The New York Yankees are set to get a ton of offensive firepower this week with the addition of Edwin Encarnacion and the returns of Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge. One player who shouldn’t lose their role is Cameron Maybin
On Saturday night, I was out having a few adult beverages, when my phone kept buzzing. Group chats and twitter alerts aplenty. It wasn’t about Anthony Davis, joining the Lebron and friends part three in LA. It was that the New York Yankees acquired Edwin Encarnacion for Juan Then. Combine him, with Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge returning, that’s going to be some offense.
The roster shuffle has begun. With Encarnacion joining the Yankees roster today, Clint Frazier was sent back to AAA. When Stanton returns on Tuesday, surely Mike Tauchman will join Frazier in Scranton’s outfield. The question is, who goes when Judge returns, probably later in the week?
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
Logic would dictate that Cameron Maybin would be the one to go as the Yankees love having 13 pitchers. However, what’s the point in having 13 pitchers if one of them is not good? That pitcher is Luis Cessa and this four-year experiment with him needs to end.
Cessa actually started off okay, however, June has been an absolute wreck. He has an ERA of 20.25. The only thing above average with him is his fastball velocity, nothing else like spin rate is really above average.
Another reason to keep Maybin around is that Stanton, Judge, and Aaron Hicks haven’t been the picture of health in their careers. There are no trades after July 31, so you can’t make a deal for a guy like Maybin.
Brett Gardner will get his fair share of time, however, he slows down in a big way in the second half of the season. In his career, he hits .243 with a .685 OPS.
If Stanton and/or Judge get hurt, Frazier is dealt for a pitcher and Maybin is dealt after being DFA’d their outfield depth is quite compromised. Tyler Wade and Thairo Estrada are more infielders, and can they trust Tauchman?
The New York Yankees are getting healthy, which is good. However, they need to make the more prudent move and cut bait with someone who isn’t performing and who by the way, hasn’t been good at all in Luis Cessa.
Going with 12 pitchers is against their strategy, especially when they are bullpening once every five days, but they have more depth with their arms than in the outfield. The more prudent move is to hang on to Maybin for depth.