It’s been five years since Curtis Granderson donned the pinstripes, but with Aaron Judge out due to injury, is there potential for a reunion with the Yankees?
Now, it’s no secret Granderson has suffered his fair share of regression after departing for the Mets, posting a slash of .235/.337/.438 since 2014 compared to a .245/.335/.495 line he put up in his four seasons as a Yankee. But it’s hard to ignore that through 85 games this year, he has posted an above league average wRC+ of 107.
April 19th 2012
Curtis Granderson blasts three home runs en route to a 5-5 game with four RBI's against the Twins. pic.twitter.com/uxbKOBHs3B— 🤠FakeFan Downtown (@davidtabrown) March 13, 2018
With that said, It’d be hard to argue against the former 3x All-Star slotting in at DH through the month of August, just until Judge returns from injury.
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Although he’s clearly not what he used to be, Granderson is still putting up a decent 2018 campaign. Here’s how he’s has measured up this season along with his numbers paced across 162 games.
85 Games / 162 Games
- BA: .234 / .234
- OBP: .336 / .336
- SLG: .421 / .421
- OPS: .756 / .756
- 2B: 15 / 28
- 3B: 1 / 2
- HR: 10 / 20
- RBI: 59
- SO: 86 / 163
These stats obviously won’t come close to replicating the production of Aaron Judge, but having Granderson slot into the lineup instead of Shane Robinson certainly would be a boost. Not to mention the return of his pull-heavy swing to the short porch in right field.
If a deal was to get done, which wouldn’t be a tough task at all, here’s what a potential Yankee lineup could look like with Granderson as the DH.
- Gardner LF (L)
- Stanton RF
- Gregorius SS (L)
- Hicks CF (S)
- Torres 2B
- Bird 1B (L)
- Andujar/Walker 3B
- Granderson DH (L)
- Romine C
Factor in that Granderson is owed roughly just $2-2.5 million for the rest of 2018, the only thing that may be holding the Yankees from striking a reunion is if Cashman has a bigger splash in mind. But for now, it seems almost like a perfect fit to hold down the fort until Aaron Judge can return to the Bronx.