My Thoughts on Didi Gregorius
The way
Brian Cashman configured the Yankees infield this offseason left me quite
perplexed. While it only took below average starting pitcher Shane Greene to
land the offensively challenged shortstop Didi Gregorius, I wasn’t in love with
the move, but didn’t hate it either. On the other hand, I was livid when he
traded one of our best offensive players in Martin Prado to the Marlins for the
not so nasty Nathan Eovaldi. Even if Cashman was intent on acquiring Eovaldi,
I’m pretty sure it could have been done without giving up Prado, and trading
from a position of weakness. He also re-signed Chase Headley to a four-year
deal, and everyone’s favorite guy to pick on Stephen Drew to a one-year deal.
With this set-up, the Yankees have been getting virtually no offensive
production from the two middle infield spots. If the Yankees plan on winning
the AL East and contending for a championship this season, either Drew or Didi must
go. Unfortunately, Gregorius has not given me any reason to believe he can
improve and become our shortstop of the future.
First
and foremost, succeeding Derek Jeter is a very tall order, and the fan base
should cut Gregorius some slack. Take note of my word use in that sentence. I
used the word succeed, instead of
replace because nobody can replace Derek Jeter. If Gregorius was at least
playing as well as an average MLB shortstop I would not be writing this
article, but unfortunately he has been completely and utterly atrocious. While
he has shown some signs of possibly becoming an elite defender, for the most
part I have been underwhelmed by his defensive performance considering how much
Cashman talked him up. I will admit that he has gotten to more balls than Jeter
did in his later years, but that’s not really saying much. Once again, if
Gregorius were an above average defender, and a .250 hitter, then I would have
no problem. Thus far, Didi has nine errors. He is second on the team, behind
only the error machine Chase Headley in that category. Despite some of his
defensive woes, which some may attribute to his immaturity, I’ll cut him some
slack on the defensive end.
I don’t
think it’s a stretch for me to say that Didi Gregorius is one of the worst
hitters I’ve ever watched. First of all, whenever he swings the bat his
undercut swing resembles a golfer attempting to hit the ball out of the sand
pit area (my golf terminology is probably incorrect considering I know nothing
about golf). I can’t even count the amount of times Gregorius has come up this
season with a runner in scoring position, and failed to have a productive at
bat. Instead of either moving the runner over, or getting him home via a soft
ground ball, or sacrifice fly, Gregorius seems inclined to swing for the
fences. I haven’t checked the statistics, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he led
the team in pop ups.
I have given hitting coach Jeff Pentland nothing but high
remarks for his part in contributing to the turnaround of the Yankees offense
from the mediocrity of the past couple of seasons. While guys like Beltran,
McCann, Teixeira, and Gardner have had great bounce back years, Gregorius has
made no progress whatsoever at the plate. Does he look better now than he did
in April? Yes, but that’s not saying much considering how horrendous he was
earlier in the season.
I think
as fans we have to come to realization that Gregorius is offensively challenged,
and will never become a major league hitter. He is only 25, but considering no
progress has been made from his rookie season I have no reason to be
optimistic. Just think about this for a second. At age 40, Derek Jeter had a
better offensive season than Gregorius has had this year. In fact, I’d take a
50-year old Derek Jeter with one leg at the plate over Didi Gregorius. There’s
simply no way to miraculously transform a 2001 Toyota Camry into a 2015
Mustang. Gregorius is nothing more than a .230 hitter who will hit the
occasional meaningless home run.
Unless
Gregorius or Drew turn their seasons around in the weeks leading up to the
trade deadline, Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman have some decisions to make.
There are two ways I would handle our middle infield situation, and both of
them include reacquiring Martin Prado, who shouldn’t have been traded in the
first place!! After putting Prado at second, the Yankees can either designate
Stephen Drew for assignment, and stick with Didi at shortstop, or shift Drew to
short (which is his normal position) and move Didi to a utility role. When it’s
all said and done, I see Didi Gregorius as nothing more than Brendan Ryan,
except for the fact that he’s not perennially on the disabled list.
I know
many fans continue to believe and want him to succeed, due in large part to his
age, but we have to accept the reality of the situation, and that reality is
simple: Didi Gregorious is not a good baseball player.
I’d also
like to raise the same point as I did in my recent article on CC Sabathia. How long will the Yankees continue to play
players who just are not good? Gregorius, like Sabathia, falls into this
category. Being the only starting position player under age thirty on this
team, I understand why many Yankees fans are excited about Gregorius, however
his apparent unwillingness to change his swing or approach at the plate, in
conjunction with what seems like a lack of offensive talent, makes me believe
Gregorius’s time in the Bronx will be short-lived. I’m not saying we should
completely give up on Didi yet, however we should also take a step back and
realize he is not the shortstop of the future.
Side
note: I was sick to my stomach earlier upon receiving news that Esmil Rogers
was recalled.
Article
by Steven Eareckson
Follow
me on twitter @SEareckson
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with the blog on twitter @BronxBomberBlog
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