New York Yankees: Has Joe Girardi had enough of Chris Carter at first?
By Jason Evans
The New York Yankees have had a tough time getting production out of first base. Are they ready to move on from Chris Carter?
This wasn’t the plan at first base when the year began. Greg Bird was supposed to be the guy at first for the New York Yankees. However, Bird suffered from ineffectiveness and injuries (currently on the disabled list) after a sparkling spring training. Chris Carter was brought in to be his platoon partner and a power threat off the bench in the late innings.
Instead there has been a whole lot of Carter with Matt Holliday and Rob Refsnyder mixed in because of the injuries to Bird. While the Yankees have gotten off to a great start this season, Carter has been one of the weak spots on the team.
It appears that Yankee skipper Joe Girardi has seen enough.
Cashman said Girardi asked about replacing Carter at 1B. "I think he’d like to come up with a better option if we had one, and we don’t."
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) June 21, 2017
Girardi was asked again why Tyler Austin doesn't seem to be a consideration. He called it an "organizational decision" to stick with Carter.
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) June 21, 2017
Girardi sounds like someone who doesn’t agree with his boss’ decision but is doing it anyway.
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Carter thus far is hitting .201 with a .671 OPS and a -0.3 WAR. In 24 games in Triple-A, Austin is hitting .287 with a .851 OPS.
The Yankees seem to be scared that Carter will go on a home run binge for another team and make them look foolish for getting rid of him. Yes, Carter tied for the NL lead in homers last season, but he’s also struck out over 200 times twice in his career and in a season where he’s played in more than 100 games has never hit above .227.
At some point, the Yankees need to find out if Austin can play before the wave of prospects they have needs to be put on the 40-man roster after this season like Clint Frazier and Gleyber Torres.
The sooner the better.
If Austin fails, they can then to go on the trade market and target someone like Yonder Alonso to come play first base down the stretch of the season.
The New York Yankees are waiting on Chris Carter like Knicks fans are waiting for them to fire Phil Jackson. That day won’t come for at least two years and Carter won’t turn this thing around. Better to find out about a young player and continue the youth movement rather than a player who won’t be in the Bronx in 2018 anyway.