Yankees Editorial: Should Chris Young start over Carlos Beltran?

New York Yankees‘ fourth outfielder Chris Young is currently sporting a slash line of .2966/.356/.611, with four home runs and 10 RBI’s.  Carlos Beltran is hitting .167/.227/.283 with no home runs and seven RBI’s.  Is it time for manager Joe Girardi to make a move sending Beltran to the bench?

No, Girardi should not make this move, as Beltran simply needs to find his swing, and the season is too young for major moves.  Beltran was an All-Star in 2012 and 2013 before coming to the Yankees, and Girardi knows that he will need Beltran to return to that level of play.

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While Young has once been an All-Star, and looked well in limited time with the Yankees last season, he also has never hit higher than .257 across a full season.  You simply don’t gamble on a player’s hot start when he has shown for nearly ten years that he is not an All-Star talent.

Young is best suited in a part-time role, where he is able to fill in for all three outfielders.  He seems fresh, and has actually played in more games than Beltran and Brett Gardner, although both have more at-bats.  Having a weapon like Young on the bench makes the Yankees lineup more dangerous.

Beltran is also not as bad as he has looked in the early going.  Once a pillar for consistency, it is shocking to even hear his name brought up as an option that should be sent to the bench.  While he is aging, and his elbow surgery has seemed to drain him of some of the bat speed he possessed, Beltran should turn it around soon, as his elbow gets stronger.

If numbers continue to look this way through June, then Beltran’s borderline Hall of Fame career could be done.  Odds are that this will not be the case.  Mark Teixeira was a notorious slow starter, known for bad April’s, and he always seemed to turn it around.  Beltran is a veteran, and should be able to do the same.

As Beltran gets more at-bats, he will likely gain more strength in his elbow, and more bat speed, thus leading to more hits and more power.  Young has been great in the early going, but he should not replace Beltran, not yet at least.

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