2013 New York Yankees Recap: Lyle Overbay

Sep 4, 2013; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees first baseman

(55) doubles to deep right allowing a runner to score and a man to advance during the fourth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

If you told me that Lyle Overbay would see significant playing time for the New York Yankees last December, I would’ve told you to get your head examined by a trained professional as soon as possible. Well, it turned you would’ve been right. Thanks to Mark Teixeira‘s wrist injury and Kevin Youkilis‘ back, Overbay became the default first baseman after being signed with a week to go in the Spring, when the Red Sox cut him, and beating out Juan Rivera (remember him) for a spot. He played in on a couple of games, yet the Yankees picked him anyway. Let’s take a look back at Overbay’s 2013.

2013 Stats: Overbay hit .240 with 14 homeruns and 59 RBI in 142 games for the Yankees.  He had a .688 OPS. He had a WAR of 0.2.

2013 Game Of The Year: His performance in Kansas City certainly is the winner here. In the Yankees 11-6 win over the Royals, Overbay went 4-5, scored two runs, hit two doubles, slammed a home run and drove in five runs.

2014 Outlook: Overbay will be a free agent. Will he be a member of the Yankees? Probably not. With Tex coming back, and hopefully healthy, the Yankees aren’t really going to need his services. Will he be in a major league camp fighting for a job? Probably. Even though he will be turning 37 in January, he could help a team in a platoon role that could use a body at first base to help them, or be a veteran presence on a young team.