Yankees Editorial: Time For The Yankees To Consider Carlos Beltran’s Replacement

We were giving Carlos Beltran the benefit of the doubt. After hitting so well in St. Louis, we thought it just had to be the elbow injury that kept him from hitting nearly .300 in his first year in the Bronx. While 2014 was frustrating to watch, 2015 was on the horizon and nothing was going to keep him from producing. Instead, it is beginning to look like the start of another frustrating year.

The season is still very young. The Yankees have only played nine games and Beltran is hitting .171 with a .211 OBP. If you want a larger sample size, look at spring training. Beltran hit .225 with a .302 OBP in 15 games. He has yet to hit a home run in either spring training or the regular season. Coming into the season healthy, he simply looks like a 37 year old outfielder that has seen better days.

Aaron Judge is only in AA right now, but he needs to be put on the fast track to replace Beltran in right field. Through 7 games with the Trenton Thunder, Judge is hitting .281 with a .324 OBP. He also has two home runs, including a walk-off in last night’s game. In spring training Judge hit .273 with a .429 OBP thanks to six walks in just 22 at bats. He hit a home run in the spring as well. With two outs in the ninth he spanked one over the left field wall to tie the game. He’s been compared to Giancarlo Stanton for both his size and his power potential. After this year between AA and AAA, he may be ready to make Beltran sit on the bench in the final year of his $45 million dollar contract.

Slade Heathcott is another player that could come up for Beltran. The 24 year old outfielder has spent a majority of his career injured, but seems to have that in the rearview mirror in 2015. Heathcott received an invite to spring training and made the most of it. In 23 games he hit .333 with a .450 OBP, a home run, 7 RBI, and 3 stolen bases. He was expected to begin the year in AA Trenton, but was sent straight to AAA Scranton with the strong showing. Through his first 7 games in AAA he is hitting .226 with a .273 OBP and two more stolen bases. If he can stay healthy and get his average up, his addition in the Bronx would give the Yankees one of the fastest outfields in the game.

Prospects excelling will always be exciting. Beltran has been one of the better major leaguers for the last 15 years and deserves a longer leash than most. However, it may be time for the Yankees to look at the stats actually coming out of right field rather than who they thought they were signing two years ago. His heirs are almost ready to take his place.