Yankees Shouldn’t Cut Mark Teixeira, They Should Trade Him

New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira is having an abysmal year, but why release someone that you still have to pay? Trade him to a club that needs a platoon-type guy who has the ability to get hot for a few games.

It’s hard to believe Mark Teixeira has already been a Yankee for seven seasons. From 2009 to 2011, Tex was exactly as advertised; especially on that World Series Championship team of ’09, when he batted .292, with career highs in home runs (32), and RBI (122).

In 2010, Teixeira would score a career high 113 runs, while belting 33 homers and 108 RBI. Yet for the first time since his rookie campaign, he would bat in the .250s (.256, to be exact). This was somewhat surprising for a guy who still managed to walk 93 times.

2011 was another monster season; 39 dingers and 111 RBI in 158 games, but down went the batting average again, this time to .248. 2012 though, was the real start to Tex’s initial decline as an offensive force. While suiting up for only 123 games, Teixeira would only manage 24 homers and 84 RBI. Sure, he raised his batting average by three points to .251 from the previous year, but come on!

2012 though, was the real start to Tex’s initial decline as an offensive force. While suiting up in 123 games, Teixeira would only manage 24 homers and 84 RBI. Sure, he raised his batting average by three points to .251 from the previous year, but come on!

2013 was a complete disaster, as Teixeira only played in 15 games due to season-ending wrist surgery. The following year, with the Yankees not truly knowing what to expect out of their $189.9 million slugger, Teixeira was able to quell some fears, belting 22 home runs and 62 RBI in 123 games. While not what the club and fans had come to expect, the most troubling issue was now his anemic .216 BA.

Blame it on rust from missing almost the entire previous season that resulted in 109 strikeouts, but no one on planet Earth could have envisioned the herculean effort Teixeira put together in 2015; .255 BA, 31 HR, and 79 RBI in only 111 games before succumbing to a fracture in his lower right leg, due to a self-inflicted foul ball. (insert porcelain doll joke here…)

Keeping somewhat of a precocious optimism for the 2016 season were most Yankees fans. Sure, Tex was now 36-years-old, but with the loss of highly touted prospect Greg Bird for the entire season, what other option did Yankee supporters have? Nick Swisher? Chris Parmalee?

The sad part is, as much as no one could have predicted that heroic comeback of 2015, is the same way that not a single soul would have believed that as of late July, Teixeira would be below the Mendoza line, batting .186, with 8 HR, and 22 RBI.

Defensively, he’s still a fine player; as a .995 fld%, while only committing three errors will attest. But nothing, not even the slew injuries he’s sustained this campaign should have his offensive numbers this down in the dumps.

If Bird was healthy, it would be a perfect time to make Teixeira a late inning defensive replacement, or left-handed hitter in a pinch; but he’s not. And Rob Refsnyder, while it’s nice to get him some regular at-bats, is not a first baseman, so why waste his time? 

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Having a jack-of-all-trades utility guy is great in theory, but what you’re actually saying, is that said player isn’t good enough to start at any one position. That’s some confidence booster for a young guy trying to establish himself at the big league level. Even Ben Zobrist started out as an actual shortstop.

The issue now is that Yankees fans, as well as some front office brass, are clamoring for the release of the three-time All-Star. If the club is to once and for all decide, say in late August, that they are no longer invested in winning for 2016, then fine, so be it. Give the guy a chance to hook on with a club that has visions of grandeur; one that could use a bench player of Teixeira’s professionalism and moxie; teams like the Nationals, Marlins, Mets, and Pirates could all be in the market for a better bench piece than what they currently have.

In a little over six days, the baseball world should officially know where the Yankees stand, whether as sellers or buyers. Even potentially sending Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs, doesn’t necessarily rule the Yankees dead in the water.

Envision this; the Yankees do cut ties with Tex, and he turns around and signs with say, the Blue Jays, Rangers, or Astros. Then what? Do you really want to be burned by a guy still on the books, one you got absolutely nothing for, but could potentially still beat you?

Trade him for just about anything you can get; a Single-A rookie ball player in Des Moines; a journeyman pitcher from Korea that can eat up innings out of the bullpen. Whatever you were to acquire is better than nothing, even if you have to pick up some of the Teixeira’s remaining $23,125,000 million.

Next: The Todd-Father Comes Home?

You may be quick to call Teixeira a dead man walking, but you’re probably one of the many that could have never fathomed his 2015 renaissance. Be careful what you wish for, Yankees fans.