Almonte A Curious Fit With Yankees

May 17, 2014; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees left fielder

(24) rounds the bases on his home run during the third inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

There are many reasons why Zoilo Almonte shouldn’t be a good fit for this Yankees’ team. What the Yankees could really use is a true right-handed hitter, and in the minor leagues, Almonte has rarely suggested that he’s a viable big league bat from that side of the plate. He’s been a switch-hitter, but a left-handed hitter in terms of production.

The Yankees have Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury and Ichiro Suzuki already in place as left-handed outfielders, and Kelly Johnson or Yangervis Solarte could play the outfield if necessary. Finding a left-handed hitter to play an outfield corner is not a problem.

But there could be regular at-bats available against lefties, either as an alternative to one of the left-handed outfielders or as a platoon DH. There are some guys in the minors like Adonis Garcia, Scott Sizemore and Zelous Wheeler–none of whom might not be better overall players than Almonte, but they might be better fits on this roster.

Almonte can hit right-handed, but if that’s where his playing time is going to come from, there may be better options available. But when it comes to the way Almonte’s played overall thus far, he really hasn’t been bad. He plays a solid outfield, and has shown he can definitely swing the bat, seeing as he already has one home run in only 14 at-bats. He also got a big hit with two outs in the sixth inning of Thursday’s game against the White Sox, to break up Chris Sale‘s perfect game.

So while Almonte can definitely give some production from the left side, it remains to be seen whether or not he can do it from the right side as well.