It’s Time For The Yankees To End The Brian Roberts Experience

Apr 20, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; New York Yankees second baseman

(14) misses the ball as Tampa Bay Rays first baseman

(21) slides in safe during the seventh inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Look, when Robinson Cano left the Yankees for greener pastures (and a lot of greenbacks), the offensive production at second base wouldn’t be what Yankees fans had been used to since Cano’s arrival in the show. But this move? It has been downright ugly so far. It’s time for the Yankees to follow the Detroit Tigers lead and release a struggling veteran. Like Alex Gonzalez, Brian Roberts should be joining him among players released so far in 2014.

With Mark Teixeira back, Kelly Johnson can slide back into second base. They can use Roberts roster spot and bring back Scott Sizemore, who can compliment Johnson at second and Yangervis Solarte at third base. Sizemore will be much more productive with the bat than Roberts has been.

Roberts so far has a .156/.278/.222 line in 15 games and 55 plate appearances. That’s right. His on-base is higher than his slugging. Yikes.

What about the glove? Well, remember yesterday’s game? A nice play by Solarte at third. A good throw to Roberts at second. What happens? He drops it on the transfer. Everybody’s safe. Game gets tied later in the inning.

What about those injury issues? Well, they came up again when he missed time with neck issues. His and Derek Jeter‘s unavailability caused Carlos Beltran to play first for the first time in his life when Francisco Cervelli went down with an injury two weeks ago.

It won’t be long before Roberts gets hurt again. Besides, if he’s healthy, at this point, CC Sabathia would be a better hitter. It’s time for the Yankees to just cut their losses and release him.