Analysis

Yankees: Ranking The Top 5 Free Agent Shortstops

#5- Javier Baez

During the Chicago Cubs fire sale at the deadline, star shortstop Javier Baez was shipped out to the other New York team that resides in Queens.

Baez, 28, has been one of the most polarizing players in baseball over the last few years. His flare and personality has garnered him quite the reputation throughout the MLB.

Let’s push all of that to the side for now. The 2 time National League All-Star batted .265 in 2021, with 31 HR’s, 87 RBI’s, OPS of .813, wRC+ of 116, and a 3.6 WAR.

Baez has been known to have been a very solid fielder throughout his MLB career. He won a Gold Glove while with the Cubs in 2020 and has had many highlight reel plays time and time again.

Baez is a very flashy fielder but errors have plagued his defensive reliability. Javy commited 24 errors this season, 20 with Chicago and 4 with the Mets. The most notable of those errors was against the Yankees on 9/11, which essentially costed the Mets the ballgame. He had 3 DRS but a -0.6 UZR, so nothing too special there.

I love Baez’s energetic personality and swagger. He brings a lot of flare to his game and he is one of my favorite players to watch, but I just don’t see why the Yankees need him. The Yankees need to focus on signing a solid defender that can hit the ball. Baez delievers the fun and flashy plays but he is not the most reliable defender. The Yankees should steer clear of Baez.

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