30 games at the level, challenging the 22-year-old to make an unprecedented leap. The Yankees rarely let their prospects just skip a level, especially one like Double-A, but Rodriguez has been one of the best hitters in Minor League Baseball since being promoted.
In 25 games with the Scranton RailRiders, Jesus Rodriguez is hitting .385 with a .482 OBP, posting a 170 wRC+ and having more walks than strikeouts. With only one home run, he hasn’t generated tons of game power, but his bat-to-ball skills are exemplary, and the Yankees could use a right-handed hitter with his ability to generate well-struck line drives.
Among Triple-A hitters, Jesus Rodriguez is in the 99th Percentile in Zone Contact Rate and SEAGER, a swing decision evaluation metric that weighs your swings at hittable pitches against your swings at pitches out of the zone. Rodriguez’s profile isn’t centered around extreme patience, but rather an aggressive approach that sees him go after any pitch that he can handle, rarely letting hittable pitches go by.
The combination of elite contact rates and swing decisions might make you believe he’s just a scrappy contact hitter, but his batted ball data is far better than expected. He grades out in the 56th Percentile in Pulled Flyball Rate and in the 66th Percentile in Damage Rate, barreling 7.6% of batted balls with a 43% Hard-Hit%. Those metrics may not be elite, but they’re certainly good enough to consider him a Major League-caliber bat.
With the Yankees’ lack of viable options at third base, Jesus Rodriguez might be their best bet if they want quality at-bats from the right-handed side.
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The Yankees are 24th in fWAR (0.1) and 22nd in wRC+ (79) from their third basemen, an issue made only worse by the season-ending injury to Oswaldo Cabrera. Looking solely at players on the Yankees’ active roster, their third base room has a combined 70 wRC+ and -0.1 fWAR. A big question here is whether Rodriguez can truly play third base at a high level or not, having just five of his 25 games in Scranton come at third base.
A primary catcher, there aren’t many evaluators who believe he’ll stick at the position long-term, so the Yankees might be better off trying to move him around the diamond. He played in the Yankees’ Spring Breakout Game at third base, making a remarkable play to rob one of the Orioles’ prospects of a hit.
Baseball Prospectus rates him as a strong defender at third base, as in 704.2 innings of Minor League work he has +5.4 Range Defense Added and +3.0 Defensive Runs Prevented at the position. Minor League defensive data isn’t conclusive enough to say he is an outright good defender there, but I believe he could become an average third baseman capable of making routine plays.
It’s up to the Yankees to also get him more reps at the hot corner, as the value of him being a solid defender at third base would make him either a good trade chip or a viable option in the infield. He profiles as a high-OBP hitter who doesn’t generate tons of power, but hits the ball hard enough to get hits and put up solid numbers. Steamer already projects a 99 wRC+ for Rodriguez, and I could argue he’s already more valuable than someone like Pablo Reyes, who has been brutal.
Jesus Rodriguez is only 23 years old, has the fourth-highest xwOBA in all of Triple-A, and if he hits, the Yankees could allocate more of their prospect funds on acquiring a true game-changer at a different position.