Yankees Editorial: Can Brendan Ryan’s Injury Open The Door For Jose Pirela?

By Jason Evans | Feb 28, 2015

We have our first injury of spring training for the Yankees. According to NJ.com’s Brendan Kuty, Brendan Ryan will be out about five days after with a strain to his middle back from lifting weights. The light hitting middle infielder hurt his back last year and missed all of April. The light hitting infielder hit .167 in 49 games.

If you had to guess the bench right now, it would be Chris Young, Alex Rodriguez/Garrett Jones, John Ryan Muphy and Ryan. But here’s the thing. What if in Spring, Didi Gregorius hits, and Ryan doesn’t at all? What if Jose Pirela does what he did all last year? Hit.

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Ryan is only slated to to make $2 million, though he does have a player option for 2016. We’ve all heard about how Stephen Drew is going to make $5 million for this year, and if he stinks, and Rob Refnsyder hits that he could come up.

What about Ryan? Why does he get a pass?

The whole thing with Ryan is how good a glove man he is. But guess what? According to Ryan’s Baseball Reference page, they have his defensive runs saved. You know what it was? -2. So if he can’t hit, and he can’t field as well as he did, what’s his value?

On a team with so many older players, having someone like Pirela, who can play everywhere, like Martin Prado did, would be a huge asset. His age also starts with a two, something the Yankees don’t have very much of either.

If Ryan falters, and Pirela doesn’t, the Yankees should cut their losses with Ryan by either trading him or treating his money as a sunk cost and releasing him.

This team needs youth an offense, something Pirela can provide. If Ryan doesn’t cut it this spring, he should be gone. Period.

Next: Should A-Rod Have Followed CC?

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