5 Players That Need to Be in Yankees Pinstripes in 2015

Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

John Ryan Murphy

I am ready to move on from the Francisco Cervelli era of back-up catcher Yankees baseball. Cervelli makes nice contact and is solid defensively behind the plate, however he is a tremendous injury risk. His seven-year career has been marred by missed time due to lingering injury issues and last seasons 50-game suspension didn’t help him. The Yankees are extremely deep in the minors at catcher and it’s time John Ryan Murphy gets his chance at the everyday backup position.

Brian McCann isn’t getting any younger. We need a reliable bat and presence behind the plate as McCann will need more days at DH, first base or simply off in the foreseeable future. Murphy has proven that he can handle big league pitching. When he was called up earlier this season during Cervelli’s first DL stint, he came out of the gates on fire, having his batting average up to .406 on May 21st. Of course this was a small sample size, but when he was sent down upon Cervelli’s return, he was still batting a very respectable .286. Now, Cervelli is dinged up once again, and in his return to the Yankees, Murphy went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. His defense is suspect, but that is more from not having consistent playing time and the kinks will work itself out. Murphy may never possess the skill set it takes to be a major league starting catcher, but he certainly has what the Yankees need coming off the bench.