Balancing the New York Yankees’ First Base Trifecta
Despite losing Mark Teixeira, the starting first basemen in the Bronx for the better part of the last decade, the New York Yankees are actually in a pretty good position when it comes to the first base situation. So good, in fact, that somebody is likely to be the odd man out.
The Yankees’ heir apparent at first has long been Greg Bird. Bird played very well in a brief stint in 2015 and was expected to share time at the position with Texeira last season as a way to phase the veteran out while easing the young player into the starting role. Instead, Bird got hurt and missed all of 2016. This means that while he is still the starter-in-waiting at the position and the Yankees hope he makes himself so valuable that he commands a vast majority of the at bats, New York knows they can’t go into 2017 counting on him. He may get hurt again, or, worse, he may suffer the effects of a missed development year at a crucial time.
Enter Tyler Austin. Austin hit his way onto the roster late last season and slugged 5 home runs in just 83 at bats. He’s more versatile than Bird and is capable of playing either corner outfield position in addition to first. The obviousu spot for him is as an attractive kind of utility bench guy. In fact, he’s just the kind of utility guy the Yankees are uniquely suited to use, given that they have 3 players, Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Aaron Hicks, that could all capably play center field, a position where you’d traditionally want your backup outfielder to be comfortable.
At first blush, Austin looks like a great insurance policy/ backup for Bird, giving the Yankees a solid young platoon.
However.
This winter, the Yankees did something that I often like to do in my OOTP sims, they pounced on a player that didn’t really fit their needs just because, thanks to his immense talent and relatively small contract demands, he was too good to pass up. They signed reigning NL home run champ Chris Carter, a first baseman.
I love this deal. Sure, Carter makes things a little but crowded at first and DH this season, but he’s more likely to be a big piece of the batting order than Austin and is a great insurance policy for Bird or the aging Matt Holliday.
At first, Carter more or less displaces Austin, who now might be the 26th man on a 25 man team, as he is certainly the better right handed platoon/ DH/ backup first base bat. In fact, Carter has the potential to be a better option than Bird, depending on how Bird bounces back. Austin doesn’t really seam to have that ceiling.
Best case: Bird and Carter both play well in the majors while Austin hits in AAA. Bird plays so well that Carter and his paltry $3 million salary become attractive mid-season trade chips and the Yankees can flip Carter for some pitching at the deadline, with Austin not missing a beat as the fill in backup first basemen.
Is this likely? No, probably not. But its definitely possible. It’s certainly more likely than a lot of other best case scenarios around baseball this season.
Hopefully Chris Carter is the 35 homer glue that holds the Yankees batting order together. Now they just have to remind Jacoby Ellsbury how to hit.
-Max Frankel
