The Yankees have two, long-overdue roster moves that need to be made
It
is really difficult to find flaws in a team that is 50-25 and went almost half
of their season without losing three games in a row, but the Yankees do have a
few roster spots that need to be addressed sooner rather than later. The
Yankees should not be sweating over this losing streak as they just were on the
unfortunate side of some close games, but every game matters as the Red Sox are
tied with them on top of the division and the Yankees do not want to win 95+
games and have their season possibly end by the means of a one game playoff. With
that being said, when there are problems that need to be fixed on a roster,
they should be addressed when necessary and two spots in particular need to be
addressed: Chasen Shreve and Neil Walker
Chasen Shreve
The
only other lefty in the pen besides Aroldis Chapman, Shreve has been horrendous
as of late as his ERA is now north of five, and he has been causing Yankees’
fans déjà vu of Tyler Clippard last season. Shreve started off the season only
allowing one run in April, but has been terrible since, as he has had four
outings where he has allowed multiple runs. Since May 23, Shreve has an ERA of 10.13,
has allowed four home runs, and let 100% of inherited runners score. It doesn’t
get much worse than that over a month span, and the Yankees cannot keep running
him out there simply because he is out of options and throws with his left arm.
Shreve has had a higher OPS allowed against lefties this season then righties
by almost .200 points, so the label of a lefty specialist is absolutely preposterous
at this point in time.
The
Yankees have a few ways they can go about this. They can straight up DFA him or
try to seek out a trade and see if they can get anything of value for a pitcher
who posted respectable numbers in 2017 and 2015. He cannot be sent down due to
his lack of options. Whatever the Yankees decide to do, they have plenty of
options for who could replace Shreve. Cody Carrol, JP Feyereisen, and Tommy
Kahnle are all options at Triple-A and have solid numbers. If they want a second
southpaw in the bullpen, the Yankees will likely need to seek one out on the
market, but Shreve is currently useless in this role, so keeping him in it is
simply not amounting to any sort of advantage for the Yankees.
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| Photo Credit: AP |
Neil Walker
I
was a huge fan of the Neil Walker signing, when the Yankees inked him as a
veteran insurance option for the infield. I was also very patient with him
through the season’s first few months because he did not have a spring training
and, at times, has had sporadic playing time. However, with the calendar
flipping to July and much better options awaiting at Scranton, his time in
pinstripes should be coming to an end.
Walker
saw his average and OPS fall to .192 and .539 respectively after today’s game
and was even PH for in favor of Clint Frazier in the ninth. His ability to play
first, second, and third and his veteran presence have helped keep him around
to this point. However, with Brandon Drury absolutely raking at Triple-A, and
even Tyler Wade and Ronald Torreyes appearing to be better utility options at
this point, Walker should be on the hot seat and on his way out, if there is
not a dramatic turnaround soon. Drury has started playing first base at Scranton,
which is one of the reasons Walker has been coveted because of the positions he
could play. Their fielding isn’t a deal breaker, but Drury’s bat and youth
would be a welcomed addition over the year-long slumping of Walker. If Drury
were to come up and just hit to his career .766 OPS mark, he would be a dramatic
upgrade. A player with a -0.9 WAR and only a little over two-million dollars
left on his salary should not be guaranteed a position on the team.
Article
by: Ryan Thoms
Follow @RyanThoms_
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