Settle on Corner Infielders
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
After Didi Gregorius agreed to a 1-year, $14M deal with the Philadelphia Phillies, the writing was on the wall. Gleyber Torres was to move to shortstop and DJ LeMahieu back to his natural position at second base. The problem here is that the team lost their super-utility man in LeMahieu, who filled in at third base and first base at times and actually surprised folks at how good he was in both positions.
Now, sure, the New York Yankees do have options at both first base and third base. There’s Luke Voit, who has one of the fiercest bats in the lineup; Gio Urshela, who surprised both defensively and offensively at third last season; and then there’s the 2018 AL Rookie of the Year runner-up Miguel Andujar. to the 2020 MLB season, the team will have to decide how to proceed at these positions. Before that, they’ll have to answer two essential questions.
- Can Voit (-6 DRS) and Andujar (-25 DRS, 2018) improve defensively?
- Can Urshela sustain the level of play he displayed in 2019?
An interesting option the team can take next season if the aforementioned questions are answered in the affirmative is to…
- Keep Voit at first
- Keep Urshela at third
- Seek trades for Andujar, for prospects or a DH bat
Now, while all of these are good problems to have, it is essential for Brian Cashman and the front office to settle these three questions before the start of the 2020 season. The good news, he’s got 3-months to do it.