The Yankees have gone from having an insane amount of depth to not so much. So, who will be their fourth outfielder come October?
The 2019 postseason is right around the corner and the Yankees are close to capturing the AL East title for the first time since 2012. The “Next Man Up” motto has really worked out with this Yankees team. With over 30 players landing on the IL, whoever was called up, stepped up and came through clutch.
One of those players that landed on the IL was Aaron Hicks. Hicks signed an extension for 7 years, $70 million back during Spring Training. Hicks suffered a right flexor strain back on August 4th against the Boston Red Sox but as the weeks went on, Hicks is still is not where he wants to be.
As of right now, three guys who definitely have secured spots in the outfield are Aaron Judge, Brett Gardner, and Giancarlo Stanton when he returns at the end of the month. While Hicks is looking to get a second opinion, there are a variety of young guys who are fighting for the spot.
Here are some of those players:
*Mike Tauchman
Mike Tauchman has come up huge for this team. After being acquired back in March from the Colorado Rockies, when Tauchman was called up, he took off from there. This season, the “Sockman” is batting .277 with 13 HR’s, 47 RBI’s and has an OPS of .865. As much of deserving Tauchman is, it has been announced that Tauchman will miss the rest of the season with a Grade 2 Calf Strain.
Cameron Maybin
Maybin has been another solid acquisition by Cashman during the season. Though he has had on and off injuries, when Maybin was first put into the lineup he took on the roles of various outfield positions. This season Maybin is batting .287 with 8 HR’s, 26 RBI’s and has an OPS of .843. The main concern with Maybin is that he’s been dealing with a wrist injury and it is possible he’ll most likely need surgery in the offseason. For now, the Yankees are hoping the injury does not get worse before the season ends.
Clint Frazier
Last but not least, Clint Frazier is another option the Yankees might use for the final outfield spot. Frazier was just recently called up on September 1st after being optioned to Triple-A back on June 17th. Frazier is batting .274 with 11 HR’s, 34 RBI’s and an OPS of .822. Frazier has had his issues on and off the field and ever since being called up, he has not seen the field much. It will be interesting to see how the Yankees use Frazier going forward especially with all the injuries.
For now, all we can do is sit and wait until the postseason to find out the rosters. A lot of the guys stepped up and really produced to help put the team in the situation they are now. With all the injuries at each position, many of these players are deserving but only a few can make it. All we can do is hope for the best and trust management to choose the best final spots for the outfield and infield.
If they are so high on Fraizer then why do they keep screwing him on and off the filed. I didn’t see Clint throw a tantrum like Gardner does (bat pounding on dug out/throw helmet and have it hit you in the face) these are GOOD Yankee traits are they? I think they will end up using clint in the Play offs and he comes through then asked to be traded from the Clique club Sabathia (knee), Stanton (name it) are ready to battle but a guy with 3 errors in the majors and zero errors in SWB he has fielding issues????? just man up you don’t like Clint because he is not a robot like Jeter was.