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Didi Gregorius's injury poses an obvious problem for the Yankees: how do you replace such a vital player on both sides of the ball and in the clubhouse?
But two timing issues further complicate the question:
1) The Yankees will have a clue once Gregorius has been operated on by Tommy John and will start his rehab on his return, but with no certainty. Corey Seager, for example, needed a surgery at Tommy John early May and the Dodgers felt it would take her 10 to 11 months to recover. Ten months for Gregorius would drive him around August. Thus, a similar schedule would cause Gregorius for most of next year.
2) The Yankees' time is now. They just can not bump next year. They must therefore compensate for the absence of Gregorius. But what is tricky is that they have to find a player good enough to play all season and flexible enough to help elsewhere if Gregorius returns.
Since the Yankees are still associated with the biggest names, Manny Machado quickly thought of us. He could play short, then switch to third place. But with Giancarlo Stanton in the books, the Yanks will hesitate to add a second mega-contract. In addition, the Yankees may not want to block the third base of Miguel Andujar, which, in theory, could move to the first.
So, if not Machado, who? Some ideas:
1. Daniel Murphy – There is a lot to dislike with this free agent. That would mean playing Murphy in second place, where he is a mediocre defender, and Gleyber Torres in summary, where he is inferior to his second place job. What do you like? Murphy is left handed and losing Gregorius will reduce Yanks in this area. Murphy is the kind of guy with high impact and reduced attack who gets a good start, the kind of Yankees need (especially in October). His power would play further at Yankee Stadium. When Gregorius returns, Murphy could go to first / DH.
2. Jurickson Profar – He has already been a target of the Yankees. Profar has just completed its healthiest and most productive season. He is a switch-hitter who is good on both sides. When Gregorius returns, Profar plays the four positions of infield and left field. It can be a bit scattered like a stopover.
Texas is in reconstruction and would probably prefer to move the short stopover Elvis Andrus with at least four years to 58 million dollars and the possibility to opt out after the next season, or maybe even a second baseman, Rougned Odor (it will remain four years to 43, 5 million dollars). . But these are unlikely targets of the Yankees. The Rangers are thirsty for young weapons, and Profar (free agent after 2020) could potentially induce the Yanks to part with some of their many hopes of pitchers.
3. Nick Ahmed – Freddy Galvis, Adeiny Hechavarria and Jose Iglesias are free-agent shortstop options. Of those, I like Galvis better, but I like Ahmed better than Galvis, although it needs an exchange to get it. Arizona is mainly thinking about rebuilding, and if Ahmed (free agent after 2020) can pick a few, the Diamondbacks could cover their midfield player with Ketel Marte and Chris Owings. Ahmed is a superb defender who, without being a powerful offensive player, became better in 2018, adding some power.
4. Ben Zobrist – The Cubs have had trouble attacking in 2018 and may not want to trade a guy who hit .305 with a .817 OPS. But Chicago has too much choice of position and may not find other ways to withdraw money (Zobrist earns $ 12 million in the last year of his contract in 2019) and solve the problems pitch depth. Zobrist is a drummer who – like his late Murphy teammate Murphy – does not miss and misses a lot. He can handle the second goal and, if necessary, switch to the first or the outer corner.
5. Jonathan Schoop – Brian Cashman did not hide his feelings on the fact that he preferred to trade Sonny Gray this season. Maybe Gray could be used to find help at the middle level. On Friday Post (even before the Gregorius news came out), I wondered if there was a Gray-for-Schoop deal, because both had problems in 2018 and were free after 2019. Milwaukee could probably use the depth of rotation more than Schoop and his coach. Derek Johnson is the coach of the Vanderbilt Gray pitchers. Joe Panik, second baseman from baseball St. John's, was injured in 2018 and Curt Young was also the coach of Gray's A pitchers.
6. Eduardo Escobar – There are four multi-position free agents hitting the switch that intrigue everyone: Escobar, Marwin Gonzalez, Jed Lowrie and Asdrubal Cabrera. My instinct says that Lowrie wants a definite position and a return to Oakland, plus the Yank have had opportunities for him before and have shown no interest. To do this, Cabrera would likely fall further into the Yankees' price range than either Escobar or Gonzalez, and his left-wing power would really be playing at Yankee Stadium. But I like Escobar and Gonzalez better and maybe Escobar a drop more for the needs of the Yankees.
Yolmer Sanchez, White Sox, and Jonathan Villar, Orioles, stand out. Villar's speed is a seductive element.
7. Neil Walker – With regard to the multi-position hitters, Walker could simply be re-signed and the Yanks would probably feel that, with a full spring training, he would this time be an ever more productive player.
The Marlins would get rid of the $ 12 million owed to Starlin Castro, but I can not imagine the Yanks going back there or giving up enough to extract Gennett's Scooter (free after 2019) from the Reds, who have the main hope Nick Stenzel ready to join their team. infield and a desperation for pitching prospects. Daniel Descalso is a free agent utility coming out of his best season. Jedd Gyorko (one year, $ 14 million) from St. Louis could play anywhere in the infield.
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