The New York Yankees know who they would like to see emerge as their starting first baseman this year, but several players could end up making appearances at the position in 2017.
If the New York Yankees are indeed finished making offseason moves, as general manager Brian Cashman has suggested, virtually every position on the field is accounted for, at least for Opening Day. However, there are still plenty of questions surrounding first base, questions the team will look to answer this spring.
With the retirement of Mark Teixeira, the starting first base job is open, and while the Yankees have a good idea of who they want to fill the void, there is no telling how things will work out. Whoever starts at first to begin the season might not stay there throughout the entire year, and the club has implied that it will embrace competition to fill the role.
Before his last several injury-riddled campaigns, Teixeira was about as reliable a first baseman as you could find, armed with a potent bat and a steady glove. But mounting health issues and declining play quickly turned him into a liability, and last season he slashed a paltry .204/.292/.362 with 15 home runs and 44 RBI in 116 games. His frustrations compelled him to call it quits at the end of the year at age 36 after 14 major league seasons.
Brian McCann might have received his fair share of playing time at first this season, particularly after the amazing breakout of Gary Sanchez at catcher, but he was shipped off to the Astros earlier in the offseason. The Yanks will hope that whichever first baseman (or combination of first basemen) they settle on this year will give them more than what they got from Teixeira last year. That likely won’t be too difficult, but with other question marks in the lineup, the team could really use a consistent producer at the position.
So without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the candidates to man first base for the Bronx Bombers in 2017.
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