Should The Yankees Go For Wily Mo?

At first, the addition of a 32 home run player to the New York Yankees seems irresistible, a complete no -brainer. With the Yankees struggles to score runs for two seasons now, how could they pass up the opportunity?

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That player, Wily Mo Pena, has even been heralded by some as the second coming of Cecil Fielder. A big threat to insert in the middle of the lineup, or to save on the bench as a pinch hitter in late innings, which is clearly a valuable commodity. The mere thought of having a player like that available to Joe Girardi is enough to cause some opposing managers to alter their game strategy, and to leave others shaking in their shoes.

Th problem is. Pena is no Cecil Fielder. And those 32 homers didn’t come in MLB, they came in Japan. But could it be that Pena perfected his stroke while playing there? Is he ready to return and tear up the American League?

Pena’s last three years in the Majors looked like this: 13 home runs in 2007, two in 2008 and seven in 2011. His batting average plummeted from .253 in 2007 to .204 in 2011. That is the reason he headed to Japan in the first place.

And since he has been gone, MLB pitching has gotten better. Overall ERA is down and strike outs are up since 2011. Pena’s weakness has always been the swing and the miss. That didn’t change at all in Japan. He struck out 124 times in 502 at bats. So, no, despite the inflated power numbers he still has not perfected his batting stroke.

Sure, the Yankees need runs. But what they need is guys like Jacoby Ellsbury and Mark Teixeira to bounce back. They need Alex Rodriguez to produce at a level that makes him deserving of his salary. Sure, the addition of another big bat or two is more than welcome.

But is Wily Mo one of them?

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