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Eight storylines to follow as the Yankees begin Spring Training

February 14, 2019 by Mike

Pitchers and catchers reported to Tampa yesterday and it didn’t take long for the Yankees to suffer their first injury of the spring. Pitching prospect Mike King will miss at least three weeks with an elbow issue. Baseball always has a way of keeping you humble. Excited Spring Training has started? Well you won’t be seeing this pitching prospect this spring, sorry. So it goes.

Position players report Monday and the Yankees open their Grapefruit League season next Saturday. These next ten days are a grind. Baseball is happening and not happening at the same time. We waited all winter for Spring Training to begin and now we have to wait a little longer for actual baseball games, and even then the games are meaningless. It’s baseball though, and baseball is better than no baseball.

Now that Spring Training has opened, this is a good time to break down some key Yankees storylines for the coming weeks. Players to watch, trends to track, that sorta thing. Here are eight storylines to watch this spring, listed in no particular order.

Seriously, what about Harper and Machado?

Look, I’m as sick of writing about them as you are of hearing about them, but as long as Bryce Harper and Manny Machado remain unsigned, we have to talk about them. The stunningly stupid prevailing logic says MLB teams all have smart front offices now and they’ve realized paying top dollar for ~~aging past prime players~~ elite prime-aged talent is a bad idea. Did you know ten teams have a sub-$100M payroll? In 2019? Crazy.

Anyway, the Yankees only half-heartedly pursued Machado over the winter and they weren’t connected to Harper at all. “I’m surprised you’re still asking,” said Brian Cashman when asked about possibly signing Harper during the Winter Meetings. The thing is, the longer those two sit in free agency, the greater the chances the Yankees swoop in to sign one of ’em. The temptation has to be there, and, at this point, I have to think a discount is possible.

It feels like everyone I talk to wants Machado and Harper to sign just to get it over with already. We’re sick of hearing about them and, frankly, it’s embarrassing for baseball that these two are unemployed as camp opens. It looks bad. Hopefully the Yankees can sign either Machado or Harper. That would be preferable but weeks ago I accepted they’re probably going elsewhere. Until they sign though, their situation has to be monitored.

Tulowitzki’s comeback attempt

The Good: Troy Tulowitzki has fully recovered from last year’s dual heel surgeries and is as healthy as he’s been at any point in the last couple years, plus he is basically free, so the Yankees could easily cut him loose should he not get the job done. The Bad: The Yankees seem very committed to Tulowitzki as their starting shortstop and I’m not sure they would cut him loose even if his production warrants it.

“The plan right now is to get Troy ready to play shortstop. That’s where he’ll focus,” Aaron Boone said yesterday. “As the weeks — as the months — unfold we’ll adjust if we need to. We’re planning on him playing shortstop and focusing solely there.”

“We were all in. He really looked athletic (during his workout), it looked like he had that bounce back in his step. We feel there is a lot of potential upside here,” said Cashman last month. I totally get rolling the dice on Tulowitzki. It’s a low-risk contract and, as a former star caliber player, there’s always a chance he has a late-career dead cat bounce season. Think Eric Chavez in 2012. He’s worth a look with Didi Gregorius out.

Tulowitzki has not played since July 2017 and you kinda have to expect some rust after that. He has been working out all winter — Tulowitzki has been in Tampa working out at the minor league complex for a few days now even though position players aren’t due to report until Monday — but there’s no substitute for game action. Those first few live pitches and ground balls might speed up on him a little bit, you know?

Spring Training performance is not very predictive and that will be especially true in Tulowitzki’s case. Certainly it would be great to see him knock the snot out of the ball and vacuum up everything at shortstop for a few weeks. Even then, we won’t know how long it’ll last because he’s had so many injury problems throughout his career. For all intents and purposes, we’re going into camp with no idea what to expect from Tulowitzki. We’ll learn as we go.

Andujar’s defense

“Entirely at third,” Boone came out and said yesterday when asked where Miguel Andujar will play going forward. “That said, there may be a day or two that we pick to have him on a back field just getting some first base in — which we may do with a (Austin) Romine or a Gary (Sanchez) — pick a day just to keep some versatile options when you get into a little bit of a bind. His game work will be, I’ll say pretty much entirely at third base.”

Last season Andujar was the worst defensive third baseman in baseball (according to DRS) and the Yankees sent him into the offseason with a plan to improve what he does before the pitch is thrown. They want him to get in better position to react and make plays, basically. Andujar’s hands and throwing arm are pretty good! There are times he stumbles over his own feet though, and he rushes his throws because he double-clutches so often.

I have no illusions of Andujar becoming an above-average defender. He is a tireless worker and I don’t doubt that he’ll try to improve. It’s just that going from that bad to that good is unlikely. Has anyone else done it? Gone from being one of the worst defenders in baseball, statistically, to being legitimately above-average? I can’t think of anyone. My hopes are modest. Andujar becomes an average defender who makes routine plays look routine. That’s all I’m asking.

I think two things will happen this spring: One, any Andujar misplay will be magnified, and two, he’ll look better than expected at third base because we’ve kinda lost perspective about him as a defender after spending all winter talking about how bad he defensively. Pre-pitch setup is not something we’ll be able to evaluate in Spring Training. At least not on television. Clearly though, Andujar’s defense is something to monitor throughout camp.

“I feel like he’s in a really good place defensively,” Boone added. “There’s some things that we’ve had him work on defensively that I think have really taken hold with him. And I think he’s had a great winter of work — I think all of you that have been around and have seen the work ethic, that’s reared its head in the winter — I feel that he’s another guy that comes into Spring Training in a really good place.”

Sabathia’s farewell

On Saturday, CC Sabathia will make official what we’ve known for a long time now: 2019 will be his final season. Sabathia will hold a press conference (with his family in attendance) to formally announce his retirement, and mostly take questions because no one has had a chance to ask him about it. Man I hope he doesn’t cry during the press conference. Not sure I could handle seeing the big guy in tears.

Once the press conference is over with, it’ll be time to get down to business. Sabathia had his usual offseason knee cleanup procedure and also heart surgery in December, and Boone said yesterday the Yankees will take it slow with Sabathia early in camp. So much so that his first bullpen session could be a few weeks away, which would seem to put his Opening Day roster status in question.

Sabathia is fine, physically. It’s just that the heart procedure interrupted his offseason work and put him behind schedule, and he’s still catching up. The Yankees take it very easy on Sabathia in Spring Training anyway — he usually pitches in simulated games rather than Grapefruit League games — so it’ll be tough to know exactly how far behind schedule he is. He’s a difficult guy to track usually because we rarely see him in games.

If Sabathia has to start the season on the injured list, so be it. Won’t be the only time the Yankees have to use one of their depth starters this year. The larger point is this is it for Sabathia, and maybe Brett Gardner as well, the final two links to the 2009 World Series team. It’s one thing when the veterans assume reduced roles. It’s another when they’re gone and the changing of the guard is complete.

How is the rehab group doing?

The list of rehabbing Yankees is sneaky long. Sabathia did not suffer a baseball injury but he will be playing catch up in Spring Training. Tulowitzki has technically completed his heel surgery rehab but is something of an unknown, physically. Clint Frazier is in a similar spot following his concussion and post-concussion migraines. Here are some of the other rehabbing Yankees and their statuses:

Jacoby Ellsbury (hip surgery): He won’t report with position players Monday and will instead stay home in Arizona for a few more weeks. Weird, man.
Didi Gregorius (Tommy John surgery): Started a throwing program last week and is a few weeks away from swinging a bat two-handed. The Yankees refuse to give a firm timetable for his return.
Ben Heller (Tommy John surgery): No update, probably because he’s not a big name player.
Jordan Montgomery (Tommy John surgery): Expected to throw off a mound next month and rejoin the Yankees sometime after the All-Star break.
Gary Sanchez (shoulder surgery): He is hitting and catching, and will be held back early in Grapefruit League play. Sanchez will be ready for Opening Day.

We won’t see Gregorius or Montgomery participate in Grapefruit League games at all this spring given where they are in their rehab. The same is probably true with Ellsbury, and Heller as well. We’ll see Sanchez on the field and be able to track his progress ourselves. The other guys? No luck. The Yankees will give us updates when they’re deemed necessary and we’ll continue to guesstimate Sir Didi’s return date and Ellsbury’s future.

“I hate giving a timeline because we’ll let the thing play out,” said Boone when asked about Gregorius yesterday. “I think our original was anywhere from 2-4 months maybe into the season. He certainly seems at least on that pace. He’s in really good shape and progressing the way he should be so we’re optimistic that he’s going to play hopefully a significant amount of the season for us.”

LeMahieu’s transition to utility infielder

It has been nearly five years since DJ LeMahieu played a position other than second base. He played one inning at first base in an emergency situation on June 28th, 2014, and he didn’t even have to make a play. A reliever struck out the side in that inning. LeMahieu has played second base exclusively since that date and that includes Spring Training. The Rockies never worked him out anywhere else.

The Yankees are planning to use LeMahieu as a super utility guy — Boone said yesterday the plan is to give Tulowitzki regular rest in April in an effort to keep him healthy, which equals playing time for LeMahieu — and gosh, that always makes me nervous, moving a full-time player into a part-time role. It sounds great, bringing in a regular for a bench role, but it can be a difficult adjustment.

I have no idea how LeMahieu will handle it offensively. Not only is he leaving Coors Field, but he’s also going not going to get as many at-bats as usual. Defensively, I think he’ll be fine. He’s a legitimate Gold Glove guy at second base. His range, his hands, his arm, and his instincts are all good, so it’s not like the Yankees are asking a guy short on defensive tools to move around. I see four ways for LeMahieu to get playing time:

Start at second base on days Tulowitzki sits (with Gleyber Torres at short).
Start at first base when Luke Voit sits (or Greg Bird sits, I guess).
Replace Andujar in the late innings pretty much every game.
Play third whenever Sabathia (and J.A. Happ?) starts to handle all the pulled grounders by righties.

LeMahieu has the tools to play pretty much anywhere on the infield. He just hasn’t played anywhere other than second base in a few years now, so he’s going to spend a lot time working out at first and third bases this spring. Probably more than he does at second. My guess is LeMahieu winds up playing more than expected this season, maybe as many as 500 plate appearances, but this spring will be about adjusted to life as a glorified utility guy.

The few position battles

“Hopefully, if things play out from a health standpoint in Spring Training, there will be very few decisions that we have to make,” said Boone yesterday, and he’s right. At the moment the Yankees are poised to have very few position battles in Spring Training. Two bullpen spots and a bench spot. That’s pretty much it. This is the projected 25-man Opening Day roster right now:

Catcher	Infielders	Outfielders	Rotation	Bullpen
Gary Sanchez	1B Luke Voit	LF Brett Gardner	Luis Severino	CL Aroldis Chapman
	2B Gleyber Torres	CF Aaron Hicks	James Paxton	SU Dellin Betances
	SS Troy Tulowitzki	RF Aaron Judge	Masahiro Tanaka	SU Zach Britton
INJURED LIST	3B Miguel Andujar	OF Giancarlo Stanton	J.A. Happ	SU Adam Ottavino
Didi Gregorius			CC Sabathia	MR Chad Green
Ben Heller	BENCH			MR Jonathan Holder
Jordan Montgomery	C Austin Romine	???		???
Jacoby Ellsbury	IF DJ LeMahieu			???

The rotation order and the batting order will be whatever they end up being. Those are 22 of their 25 Opening Day roster names though. There is one open bench spot and two open bullpen spots. Should Sabathia have to begin the season on the injured list, then there will be a competition for the fifth starter’s spot as well. For all intents and purposes, the Yankees only have to figure out the 23rd, 24th, and 25th men on their roster.

With Ellsbury out of the picture, the final bench spot comes down to Greg Bird, Clint Frazier, and Tyler Wade. There’s a small army of relievers up for those bullpen roles. Chance Adams, Luis Cessa, Domingo German, Joe Harvey, Tommy Kahnle, Jonathan Loaisiga, Stephen Tarpley, so on and so forth. Cessa and Kahnle are out of minor league options and that might give them a leg up on the competition — Boone hinted that Cessa is headed for a bullpen role yesterday — but it doesn’t guarantee anything.

Spring Training competitions are kinda weird. First and foremost, spring performance is not very predictive, and yet teams base roster decisions on spring performance all the time. We see it every year. Bird could hit .350/.450/.750 during Grapefruit League play and it wouldn’t tell us a thing about him going forward, but it would probably land him on the Opening Day roster. Hard to ignore numbers like that, you know?

And secondly, Spring Training competitions don’t end on Opening Day. Whoever wins the final bullpen spot better pitch well during the regular season, otherwise the Yanks will swap them out with someone else. Winning a spring position battle is the easy part. Keeping the job is where it gets difficult. The Yankees have a few roster decisions to make in camp. Thankfully nothing major. And it’s entirely possible those roster decisions could be upended a few weeks into the regular season. Such is life.

Farquhar’s comeback attempt

Last, but certainly not least, the Yankees have a feel-good story in camp in Danny Farquhar. I honestly don’t think he has much of a chance to crack the Opening Day roster, but he’s healthy, and that’s all that matters. Farquhar suffered a life-threatening brain hemorrhage last April when a brain aneurysm ruptured. He collapsed in the dugout while with the White Sox and had to be rushed to the hospital, where he remained for three weeks.

Farquhar’s recovery is complete and he will be a fully participant in Spring Training — his first spring bullpen session is scheduled for tomorrow — which is wonderful news. Maybe he won’t make the roster and instead go to Triple-A, or opt out of his contract and sign with a team willing to put him on their Opening Day roster. Either way, I’m glad Farquhar recovered and able to resume his career, and I think it’s pretty cool he’ll do it with the Yankees.

Steamer Projections and the 2019 Yankee Infield

January 27, 2019 by Matt Imbrogno

More of this in 2019, please. (New York Times)

It’s hard to believe that we’re nearly there–kind of. Spring Training is mere weeks away despite how long and gruelingly slow this offseason has felt. Pitchers and catchers reporting, the beginnings of real workouts, intrasquad games, and even Grapefruit League games can feel anticlimactic once those moments hit, but at this point, we’re starved for any baseball action and those’ll certainly do. With this time of year also come projections. Right now at FanGraphs, Steamer projections for the 2019 season are live. Let’s take a look at how the Yankees’ infielders stack up against the rest of the league. Standard caveat applies: projections are not predictions.

Catcher

Gary Sanchez had a bad year in 2018, especially considering his talent level. There were signs of underperfomance that could be corrected, though, and he was injured for a good portion of the year. A bounceback is certainly in order, and Steamer sees one. It projects him for a .245/.322/.480 line, good for a .342 wOBA and 115 wRC+. In terms of counting stats, it sees him with 27 homers in 483 PA. At first glance, that slash line seems a bit low considering his talent level, but when we consider last year, his injuries, etc., it makes a bit of sense. More encouragingly, that is the best projection for any AL catcher. Steamer has Gary leading AL catchers in just about everything: HR, RBI, SLG, wOBA, wRC+, and fWAR.

First Base

The two most insecure spots in the Yankee lineup are the neighbors, first base and second base. That isn’t to say there isn’t upside or talent there, but they’re big question marks. At first base, the question is likely “Who’s going to play there?” The two main candidates are Luke Voit and Greg Bird. In Steamer’s eyes, Voit will get more playing time there with 389 plate appearances and Bird garnering 190. The system projects both to be above average–a 115 and 103 wRC+ respectively–with a combined 24 homers and a total of 1.4 fWAR: 1.2 from Voit and 0.2 from Bird.

Second Base

The second base question is one Mike took a stab at earlier in the week in examining the Yankees’ newest acquisition, D.J. Lemaiheu. Steamer says a .269/.333/.388 line, good for a 97 wRC+. That’s…fine? It’s probably lower than what the Yankees expect, given the contract they gave him and some of the underlying data. If that’s what he ends up with, I’d be okay with it–can’t quibble with that average and OBP, really, especially if his defensive contributions continue to be stellar.

Steamer also categorizes Gleyber Torres as a second baseman and projects him at .257/.328/.439: a .330 wOBA and 107 wRC+. That seems underwhelming, but remember our caveat: it’s not a prediction, but more a baseline from which he can go up or down. It’s also worth noting that, like Sanchez, Steamer projects Torres to lead AL 2B in both wOBA (tied with Jonathan Schoop) and wRC+.

Shortstop

The most surprising thing about the shortstop projections is that they see Troy Tulowitzki getting 302 PA. And they’re relatively productive–a .318 wOBA and 99 wRC+. If you told me that Tulo would get that many PA, I’d assume he was really ripping the cover off the ball in addition to being healthy. But with a bit more thought, 302 PA of league average production out of him would be more than welcome.

Steamer also takes a stab at Didi’s shortened season and sees him with 54 games and 221 PA of 104 wRC+ hitting. Between him and Tulo, that’s 532 PA of slightly above league average hitting from the shortstop position. Given the tenuousness of the situation–a reclamation project and an injured star as the options–that’s pretty encouraging.

Third Base

For whatever reason, Steamer sees Miguel Andujar as only racking up 545 PA this year, but they’re a productive 545 PA: .341 wOBA, 115 wRC+, 23 homers, and 28 walks (only 25 last year). That’s a really good jumping off point, especially for a second year player. It doesn’t look as great compared to other third basemen, considering Jose Ramirez, Alex Bregman, and Matt Chapman all play there, but all-in-all, I’d take that from Andujar every time. His defensive projection (-9) is the worst among everyone who’ll actually play third (Nick Castellanos won’t see much hot corner action anymore) and that limits his fWAR projection to just 2.0.

Overall

While this is a far cry from the 2009 infield, it’s still good enough. A bounceback from Sanchez will go a long way towards making it look good, as will progression/maintenance from Torres and Adujar. I’d be lying if I said I weren’t concerned about the right side and shortstop, though, and hopefully the Yankees can patch things together there. The outfield (and DH)–which we’ll examine at another time–should help carry the softer spots in the infield, though, and overall, I’m not worried about how this team will hit.

Searching for DJ LeMahieu’s true talent level on offense

January 24, 2019 by Mike

Two weeks ago the Yankees made their most surprising offseason addition. They inked free agent infielder DJ LeMahieu to a two-year contract worth $24M, and I call it surprising because it came out of nowhere. There were no rumors connecting the Yankees to LeMahieu leading up to the deal. It was a regular old Friday, then bam, the Yankees had a deal with LeMahieu. Came out of nowhere.

The Yankees intend to use LeMahieu as a super utility infielder — “I was told to bring a lot of gloves,” he said during his introductory conference call — which is fine, I guess. My preference would be Gleyber Torres at shortstop and LeMahieu at second base full-time, but the Yankees are committed to giving Troy Tulowitzki a chance to play short, so it is what it is. LeMahieu will be a utility guy.

Although he’s been a full-time second baseman his entire career, my guess is LeMahieu will be more than fine at third base and good enough at first base. He has some experience at first and third, so they won’t be completely new to him. He’s a great second baseman though. That is his best position on the field. “(I’m) pretty comfortable playing multiple positions,” LeMahieu added.

We have a pretty good idea what LeMahieu will do defensively. He’ll be great at second and probably good enough at first and third. What he’ll do offensively is much less clear. Coors Field creates some questions. The numbers:

LeMahieu at home, 2018: .317/.360/.433 (85 wRC+)
LeMahieu on the road, 2018: .229/.277/.422 (85 wRC+)

LeMahieu at Coors Field, career: .329/.386/.447 (96 wRC+)
LeMahieu outside Coors Field, career: .267/.314/.367 (84 wRC+)

Pretty significant difference! There’s no doubt Coors Field boosted LeMahieu’s offensive numbers. That is the case for every Rockies player. That said, Coors Field park factors are wonky, and there is evidence of a Coors Field hangover effect. Pinning down someone’s true talent level when they play at altitude is awfully tough.

Generally speaking, Rockies players tend to perform better than expected at home and worse than expected on the road. Taking LeMahieu’s numbers outside Coors Field and declaring that the real him is overly simplistic and unfair, if not lazy. The truth is somewhere between the home and road stats. Where exactly in the middle? Let’s try to figure it out. Here’s what we know about LeMahieu.

1. He hits the ball really hard. And this isn’t something you can fake. Here is LeMahieu’s Statcast profile. He is in the 88th percentile in exit velocity and the 78th percentile in hard contact, leading to a high expected batting average (xBA).

Coors Field does not boost exit velocity. A 95 mph line drive will travel farther in Coors Field than it will at sea level because the thin air provides less resistance, but Coors Field doesn’t turn a 95 mph line drive into a 98.5 mph line drive or whatever. Exit velocity is unchanged. To wit:

LeMahieu at home, 2018: 90.8 mph average exit velocity
LeMahieu on the road, 2018: 91.4 mph

LeMahieu at home, 2015-18: 90.3 mph
LeMahieu on the road, 2015-18: 89.8 mph

Coors Field can turn a .280 hitter into a .300 hitter, and a 25-homer guy into a 32-homer guy. It won’t turn an average exit velocity guy into Aaron Judge. A player’s strength and bat speed is what it is. It doesn’t change ballpark to ballpark. LeMahieu hit the ball hard everywhere he played, and unless he gets hurt or loses bat speed to age-related decline, he should continue to hit the ball going forward.

2. He hits the ball on the ground a lot. All that hard contact has not translated into extra-base hits and power because LeMahieu puts the ball on the ground often. His 49.6% ground ball rate last year was a) 22nd highest among the 140 hitters with enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title, and b) his lowest as a big leaguer. LeMahieu’s career ground ball rate is 53.8%.

There was a period last season where it appeared LeMahieu was making a conscious effort to hit the ball in the air, but it did not last. By the end of the season his ground ball rate was right back where it normally sits. Check it out:

Hitting a lot of ground balls is not automatically a bad thing. Not when you have above-average exit velocity like LeMahieu. Ground balls do put a ceiling on a player’s offensive output though. Ground balls don’t go for extra-base hits often and they never go over the fence. That’s why, despite playing in Coors Field, LeMahieu has never bested a .160 ISO. Only once has he managed a .430 SLG.

At this point, at age 30 and with more than six years in the big leagues, I reckon LeMahieu has tried to hit more balls in the air at some point. The Rockies are not the most analytically inclined organization but they’re not stupid. They know hitting the ball in the air is a good thing, especially at Coors Field. I’m sure LeMahieu and the Rockies have tried lowering his ground ball rate already. It’s not easy, and, if they did try it, it didn’t work.

Because he doesn’t hit the ball in the air often, it seems to me LeMahieu’s offense is less reliant on Coors Field than the typical Rockies hitter. Balls hit on the ground don’t benefit from reduced air resistance. It’s just a ground ball. In theory, LeMahieu’s offense should carry over well to Yankee Stadium. A ground ball is a ground ball is a ground ball. As long as the hard hit rate stays strong, LeMahieu’s production may not suffer much with the ballpark change.

3. His plate discipline is very good. Better than I realized. Last year’s 6.4% walk rate and his career 7.3% walk rate do not stand out. At all. Both are below the 8.5% league average. Walks are not the goal of plate discipline, however. They’re a byproduct. The goal of plate discipline is swinging at strikes and taking balls, and getting into good hitter’s counts. Getting hittable pitches, basically.

Last year LeMahieu posted a 25.4% chase rate, which was 32nd lowest among those 140 qualified hitters. He chased pitches out of the zone at a similar rate as plate discipline extraordinaires Brett Gardner (23.5%) and Paul Goldschmidt (26.0%). When LeMahieu stopped chasing pitches a few years ago, his offensive production ticked up. That is not a coincidence.

LeMahieu may not draw many walks, but he knows a ball from a strike, and that is pretty important. Not many hitters can succeed while swinging at bad pitches consistently. Guys like Vlad Guerrero and Jose Altuve are special for a reason. LeMahieu won’t get himself out by chasing pitches out of the zone.

4. He makes a lot of contact. The Yankees are loaded with monster hitters who hit for power and, in some cases, swing and miss quite a bit. Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are awesome. They will strike out though. LeMahieu struck out in 14.1% of his plate appearances last year, well below the 22.3% league average. He also doesn’t miss pitches in the strike zone. Here is the zone contact rate leaderboard for the last two seasons:

Michael Brantley: 96.7%
Jose Peraza: 94.1%
DJ LeMahieu: 93.6%
Denard Span: 93.6%
Joe Mauer: 93.4%

LeMahieu doesn’t chase out of the zone, and when he does swing at pitches in the zone, he rarely misses. Put it all together and you have a hitter who knows a ball from a strike, doesn’t miss when he swings at pitches in the zone, and produces above-average exit velocities when he puts the ball in play. Too bad he puts the ball on the ground so often. LeMahieu has the profile of a hitter who could do a lot of damage with a little more launch angle.

* * *

There have been shockingly few hitters within the last five years who played everyday for the Rockies, changed teams in the offseason, then played everyday for another team. Dexter Fowler and Corey Dickerson. That’s pretty much it. Guys like Daniel Descalso and Nick Hundley are part-time players, and Matt Holliday missed a ton of time with the Yankees. Both Fowler and Dickerson predictably saw their performances dip after leaving Coors Field:

Dickerson’s last two years with Rockies: .309/.354/.556
Dickerson’s first two years after Rockies: .265/.310/.480

Fowler’s last two years with Rockies: .282/.379/.442
Fowler’s first two years after Rockies: .261/.358/.406

Here’s the thing: Dickerson and Fowler are very different hitters than LeMahieu. They both put the ball in the air a ton. Fowler’s career ground ball rate is 42.3%. Dickerson’s is 38.7%. They put the ball in the air and let it carry at Coors Field. LeMahieu did not do that. Also, Dickerson and Fowler swung and missed more often than LeMahieu. Looking at previous Rockies hitters who left Coors Field doesn’t help us much.

We know LeMahieu produces higher than average exit velocities and ground ball rates. He doesn’t chase out of the zone and he doesn’t swing and miss in the zone, which contributes to the above-average exit velocity. He’s not lunging at pitches. He’s squaring them up. Since Statcast became a thing in 2015, LeMahieu has hit more total ground balls with an exit velocity of 90 mph or better than anyone in baseball. The leaderboard:

DJ LeMahieu: 562 grounders at 90 mph or better
Nick Markakis: 539
Christian Yelich: 530
Eric Hosmer: 517
Jean Segura: 489

Over the last four seasons grounders with an exit velocity of at least 90 mph have produced a .406 AVG and a .036 ISO league-wide. For LeMahieu, it’s a .409 AVG and a .021 ISO. There’s no Coors Field boost there and why would there be? The thin air doesn’t have much effect on ground balls because … wait for it … they’re not hit in the air.

It seems to me LeMahieu has a batted ball profile that travels well. Despite being a right-handed hitter who goes the other way often, LeMahieu doesn’t figure to benefit much from the Yankee Stadium short porch because he’s a ground ball guy. He also doesn’t figure to lose much when he leaves Coors Field because he didn’t use the thin air and the extra carry as often as he probably would’ve liked.

Now, that all said, LeMahieu’s numbers were better at Coors Fields than on the road, and substantially so. That’s because he did hit some balls in the air, of course, and also because there is some evidence Rockies hitters take a hit offensively when they leave altitude. Because the seams on a pitched ball interact with the air differently at altitude than they do at sea level, Rockies hitters see one set of breaking balls at home and another on the road, often in back-to-back series, and that can be tough.

LeMahieu’s expected batting average and actual batting average have been quite high in recent years because of those well-struck ground balls. They tend to go for base hits unless they’re hit right at someone. I expect there to be some performance decline because LeMahieu did hit some balls in the air and did benefit somewhat from Coors Field. I think the performance dip will be smaller than you might expect because he doesn’t rely on fly balls. Those well-struck grounders will still go for base hits in Yankee Stadium just like they did in Colorado.

LeMahieu is an okay backup plan, but the Yankees are betting big on Andujar improving defensively

January 15, 2019 by Mike

Barring a total surprise, the Yankees will not sign free agent wunderkind Manny Machado. Negotiations between the two sides are said to be “either dormant or completely dead,” and gosh, that sure sounds bad. I won’t rule the Yankees out completely on Machado (or Bryce Harper) until they sign with another team. Things don’t look good right now though.

Rather than spend on Machado, the Yankees are taking a league minimum flier on Troy Tulowitzki, and they signed DJ LeMahieu to be a veteran insurance policy. Should Tulowitzki get hurt or underperform, LeMahieu will take over at second with Gleyber Torres sliding over to short. If Tulowitzki actually works out, LeMahieu will assume the Neil Walker role and move all around.

Passing on Machado indicates the Yankees are committed to Miguel Andujar at third base. Sure, they could play LeMahieu at the hot corner, but I don’t think that’s the plan. I think Andujar is going to receive a legitimate chance to remain at third base. Here’s something Buster Olney (subs. req’d) wrote over the weekend:

Andujar’s consistently strong effort instills confidence within the Yankees organization that he will benefit from his offseason program and improve his defense. He has worked extensively with instructors this winter, and in the past few days, Yankees manager Aaron Boone was in the Dominican Republic, partly to see Andujar’s progress and spend time with him.

Last month Erik Boland noted Andujar had spent time in Tampa to work with infield instructor Carlos Mendoza. “He came down for a few days a couple of weeks ago. We always talk about his work ethic, and the fact that it’s the offseason and he’s already working at his craft, not just physically but baseball-wise,” Mendoza said.

Work ethic won’t be an issue with Andujar. He’s always been regarded as a hard-worker — the guy takes more pregame grounders than any player I’ve ever seen in my few years as a BBWAA member — and if this third base thing doesn’t work out, it’ll be because he lacks the skills and refinement. Not because he didn’t try hard enough. That’s good. Effort and commitment are necessary to get better.

The Yankees sent Andujar home this winter with a workout plan designed to improve his first step and internal clock. Those are the top priorities. Andujar was sometimes a little slow to react to the ball off the bat and he sometimes took a little too much time getting the ball over to first base. We saw a few too many double-clutches last year. That has to improve. Speeding everything up is the top priority.

“What we’re focusing on right now is his pre-pitch setup,” Mendoza added. “We’re trying to put him in the best position so he can react at contact. Making sure that he finds a spot where he’s comfortable on his setup so he can have a better first step, a better read on the ball to create better angles. It starts with his setup and his ready position.”

As good as Andujar was last season — I get a ton of mailbag questions about trading him each week, but it wasn’t long ago that folks around these parts were irate Miggy didn’t win Rookie of the Year — it would’ve been very easy for the Yankees to replace him this winter. Trade Andujar for a pitcher, sign Machado or someone else to play third, and move forward. Heck, even now they could trade Andujar and install LeMahieu at third base (or Gleyber?) full-time, and markedly improve their infield defense.

Instead, it appears the Yankees have doubled down on Andujar at third base, and that makes me happy. I’ve been an Andujar guy for a very long time, you know that if you’ve been reading RAB long enough, and I’m glad the Yankees are seem poised to give him another at third base. It would’ve been easy (and justifiable!) to move him elsewhere. Instead, he gets another chance. I like that they’re showing some confidence in him.

Now, that said, the Yankees did remove Andujar for defensive purposes in the sixth inning (!) last postseason, and I imagine LeMahieu will replace him in the late innings of most games this year. In fact, I’d bet on LeMahieu being CC Sabathia’s personal third baseman this year given all the weak contact he generates to the left side of the infield by pitching righties inside with this cutter. Walker was Sabathia’s personal third baseman for that reason last year.

LeMahieu gives the Yankees a safety net in case Andujar’s glovework doesn’t improve but he is not a long-term solution at third base. At least he shouldn’t be. Machado would’ve been a long-term solution at third base, assuming the Yankees do sign Didi Gregorius long-term. With no Machado, Andujar will — and should — get every opportunity to show he can be the long-term third baseman. The Yankees don’t have another option. It’s Andujar or no one.

On one hand, that’s kinda scary. Andujar might never be even average at third. On the other, if you’re not going to be patient and give talented and dedicated kids a chance to prove you wrong, you’ll never develop players. Machado would be a great addition. I’d take him in a heartbeat. The Yankees probably won’t sign Machado though, and the next best thing is giving Andujar a chance to show he’s improved, with LeMahieu around as a backup plan.

“It’s not that he wants to be good, he wants to be great,” said Mendoza. “That’s the reason he’s doing what he’s doing. He wants to continue to get better. He’s always looking for the details. ‘How can I improve here? How can I improve there?’ That’s what makes him special.”

Update: Yankees sign DJ LeMahieu to two-year deal, designate Tim Locastro for assignment

January 14, 2019 by Mike

January 14th: It is a done deal. The Yankees announced LeMahieu’s two-year contract this afternoon. Tim Locastro was designated for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot, the team says. Locastro came over from the Dodgers in a minor trade earlier this offseason. Decent chance he clears waivers and remains in the organization as a non-40-man roster player.

January 11th: The Yankees have a new veteran infielder and it is not Manny Machado. According to multiple reports, the Yankees have agreed to a two-year contract with DJ LeMahieu. It’ll pay him $24M and the Yankees are expected to use him at first base, second base, and third base. The Neil Walker role, basically.

LeMahieu, 30, is a natural second baseman and an excellent one at that. He is a legitimate Gold Glove caliber defender and lordy did the Yanks need to improve their infield defense. This accomplishes that to some degree. LeMahieu has a little experience at first (13 innings) and third (245 innings) bases, so they won’t be completely new to him, which I guess is good.

As with every Rockies player, the question is how much will he hit outside the Coors Field? There is evidence of a Coors Field hangover because coming down from altitude requires an adjustment, so you can’t really take a dude’s road numbers and declare that the real him. That is overly simplistic. Here are the numbers, for what they’re worth:

LeMahieu at Coors Field: .329/.386/.447 (96 wRC+)
LeMahieu everywhere else: .267/.314/.367 (84 wRC+)

Jeff Sullivan wrote a post a few weeks ago looking at LeMahieu. Long story short, he’s posted sneaky great exit velocities while managing an elite contact rate. LeMahieu rarely strikes out and he absolutely wears out right field as a right-handed hitter, so much so that teams sometimes use no left fielder and two right fielders against him. If nothing else, he brings a very different offensive look to the lineup.

The Yankees now have LeMahieu, Troy Tulowitzki, Gleyber Torres, and Miguel Andujar for the non-first base infield positions. Tulowitzki figures to get regular days off given his injury history, so LeMahieu will get playing time that way. I also have to think he’ll be Andujar’s late-inning defensive replacement at third base. LeMahieu’s going to get 450+ plate appearances next season. You watch.

Based on my quick math, the LeMahieu signing pushes the luxury tax payroll to roughly $222M, so the Yankees are now well above the $206M threshold. Even if the Yankees trade Sonny Gray and his entire projected $9.1M salary, they’ll still be over the threshold. Imagine going over the threshold to sign LeMahieu but not Machado? Oy vey. Maybe they have another signing (Adam Ottavino?) coming.

At this point there doesn’t seem to be much remaining on the offseason to-do list. Another reliever would be nice. Otherwise the Yankees are more or less set going into Spring Training. Will they splurge for Machado or Harper? The LeMahieu signing all but confirms a no for Machado. I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for Harper either.

Thoughts after the Yankees agree to sign DJ LeMahieu

January 14, 2019 by Mike

Late last week the Yankees made what figures to be their final infield addition of the offseason. They agreed to a two-year, $24M contract with DJ LeMahieu. The signing came out of nowhere. There were no rumors connecting the Yankees to LeMahieu this offseason. Now he joins the infield mix. Anyway, here are some thoughts on the signing and what it means.

1. There are two ways to look at the LeMahieu signing. One is what he’ll provide on the field and what it means for the roster. We’ll get to that in a bit. The other is what it says about the Yankees, or, rather, what it reinforces about the Yankees, and that is they are willing to spend, but only to a certain point. That has been made crystal clear. They passed on Patrick Corbin to sign the cheaper (and not as good) J.A. Happ, and, barring a total surprise, they will pass on Manny Machado to sign the cheaper (and not as good) LeMahieu. That is disappointing at best and infuriating at worst. Machado (or Bryce Harper) would make the Yankees demonstrably better and don’t even waste your time trying to convince me otherwise. (People have tried all winter and nothing has been remotely close to compelling.) The Yankees did everything they needed to do leading up to this offseason. They developed a cheap homegrown core and they reset the luxury tax rate. Now they’re passing on two 26-year-old mega-talents for financial reasons. Even though the Yankees never came out and said they planned to spend big after resetting the luxury tax rate — that was an assumption made by fans and the media — I couldn’t blame fans for feeling conned right now. Ticket prices keep rising and I think many fans assumed getting under the luxury tax threshold was a good faith plan to put the Yankees in better position to spend big on stars. Instead, DJ LeMahieu. Maybe the Yankees will sign Machado or Harper. It’s possible as long as they remain free agents. Chances are they won’t though. Actions peak louder than words, and with their moves this offseason, the Yankees have told everyone they want to be good, but are unwilling to pay the price to acquire the best free agents, even when they are prime-aged generational talents. It is unfathomable to me a team in the Yankees’ position (or the Cubs’ position or the Dodgers’ position, for that matter) would pass on 26-year-old Machado and Harper.

2. Alright, on to the baseball portion of our program. The LeMahieu signing itself is fine. What it represents (no Machado) stinks, but the signing is fine. I’m glad the Yankees didn’t sit tight and assume Troy Tulowitzki will solve their middle infield issues with Didi Gregorius sidelined. You don’t have to try real hard to see a scenario in which Tulowitzki is hurt and/or ineffective early in the season, leading to Gleyber Torres and LeMahieu taking over the starting double play combination. In fact, I’d like the Yankees to go into the season with the Torres/LeMahieu middle infield tandem rather than the Tulowitzki/Torres tandem. That is almost certainly the best double play combination the Yankees can put on the field. We know that, at the very least, LeMahieu will play excellent second base defense. Tulowitzki is a giant unknown. Worth a league minimum roll of the dice, sure, but an unknown. The Yankees sound committed to giving Tulowitzki a chance to show he can contribute and hopefully he does. The more good players, the better. I’m just glad the Yankees brought in a quality middle infield insurance policy at a reasonable price — I’d rather have LeMahieu at two years and $24M than Jed Lowrie at two years and $20M because he’s four years younger and I think he’ll be the better player the next two years, and because he addresses the team’s biggest weakness (infield defense) — and if Tulowitzki isn’t cutting it, I hope they pull the plug quickly. The Yankees raised their internal replacement level with LeMahieu. When your starting shortstop has no firm return date from his major surgery and his replacement hasn’t played in 18 months, yeah, getting a guy like this is a smart move.

3. I don’t like the apparent plan to play LeMahieu at first base. I get that it’ll only happen occasionally, ideally only when Luke Voit (or Greg Bird) needs a day off, but I still don’t like it. Tulowitzki should be the backup first baseman. I say that because we can safely assume LeMahieu will be the better defensive middle infielder this season, in which case he should, you know, play the middle infield. Tulowitzki at short and LeMahieu at first won’t be quite as bad as the time the Yankees played Derek Jeter at short and Brendan Ryan at first base (that happened), but it would be close. The Yankees have strongly indicated Tulowitzki will be the shortstop though — Tulowitzki himself indicated he’d rather retire than move into a utility role — so it seems LeMahieu at first base will be a thing. I don’t like it. I expect him to be more than fine at third base given his athleticism and defensive chops. And, really, not liking LeMahieu at first base has more to do with wasting his defensive ability that worrying he’ll be a liability. Maybe Tulowitzki will be great at shortstop now that his nagging heel issues have been addressed, and playing him at short and LeMahieu at first will be no big deal. To me, it seems the best defensive alignment would have Torres at short, LeMahieu at second, and Tulowitzki at first.

4. LeMahieu’s offense is something we’ll surely look at more in-depth in the coming weeks. We know two things about him. One, Coors Field boosted his numbers. We know that because it boosts everyone’s numbers. The question is how much, and what do his numbers look like playing at sea level full-time? And two, LeMahieu is just different. In an era with huge power numbers and huge strikeout totals, LeMahieu is a throwback contact hitter who wears out right field as a right-handed hitter. That approach makes him an outlier these days. He can turn on a fastball and yank it out to left field …

… but, generally speaking, he has an opposite field swing and approach. It’s not fair to say the Yankees have no hitters go the other way — Aaron Judge (28.6%) and Gleyber Torres (25.1%) both bested the league average opposite field rate for right-handed hitters last season (24.6%), with Giancarlo Stanton (24.0%), and Miguel Andujar (23.3%) not far behind — but few in the game do it as much as LeMahieu (career 35.0%). He’s going to bring a different look to the lineup and a little offensive diversity never hurt anyone. It doesn’t guarantee the Yankees will be better, of course, but they’ll be a little different. It’ll be like having a mini-Jeter in the lineup, that righty hitter who serves everything the other way.

5. If you’re skeptical about the LeMahieu signing, and I totally get it if you are, you should take solace in the other teams that were pursuing him. The Dodgers were after LeMahieu, per Jon Morosi. The Athletics were after LeMahieu, per Susan Slusser. The Nationals were after LeMahieu, per Bob Nightengale. The Giants and new president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, most recently the Dodgers GM, were after LeMahieu, per Ken Rosenthal. Those are some pretty smart teams. There is mounting evidence Coors Field park factors are screwed up and unfairly punishing Rockies players — Baseball Prospectus and their new Deserved Runs Created (DRC+) park factors say LeMahieu was a top 20 player in baseball last year — and the fact a bunch of really smart teams were after him suggests there is some validity to that. Taking a player’s road numbers and declaring that the real him is overly simplistic, and that is especially true with Rockies players, who essentially see two completely different sets of pitches (pitches at altitude and pitches at sea level) because of the way the ball interacts with the thin mountain air. Breaking balls don’t spin the same way in Coors Field. Imagine facing the same pitcher with different stuff in different ballparks? There are signs LeMahieu is a better hitter than the raw stats — even the park-adjusted stats — would lead you believe. That so many smart teams were pursuing him makes me believe that is the case.

6. The LeMahieu signing gives the Yankees some Gregorius insurance for 2020. Brian Cashman says the Yankees want to keep Gregorius long-term and that’s great. Everyone loves Sir Didi. The fact of the matter is the two sides have not yet agreed to a multi-year contract extension — he signed a one-year deal worth $11.75M last week — and Gregorius is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. What happens if his rehab hits a snag and takes longer than expected, or he comes back and isn’t the same player? I don’t think it’ll happen, but it is possible. If the Yankees are unable to work out an extension with Gregorius or something goes wrong with his rehab, they know they can roll with Torres and LeMahieu on the middle infield in 2020. We’re not going to spend next offseason wondering how the Yankees will replace Gregorius again. His replacement is already in-house. And, if Gregorius does come back fine and the two sides work out an extension, then LeMahieu resumes the same utility role the Yankees apparently have planned for him now. Hopefully the Yankees and Gregorius work out a sensible extension soon. He is good and fun, and good and fun players are always worth keeping. At least now the team has some middle infield protection in case things go wrong somewhere along the line.

7. Eventually I’ll put together a full payroll breakdown like last season. For now, my quick math has the 2019 luxury tax payroll at $219.5M with LeMahieu, assuming Luis Severino wins his arbitration hearing. (If he loses, it’ll be $218.65M.) Subtracting Sonny Gray’s entire $7.5M salary — doesn’t that feel inevitable? — gets the Yankees down to $212M. The luxury tax threshold is $206M. At this point, there is almost no way for the Yankees to get under (and stay under) the threshold. They’d have to do something drastic like trade Dellin Betances and replace him with a league minimum player, and no. Just no. The number to pay attention to now is $226M. That is the second luxury tax tier. Right now the Yankees will be taxed 20% on every dollar over $206M. If they exceed $226M, they get hit with a 32% surtax and their top draft pick in 2020 moves back ten spots. On one hand, now that the Yankees are over the $206M threshold, they might as well keep spending. If not on Machado or Harper, then at least on another reliever like Adam Ottavino. Heck, they could trade Gray and give Ottavino something like $12M per year, and still remain under the $226M threshold. On the other hand, now that the Yankees are over the threshold, there might be a mandate to keep the penalty as low as possible. I think the most likely scenario is the $226M threshold is the new “do not cross” line, and, if that is correct, the Yankees still have money to play with this winter, assuming they do move Gray at some point, which I expect to happen. LeMahieu pushes the Yankees over the luxury tax threshold. At this point, they might as well go get Ottavino as well.

8. Not-so-bold prediction: We’re going to do the “the Yankees want to get under the luxury tax threshold” thing again in 2021. I say that for three reasons. One, 2021 is the final season under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, and I think every team will want to go into the next CBA with a clean luxury tax slate. Two, the luxury tax might go away in the next CBA (unlikely, but possible), so 2021 could be every team’s last chance to treat the threshold as a de facto salary cap, so they’ll take advantage. And three, the Yankees have a lot of money coming off the books following the 2020 season. These deals expire after 2020:

Masahiro Tanaka: $22.143M luxury tax hit
Jacoby Ellsbury: $21.857M luxury tax hit
J.A. Happ: $17M luxury tax hit (if his 2020 option doesn’t vest)
Zach Britton: $13M luxury tax hit (if his club and player options are declined)
DJ LeMahieu: $12M luxury tax hit

Is it a coincidence the Yankees have limited themselves to short-term deals that (at least potentially) expire before the final season under the current CBA? Probably not. The roster can and will change a bunch over the next two seasons. We all know that. Right now, the Yankees are poised to shed significant payroll following the 2020 season, putting them in position to get under the $210M luxury tax threshold in 2021, and again reset their tax rate. I’m just saying, don’t be surprised if the “2021 luxury tax plan” becomes a thing we find ourselves talking about in the future.

9. Alright, so what’s the 40-man roster move? I thought it would be Ben Heller for Britton, and it turned out to be Hanser Alberto, who wasn’t needed as infield depth because the LeMahieu signing was in the works. I’m going to stick with Heller, Tim Locastro, and Kyle Higashioka as the players most at risk of losing their 40-man roster spots for LeMahieu. Higashioka is the third catcher and he has a minor league option remaining. I think he’s pretty safe. The LeMahieu signing means Locastro isn’t absolutely needed — the Yankees would still have Tyler Wade and Thairo Estrada, and non-40-man roster player Gio Urshela, as infield depth — but the fact he can play pretty much anywhere makes him a good piece of depth. Plus the Yankees gave up an actual player (2015 third rounder Drew Finley) to acquire him. I think Locastro stays and Heller, who is still rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, loses his 40-man spot. Keeping healthy players over injured players just makes sense. Just like I said last week with Britton, I expect it’ll be Heller to clear a spot for LeMahieu. Now prepare for it to be someone else entirely again.

The Lineup and LeMahieu

January 13, 2019 by Matt Imbrogno

In the middle of the week, the New York Jets hired (apparent castoff) Adam Gase as their newest head coach. The reaction I saw on Twitter and heard on the radio was universally negative. I’ve been mostly unplugged from football this year, but if my brief exposure is any indicator of the truth, this is a terrible hire by the Jets.

As a New York sports fan, I should be used to it, but the totality of the (often) extreme pessimism towards Gase and his hire bordered on shocking. Despite my negative reaction to this negativity, I found myself in a similar place when the Yankees signed DJ LeMahieu on Friday afternoon.

The gut reaction was somewhere between befuddlement and anger as the move most likely ends the Yankees’ pursuit of Manny Machado, a far superior player who would improve the Yankees. In a vacuum, LeMahieu does the same thing; he’s a better option in the infield than Tyler Wade or the recently departed Ronald Torreyes or Hanser Alberto. He just doesn’t improve the Yankees as much as Machado would and it’s frustrating to see the Yankees pass on a player over money when they have so much. Along with that gut reaction, though, there are baseball reasons not to like this signing.

Despite playing the majority of his career for the Rockies–thus having his home games in Coors Field–LeMahieu is a below average offensive player. His career wRC+ is 90 and he has a lowly ISO of just .108. More surprising is the relative lack of production at Coors Field. Aside from the year he won the batting title–2016–he has failed to put up a wRC+ greater than 90 AT HOME. 2016 is also the only year in which his overall offensive production was better than league average. Pardon the snark, but I guess any time you have the chance to sign a guy who can’t be a league average hitter in the league’s best hitting environment, you’ve gotta do it.

To cut myself short and avoid sounding like one of those Jets fans, there are reasons to like the move. Bobby covered some of them yesterday in his post. Regardless of my reactions, though, he’s here and now we’ve got to see how he’ll fit into the lineup.

LeMahieu is a second baseman. He’s played nothing but since he played about 40 or so innings between first base, third base, and shortstop in 2014. And there’s the rub of fitting him into the lineup. With Troy Tulowitzki on board and shortstop while Didi Gregorius is out and Gleyber Torres at second, things become crowded in the Yankee infield rather quickly. A possible solution is one I’ve floated in the event that the Yankees did indeed sign Machado: move Miguel Andujar to first base. If that were the case, the lineup could look like this:

Aaron Hicks CF
Aaron Judge RF
Giancarlo Stanton DH
Gary Sanchez C
Miguel Andujar 1B
Gleyber Torres 3B
Brett Gardner LF
Troy Tulowitzki SS
DJ LeMahieu 2B

This is definitely a workable lineup, but it does move two players out of position in Andujar and LeMahieu. It also cuts down the fact that LeMahieu is, by all accounts, a great defender at second. But is it a likely scenario? For it to be, we’ve got to believe that Tulo will be healthy and I’m not taking that bet; are you? Should he continue to be injured–or be ineffective and get cut in Spring Training–the lineup looks a little more “conventional”:

Aaron Hicks CF
Aaron Judge RF
Giancarlo Stanton DH
Gary Sanchez C
Luke Voit 1B
Miguel Andujar 3B
Gleyber Torres SS
Brett Gardner LF
DJ LeMahieu 2B

Signing LeMahieu probably signals that the Yankees aren’t terribly confident in Tulo staying healthy or being good and we’ll cross the Didi bridge when we get there. There are pluses to signing him, but his being successful requires the Yankees to–like they were with Luke Voit–be successful in judging that a player’s batted ball profile will adjust him well to Yankee Stadium. It helps that this player is a great defender at an up-the-middle position, but that position is already taken and, as previously mentioned, he hasn’t played another one in a while. Might it have made more sense to give this deal to Jed Lowrie, especially when he got a less expensive one from the Mets? Probably. But that’s not how it worked out and we (I) have got to live with it.