Yankees News: Three Potential Changes For The New York Yankees

It’s been a more than rough week and a half for the New York Yankees and their fans. Aside from the offensive outburst in Monday’s game against the Kansas City Royals followed by another win on Tuesday, the Yankees have been victim to a losing streak. To be specific, they have lost ten of their last 13 games, giving them an overall record of 24-22, in the American League East. Oddly enough, the Yankees reclaimed first place in the division following their win on Tuesday.

It’s expected to hear Yankees’ fans uproar about recent struggles. Manager Joe Girardi had specified that no external changes would be expected to come anytime soon, as he will remain with the given roster.

Girardi stated that the players who are on the roster are to be expected to contribute and produce for the team. “These guys have to get it done. That’s the bottom line. These are our players and they’ve got to get it done.” Girardi is correct; players such as Carlos Beltran and CC Sabathia are expected to provide a veteran leadership in addition to their playing attributes, but the two have been more than subpar.

“”These guys have to get it done. That’s the bottom line. These are our players and they’ve got to get it done.” – Joe Girardi

Brendan Kuty of NJ.com has created three potential changes that could start an upward trend for the slumping Yankees.

1.) Make Slade Heathcott the regular in center field until Jacoby Ellsbury returns

Kuty explains that with the similar comparisons between Ellsbury and Heathcott, it may be justifiable to provide Heathcott with the given opportunity. Heathcott, being 24-years-old, belted his first home run of his Major League career against the Royals, adding to the stress-relieving 14-1 win. You can argue if Heathcott can sustain a Major League career, whether it’s a starting position or bench player, but why not give the outfielder an opportunity to provide a young and exhilarating vibe to the clubhouse, as well as on the playing field?

2.) Make Heathcott-Brett Gardner the new 1-2

The Ellsbury-Gardner tandem showed exactly why the two were potentially the best lead-off hitters in the MLB. Consistently getting on base and providing base-running threats towards the top of the inning is more than hectic for the opposing team. Given Ellsbury’s injury, Heathcott could provide similar batting aspects to the lineup as Ellsbury had. The 24-year-old provides a consistent speed for the organization and provide runs scored when in a scoring position. Why change something that has been working in the past?

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3.) Swap Chasen Shreve for Justin Wilson in the late-inning lefty role

Besides Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller, the Yankees’ bullpen has been mediocre of late. Recently, the Yankees called up top relief prospect Jacob Lindgren from the AAA affiliate team, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.

Back to the point, Wilson has been one of the more mediocre arms in the bullpen throughout the year. Holding a 5.79 earned run average (ERA) in 14.0 innings pitched is not a statistic to be too proud of. Providing a late-inning lefty in the bullpen is crucial at the Major League level; if you can’t do the job well, don’t do the job at all.

On the flip side, Shreve holds a 3.00 ERA in 18.0 innings pitched, a more friendly statistic opposed to Wilson’s. Providing a dynamic lefty out of the bullpen to execute and get the sure outs on the left-hitting batters is more than useful, but also necessary. The Yankees, known for their bullpen, should look to build off of their strengths.

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