Yankees Mark Teixeira Still Can’t Find His Stride

Mark Teixeira is ending his eight year Yankees tenure on a sour note, struggling with injuries and poor performance during the final year of his contract.

Although it was nice to see Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira hit his 200th home run in pinstripes during Sunday’s 5-2 victory over the Giants, there are still few signs that he has pulled out of his season-long slump.

Teixeira has yet to have a month with a wRC+ over 100 in 2016 (100 is the league-average batter with this statistic). He had a 97 wRC+ in April, an 11 mark in May, 52 in June, and 60 through 14 July games. There is something of an upward trend there since May, but certainly nothing to get too excited about.

He does have four longballs this month, but is struggling to make consistent contact (10-for-60 in July). Anecdotally, Teixeira’s bat appears to be slower this year, and he has never seemed to get a rhythm going at the plate at any point this season.

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Yankees manager Joe Girardi has attributed Teixeira’s continued struggles to his inability to stay on the field consistently this season, telling Zach Braziller of the New York Post,

"“I think its more difficult with all the injuries because he’s not had the consistent at bats. He’s on, he’s off for a week or two, so I think it’s been difficult. But obviously he’s really important for us.”"

After struggling with neck spasms early in the season, Teixeira missed most of June with a cartilage tear in his knee that will eventually require surgery. He was also recently day-to-day after suffering a bone bruise from fouling a ball of his foot.

Girardi has had no choice but to drop Teixeira down to the 6 or 7 spot in recent contests. He didn’t sound happy about demoting his former star, telling Braziller,

"“It’s not necessarily what we want to do, but we’re trying to take advantage of some guys who are swinging the bat really well.”"

For his part, Teixeira understands the move. “I’m lucky to be in the lineup right now,” he said this weekend.

With his contract expiring after the season, it would make sense to try and find a club willing to take a chance on a rebound by Teixeira. He wouldn’t fetch much, but the Yankees certainly aren’t going to give the 36-year-old a qualifying offer after the season.

That’s probably a moot point, given Teixeira’s hesitancy to waive his no-trade protection and his stated desire to remain in New York.

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If he gets hot, Mark Teixeira is the kind of elite power bat that can carry an offense for months at a time. Even as they prepare to sell, the Yankees remain on the fringes of contention, and a turnaround by Tex could be what it takes to push them over the edge.