5 ways to fix the Yankees sooner rather than later
Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres at Yankee Stadium on May 22, 2021. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
As the Yankees began play on June 1, they were not a playoff team.
That’s not an opinion. That’s what the standings said. If the season ended on Memorial Day, the Yankees would not have made the playoffs. They started play Tuesday a half-game out from creating a three-way tie for the second wild card.
It’s time for Brian Cashman to do something about it. It’s past time, actually, unless the general manager enjoys watching a team that can’t hit, can’t field at key positions and treats its star sluggers as if they are made of glass.
We won’t implore Cashman to make trades. Maybe it’s too early (although the Rays found a way to make a significant deal on May 21 when they sent shortstop Willy Adames to the Brewers for two relievers, one of whom picked up the save in Monday’s 3-1 victory at Yankee Stadium. Maybe making trades before trading season is just another thing the Rays do better than the Yankees.)
Let’s assume the Yankees have to shuffle the cards they have. There are moves that can and should be made, pronto. Manager Aaron Boone has proved he has a steady hand. But standing pat should not be an option, not when the Rays and then the Red Sox are salivating at the chance to deliver lasting blows to the Yankees this week in the Bronx.
Second thoughts on Gleyber
Gleyber Torres started his professional career as a shortstop, but after nine errors in 40 games in 2020 and nine errors in 45 games this season we’re convinced this jury is in. And the verdict is Torres is better off going back to second base.
DJ LeMahieu can play first every day until Luke Voit is back. When Voit comes back? Worry about it then.
As for short, let Tyler Wade play every day. Yes, really good pitchers will knock the bat out of Wade’s hands. But how does that make him different than the rest of the Yankees right now? Why live with Torres’ inconsistent defense just to get Rougned Odor (.194 average going into Tuesday) or Mike Ford (.140) into the lineup?
Wade will bring defense and speed. If he can get on base at a decent clip, he will be a useful hitter out of the nine-hole.
Up goes Frazier
On Monday, against a lefthander, Clint Frazier was on the bench despite getting two hits on Sunday. Brett Gardner and his microscopic OPS was in centerfield.
Miguel Andujar has earned the leftfield job with his hitting of late, so if Frazier is going to play every day it’s going to have to be in center. Yes, we know Frazier still seems to stumble after every fly ball at the corner spots, but he thinks center is his best position. It’s time to give him a two-week run there. Gardner will still be around for late inning defense.
And if that doesn’t work out . . .
Let Florial bloom
The Yankees have a gaping hole in center with Aaron Hicks out for the season. The Yankees’ top major league-ready prospect is centerfielder Estevan Florial. The Yankees love Florial’s tools and makeup.
This really shouldn’t be that hard. I did all that without an analytics department!
Free G
Have you noticed that everything the Yankees have done to keep Giancarlo Stanton healthy hasn’t worked? Is it possible that sitting for 95% of every game as the designated hitter instead of playing the outfield at least part-time isn’t good for a 31-year-old, world-class athlete? Wouldn’t it be better for his legs if he ran around the green grass every now and then?
If you expect less, you usually end up getting just that.
The Yankees obviously want to give Aaron Judge as many DH days as possible (he was the DH again on Tuesday with Stanton getting another day off). How about the sluggers share rightfield and DH?
Think about a new manager
Not yet. But at some point, if changing the players doesn’t work, you have to look at replacing Boone before the season starts to slip away — which, by the end of this week, it might already have.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
