How might Yankees address LF hole in ’23?
This story was excerpted from Bryan Hoch’s Yankees Beat publication. To learn the complete publication, click on right here. And subscribe to get it repeatedly in your inbox.
It was about an hour after Aaron Judge had been named the sixteenth captain in franchise historical past, handing the American League’s Most Valuable Player his without end pinstripes in a news convention at Yankee Stadium. Hal Steinbrenner thought-about his group’s roster for 2023 and determined there was nonetheless extra to do.
“What I can tell you is, ‘We’re not done yet,’” Steinbrenner, the Yankees’ managing common accomplice, stated. “I’d be surprised.”
The subsequent day introduced the introduction of left-hander Carlos Rodón, however Steinbrenner had already factored that in. After 99 regular-season wins and an AL East title, however a thirteenth consecutive 12 months and not using a World Series look, the intent stays to proceed upgrading the roster earlier than Judge and his teammates stand on the first-base line for the March 30 opener.
Left subject stays the more than likely space of focus, the place Oswaldo Cabrera and Aaron Hicks occupy the depth chart in pencil. The remainder of the outfield is ready; Judge expressed that he’s not glad after breaking Roger Maris’ AL single-season house run report final 12 months, and Harrison Bader’s playoff efficiency means that his midseason commerce may very well be a winner.
Giancarlo Stanton might additionally see a while within the outfield, although supervisor Aaron Boone would favor to make use of Stanton within the less-spacious proper subject for house video games.
“I want to get him out there, but I see him more in right field in our ballpark, maybe on days where I give Judge a DH day,” Boone stated. “Or G can spell left field in other ballparks. Hopefully, physically, he’s in a space where he’s playing the outfield in spurts all year long. I put him in left field last year in a playoff game out of need, and he was ready for it.”
So the place will the Yankees go from right here? They would have preferred to retain Andrew Benintendi however had been unwilling to match a five-year, $75 million provide from the White Sox. Following the offers for Judge and Rodón, the Yankees’ payroll is roughly $288 million; the highest luxurious tax threshold is $293 million, which they could be aiming to remain underneath.
“We loved having Andrew Benintendi; it would have been nice to retain him,” senior vp and common supervisor Brian Cashman stated. “We’re down a left-handed bat that would fit in left field. That would be something that we’d prefer, but at the same time, you can’t have everything you want at all times.”
There aren’t many high quality left-handed bats obtainable on the free-agent market. New York’s curiosity was piqued when Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds requested a commerce earlier than final month’s Winter Meetings. A switch-hitter who turns 28 later this month, Reynolds would assist improve an offense that struggled to attain runs within the postseason.
A National League All-Star in 2021, Reynolds is coming off a ‘22 season in which he batted .262/.345/.461 (126 OPS+) with 27 homers and 62 RBIs. He’s set to earn $6.75 million subsequent 12 months and is underneath group management by ‘25. Pittsburgh has little appetite to unload Reynolds for anything less than star-level talent. In the Yanks’ case, that would imply requests to half with shortstop Oswald Peraza (the membership’s No. 3 prospect per MLB Pipeline) or outfielder Jasson Domínguez (No. 2). The Yanks and Pirates have in recent times discovered matches on trades involving pitchers Clay Holmes and Jameson Taillon.
New York is thought to have spoken with the Twins about Max Kepler, a lefty swinger who turns 30 in February and hit .227/.318/.348 (93 OPS+) final 12 months. In 2019, Kepler hit 36 homers with 90 RBIs, numbers which have since been dented by accidents. Scouts imagine that Kepler might profit from the new ban on defensive shifting.
As for the in-house choices, Cabrera contributed as a jack-of-all-trades final season, batting .247/.312/.740 (109 OPS+) with six homers and 19 RBIs in 44 video games whereas seeing responsibility at each place however catcher, pitcher and heart subject. Hicks stays underneath contract by 2025, although he might profit from a change of surroundings after listening to boos throughout a tough season by which he batted .216/.330/.313 (86 OPS+) with eight homers and 40 RBIs in 130 video games. A commerce accomplice has, to this point, not materialized.
“We’ll continue to patiently assess opportunities,” Cashman stated. “When something realistic comes into play that we’re comfortable with trying to pull down, we’ll make some recommendations to Hal. It’s been more of a challenge to solve [left field], so we’ll continue to work toward that.”
