WHY IBANEZ HAS WORKED OUT FOR THE YANKEES...SO FAR

After the Yankees traded Jesus Montero to the Seattle Mariners this past off season, the Yankees needed to fill their void at the DH position. There were plenty of worthy candidates on the free agent market, at least in the eyes of Yankee fans, that could do the job. Some of those guys included Carlos Pena – who I preferred the most – Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, and Raul Ibanez. Personally, and I’m sure a lot of you could relate to this, but I much preferred one of the former three candidates than the latter, but, sure enough, the Yankees chose Ibanez.

I’ll be first to admit that I hated the Ibanez signing from day one. I even went as far as going out of my own way to ridicule him in a piece I wrote during Spring Training titled WHY THE YANKEES & ANGELS SHOULD MAKE A TRADE. I called him out for a number of things including his inability to get on base at a good enough rate the last few years, his inability to hit left-handed pitching, and his porous play in the outfield, among other things. But boy, was I wrong with this one or what?

In 29 games, 102 plate appearances, Ibanez has a batting line of .261/.324/.543 (average/on-base/slugging). He’s also hit seven home runs (Tied-2nd on the team), driven in 22 runs (2nd on the team) and is fourth on the team with a .867 OPS. Ibanez did get a guaranteed Major League contract when he signed on with the Yankees, but he’s making just a hair over $1 million this season and at least for now, the Yankees are definitely getting enough bang for their buck.

I get it, it’s early, but if Ibanez can provide anywhere near the production he has so far, he’ll prove to be a major steal for this team. Maybe he can keep this production up the entire season, who knows. He plays his home games at Yankee Stadium, of course, so his swing is perfect for the ballpark. When the Yankees signed Ibanez I thought they would end up having to wait until the July 31 Trade Deadline to acquire a bat to replace him once he crapped out. But now, Ibanez has made me eat crow, and I like it. Here’s to hoping Ibanez keeps it up for the duration of the season so we don’t have to search for a bat at the Trade Deadline.

 


--Jesse Schindler, BYB Lead Staff Writer
Follow me on Twitter @SchindlerJesse



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