THE YANKEES FOUND A BAT. NOW WATCH HIM TRY & FIND A CHAIR

The Yankees gave Marco Luciano a spot on the 40-man roster. Now comes the part this organization always seems to find so damn difficult. Give him a chance to play.

On November 2, the Yankees added the former Giants prospect after he hit .293 with 27 home runs and a .932 OPS between Somerset and Scranton. He’s 25. He’s played shortstop and second base in the majors. And with Jazz Chisholm Jr. in free agency, there’s a perfectly good reason to give Luciano regular innings at second this spring and see what he does with them.  

But what does an open competition even mean to these people?

We watched Anthony Volpe get years to work through his struggles while Jasson Domínguez spent too much time watching from the bench. How the hell are you supposed to evaluate young players when one guy gets time to make adjustments and the other has to make his case between days off?

Luciano hit .217 in 41 games with the Giants. There’s a real question about whether that minor-league bat will play in the Bronx. So, answer it. Give him innings at second instead of weak Volpe. Give him at-bats against big-league pitching. If he earns a job, which he will if you do this, play him often enough to see what happens when pitchers adjust and he has to adjust back. That’s the work. Putting his name on a roster took an afternoon.

I’m tired of hearing Brian Cashman talk about organizational depth while Aaron Boone treats the lineup like a seating chart at a wedding. The regulars know where they’re sitting. Everybody else waits to see if somebody cancels.

If Luciano shows up and outplays the guy you penciled in at second, erase the damn name.

This team needs to get it together.