New York Yankees: It’s time to give Tyler Wade a legitimate shot

With DJ LeMahieu expected to be the everyday second baseman, it’s time the New York Yankees hand over the reins of the super-utility to Tyler Wade.

Last season, after the New York Yankees experienced an unprecedented, record number of injuries, they had an established player in DJ LeMahieu to fall back on. This year, with Didi Gregorius having agreed to a 1-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies, Gleyber Torres will be called upon to play shortstop every day and, as a result, LeMahieu will be the everyday second baseman.

This leaves a gaping hole in the Yankees organization in the area of super-utility. Luckily, they have a more than capable player available that should fill the role quite nicely in Tyler Wade.

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Wade was drafted by the Yanks in the 4th round of the 2013 June Amateur Draft. At the time, the team didn’t expect much out of the kid, but soon enough, he’d make his way up through the minors and on to a big-league field, making his MLB debut during the 2017 season.

Since then, Wade has done a professional job, filling in at six positions (2B, 3B, SS, LF, CF, RF). What’s more, he’s played each position at a high level, never posting anything lower than a -3 DRS at any of the aforementioned positions.

To put this in perspective, Gio Urshela was touted by many experts and analysts as a plus defender at third base. Last season, Urshela posted a -4 DRS, which is lower than Wade’s -3 DRS.

Offensively, Wade struggled to hit major league hitting in 2017 and 2018, slashing .161 | .218 | .250 in a combined 66 games. However, in 2019, Wade settled right in at the plate, slashing a decent .245 | .330 | .362 in 43 games. That’s an increase in OPS of .224 points.

So, for the 2020 MLB season, I say give Tyler Wade a chance to be the New York Yankees super-utility man. The guy who steps in when a player needs a rest, lands on the IL, or simply for a defensive replacement late in games.