Last week I said THE LAST BENCH CUT COULD BE THE ONE YOU LEAST EXPECT! and I still believe that. We still have a giant question mark looming with Tyler Wade. I said he could be on the chopping block and I still think he could be. In fact, now I will say that he SHOULD be.
I agree that the Yankees need a backup infielder. I don't think the Yankees should or could go indefinitely without one but, why does that backup infielder have to be Wade? Just because he is available shouldn't be the acceptable answer. The Yankees need the right guy for the job. Any "healthy" body shouldn't be the answer even when the Yankees are riddled with injuries. What happened to earning your spot?
That hasn't changed, so what has Wade done to earn his spot? His defense was his most attractive asset and even that is suspect and his bat should be equally as important especially when the Yankees are missing some of their heavy hitters like Luke Voit. A defensive substitute just isn't enough. He's had four seasons with a .190 BA and so far this spring he has a .194 BA with 14 strikeouts in 36 at-bats. Why is this worthy of a roster spot? Maybe it's not.
And if Aaron Boone's comments are any sort of hint, then so be it. We shouldn't be okay with rewarding a spot to Wade just because he fits a need. Does he play the position? Yes, but he's still a square peg in a round hole as far as I am concerned. He makes sense on paper, and that's it.
I hope some things are still in play as Boone said and I hope that is someone else. No offense to Wade, I appreciate his efforts over the last four seasons but it hasn't paid off. The Yankees could in theory option him to the minors and then we just wait for the time that he gets the call and then what? It's kicking the can down the road.
Either way, I don't have hope false or otherwise when it comes to Wade's likelihood of contributing to the Yankees. We've tried this already and it hasn't worked. It's an irrational attachment that fans and the Yankees have that hasn't worked out. It's time to cut the cord.
Jeana, my favorite Yankees writer, your work is appreciated and entertaining as always!
ReplyDeleteYou are not wrong about Tyler Wade in the sense that he should need to pull his weight at the plate a little bit. He's not doing that thus far at the major league level when games matter.
That said the Yankees are extraordinarily thin at SS & ideally the backup infielder presents a defensive upgrade.
Kyle Holder comes to mind as a player that slipped away. He's a lockdown defensive shortstop who really hits about the same as Wade and actually he is getting on base a little better than Wade has this spring, not that spring training stats matter because they certainly don't.
Of course Wade has the speed advantage over holder also but when I think of a backup infielder I think of a guy who plays all over the diamond but is especially good at shortstop and second base.
You pointed out that on paper, Wade makes sense and the numbers certainly back that up in terms of his overall value. The bottom line is he's young and controllable and he's clinging to his roster spot by the skin of his teeth mainly due to not being able to translate the kind of offense that he produced in the minor leagues to the big leagues, ala 2019 Mike Tauchman (who then reverted but we will chalk that up to playing with the injured shoulder and also the Covid effect which was real whether people want to believe it or not. See Christian Yelich 2020 Stats for Exhibit A).
We're trapped in an existential novel titled "Waiting for Wade." Thus far he has not shown up & he's clinging to his roster spot because of his skill set and the fact that the Yankees don't have anyone else to plug in.
Thairo Estrada is a little worse defensively & he has not shown the ability to control the strike zone and get on base either.
Jeana, your opinion is bold & well founded. The Yankees and Brian Cashman are clinging to Wade because probably ultimately they think he may be a little better than he's shown thus far & bottom line is he's highly affordable.
There were plenty of bench pieces available this off-season but none of them really fit the bill while also being anywhere near the Yankees self inflicted / preferred price point.
Needless to say, "if" Gleyber Torres suffers a serious injury this season it is highly doubtful that the Yankees can get by on a daily basis and into the playoffs with Tyler Wade...-- at least I don't think they can.
I remember being shocked by Brian Doyle's World Series performance and Fred Stanley was also pretty clutch when it mattered for New York. Tyler Wade deserves a benefit of the doubt but it is very fair to say that if he doesn't start at least getting on base a little bit that he's likely to squander this opportunity he has yet again with the Yankees.
I certainly can see the Yankees trading for utility guy who plays similar defense to Wade but offers a little more offensive upside.
It's a shame because with the Speed-Tool that Wade brings, if he were able to get on base a little he could really impact the team.
Optioning Tyler Wade to the miners sounds like a delightful idea to me because it would be a way for Tyler Wade to work on his hitting and his own base skills. The problem is the Yankees really are just too thin at shortstop. They may want to option him but they just can't take that risk. The Yankees absolutely do need a backup middle infielder to start the season.
Unfortunately, Wade is still the guy and let's face it. How many teams splurge on backup infielders?
If Estrada had progressed like they thought the Wade would had been cut.
ReplyDeleteWade has decent but not great AAA stats but he plays every day down on the farm.
None roster Dietrich had a chance but just did not take the opportunity to claim a spot.
It is possible that if Andujar had been healthy they could had kept him and played Gio at SS to rest Torres and Andujar at 3rd who could play LF in a pinch.
Yankees have not developed an infield prospect other than Andujar and Bird who both have injury bugs ot seems once reaching the MLB.
Estrada was to be a good defensive player with some pop and above average bat but has not been the same since he was shot.
If we had another infielder I would play Wade at SS and Torres at 2B and DJ at 1B and Gio at 3B that would be a better defensive infield than Bruce at 1B.
Maybe Wade will rise to the occasion and be the next man up like Gio was two years ago.
Interesting points Rev. Gittens looks the part but he was robbed of playing AAA last year so maybe Yankees feel he needs a little more time to do that. Gittens is a very good defensive first baseman and his bat is looking Major League ready. The Yankees could plug Gittens in at 1B & shift Gleyber to 2B & DJ to 3B but the problem is with Wade at SS you'd have his left handed bat in the lineup instead of Bruce or the right-handed Gittens.
ReplyDeleteNeither Bruce nor Dietrich lolked all that good in spring training. Granted they're both veterans and they both were healthy. In my opinion an easy fix at 1B was Gittens & I'd rather have seen that than Bruce.
I want to usher the name Ford to the conversation but I'll refrain from doing that. The Yankees have internal options and yet they refrain from using them. There's something going on where they're just not developing guys.
Now they have to pay Jay Bruce to come in and do the job instead of giving the job to a hungry young guy who looks like he's tearing the cover off the ball right now and playing stellar defense. Did they not realize Gittens was in campus spring?
I disagree. Wade has TONS of speed, plays above average defense (especially at SS) and can bunt. He is literally the perfect utility player. Do you really want Urshela playing short for even 1 inning?!? Not me...
ReplyDeleteWade had a better BA (.220) this spring than LeMahieu (.216), Urshela (.150), and Bruce (.206) and virtually the same BA as Estrada (.222).
ReplyDeletePlus he can play OF as well.
I don't understand the hate for this guy. He's a bench player. He's Homer Bush. He's Luis Sojo/Miguel Cairo/Jose Vizcaino..... if we are relying on Tyler Wade we're in bad shspe.