Yankees: Mason Williams and the Young Talent Conundrum

The Yankees drafted Mason Williams in the 4th round of the 2010 amateur draft. He was highly advertised by the team as a multi-tooled center fielder with a can’t miss tag on his neck.

Last season, the Yankees hit the reset button sending him all the way back to low minors in an attempt to restart his career. It worked as Williams responded by climbing the ladder all the way up the big club when Aaron Judge went down. But where is he now and is he destined to always be the Yankees odd man out.

The Yankees bumper crop of young talent has been bandied about in trade talks for a much needed front line starting pitcher during the entire offseason. And although it appears that Brian Cashman is reluctant to make any moves at this time, Mason Williams has yet to surface as trade bait to be included in talks to acquire an experienced starter. In fact, his name has yet to surface in any talk about the team at all.

This, despite the fact that with six years and 2,000 at bats in the minor leagues (.275 BA .330 OBP) – he is still only 25 years old.

To be clear, this is not meant to put Williams in the same category of Aaron Judge, Clint Frazier, Tyler Austin, or any of the other Baby Bombers. But at least you would think he would be part of the discussion. Which begs the question, is Mason Williams destined to be the perennial odd man out in the team’s future, and if he is, does that point to a developing problem that is surfacing for the team and in particular Brian Cashman.

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Because you would think, for example, he would be an ideal candidate for the White Sox as a replacement for Adam Eaton. And it could be that he has been discussed, but we just don’t know it. But instead of going for the gold in Jose Quintana, why not pursue one of the White Sox mid-level starters like a Carlos Rodon who, while he is not likely to light up the back pages of newspapers, is a proven provider of innings (165 last year), walked only 54, and had 17 quality starts.

The point is that Mason Williams has to be worth something to somebody. And if he is not deemed to be a part of the Yankees future, which would be entirely understandable, he should at least be used to help bring one of the pieces that Brian Cashman still needs to fill in order for the Yankees to be a serious contender for a Division title.

But while the scenario involving Rodon may be plausible and interesting, it points to a problem that the team is going to face all year. Namely, how do you balance seriously contending for a title with the need to provide, for example, your young starters with the opportunity to prove themselves, against the need to send proven talent out there every fifth day.

Because if someone like a Rodon is added to the staff, that’s taking away 30 starts from the likes of Severino, Cessa, and Brian Mitchell. On the one hand, you could always go back to the popular refrain that a team can never have enough starting pitching (think Mets), and therefore it would be nice to have Rodon and all the others, it becomes a nightmare for someone like Joe Girardi who needs to win at the same time he keeps everyone’s ego in check.

Next: Brian Cashman Talks Yankees

We keep saying that this is a transition year for the Yankees. And while that thankfully remains true, we may need to buckle up and get ready for a wild and bumpy ride as the season progresses, and the team struggles with creating and maintaining that delicate balance between the old and the New York Yankees.