MLB: The most valued third baseman of 2019
By Bill Felber
MLB: The most valued third baseman of 2019
10. Gio Urshela, Yankees, $7.2 million value; $569,000 salary
The Yankees purchased Urshela in August of 2018 from the Blue Jays. Based purely on his record to that point, the pickup defied explanation; across parts of three seasons with Cleveland and Toronto, Urshela was a career .230 hitter with a total of eight home runs and no discernible position.
Whatever the Yanks saw in Urshela, it was prescient. Inheriting third base when Miguel Andujar fell to an injury, Urshela ran with the chance to the tune of a .314 average, 21 home runs and a 133 OPS+. The third base job is now Urshela’s, and nobody cares much about what the Yanks do with Andujar.
His .435 slugging average, eighth-best at the position, is worth $4.418 million in on-field contribution, and his .355 on-base average delivers an additional $1.394 million.
Defensively, Urshela was no genius in 2019, his .954 fielding average ranking only 26th among the group. That adds only $659,000. Given the late start to his season, Urshela missed 30 games, reducing his playing time to 985 innings. That produces a final $618,000 in value.
Urshela is entering his age 27 season in 2020. That’s old for a pre-arb player, which Urshela is. But if you‘re the Yankees, that makes him even more attractive because he is entering his prime seasons at an absolute bargain rate.