The New York Yankees missed out on every big-name shortstop free agent this off-season after indicating they needed to upgrade the position significantly. While they did trade for Isiah Kiner-Falefa from the Minnesota Twins, who acquired him from the Texas Rangers, the Yanks are taking a chance on his offensive qualities.
Kiner-Falefa doesn’t exactly fit the power-hitting mold the Yankees prefer, smashing just eight homers last season with Texas. General manager Brian Cashman had an opportunity to snag Carlos Correa, Trevor Story, Marcus Semien, and a bevy of other options but elected to keep his money and look to the near future with Anthony Volpe climbing the system.
However, Cashman did make a signing on Sunday just to rub it in the face of Yankee fans. He inked utilityman Marwin Gonzalez to a minor league contract, projecting to earn $1.15 million if he reaches the Major League roster. At 33 years old, Gonzalez is coming off a poor season with Houston and Boston.
He hit a collective .199 with five homers and 28 RBIs last season, featuring the highest strikeout percentage of his career at 25.4%. His offensive qualities have decreased significantly with age, but he is still a solid defensive player who can fill a reserve role if need be.
Gonzalez’s best season came back in 2017 when he hit .303 with 23 homers and 90 RBIs.
Gonzalez has experience at multiple positions, including first base, second base, shortstop, and third base. He’s also spent some time in every outfield spot, which is extremely valuable. Gonzalez can replace Tyler Wade on the roster minus his speed on the bases, but his defensive acumen is worth a minor league contract at the very least.
While this isn’t exactly the high-profile move we hoped the Yankees would make this off-season, it is clear they are investing heavily in the potential of their prospects, which could end up biting them in the butt down the road. Just take a look at Gary Sanchez, Miguel Andujar, and Gleyber Torres as prime examples of sticking with players for too long and suffering through continuous growing pains.