Why David Adams Should Stay

For David Adams, some say the writing is on the wall. He may soon find himself with Scranton Wilkes Barre as the New York Yankees make room on their roster for returning veterans. But it is easy to construct a strong case for him to stay.

So put on your Joe Girardi cap or your Brian Cashman tie and let’s take a look at the reasons for Adams to remain in New York.

Certainly, his overall offensive numbers this season are not spectacular. He is batting .250 overall with two home runs and five runs batted in. This is acceptable, considering his limited playing time.

The concern begins with his 11 strikeouts in 52 at-bats. If he was a power-hitter and produced a lot of runs, this ratio would not indicate a problem. Overall, this is not the case.

In his last ten games, however, there are signs that he is heading in the right direction. He has two home runs and four RBI in that span. Over a 162 game framework, that works out to 32 home runs and 64 RBI. Not bad for a player near the bottom of the batting order.

Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

But again, the strikeouts are killing him. He had two games against the New York Mets when he fanned twice. The reality is, though, sending him back to the minors is not the solution. The only way he is going to zone in on major league pitching is to continue to face it. If he sees pitchers two, three or four times, he should get better at picking up their tendencies and pitch movement.

Defensively, he has certainly muffled the skeptics, if not silenced them. He may not get style points, but he continues to make plays. To date this season he has yet to commit an error.

His biggest value for Girardi is his ability to move around the infield. Sure, Jason Nix offers that too, but Nix already has four errors. Think about it, if the role is a utility infielder, and you are Girardi or Cashman, who would you take?

So those who say the writing is on the wall for Adams should take a look and see what it says.