Finding the Ideal New York Yankees Lineup

The New York Yankees lineup has looked drastically different in recent weeks with several top prospects receiving promotions, but manager Joe Girardi still hasn’t found his “go-to” alignment.

The Yankees trade of Carlos Beltran at the deadline and the release of Alex Rodriguez have left Joe Girardi without his usual middle of the order hitters. Mark Teixeira‘s struggles have also seemingly removed the 36-year-old first baseman from everyday duty, although he still has been hitting cleanup an annoying amount when he plays.

Girardi’s lineup has especially been in flux since the promotion of Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, and Tyler Austin, as he looks to see where the youngsters will fit into the Yankees lineup going forward.

The first five lineups of the post-A-Rod era have seen Chase Headley, Didi Gregorius, Starlin Castro, and Aaron Hicks juggled around the 2-through-4 spots, which obviously isn’t ideal. Of that group, only Didi has a strong case for hitting in the upper two-thirds of any productive MLB lineup. 

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On Wednesday, Girardi did bump the red-hot Sanchez and Judge up the ladder slightly, hitting them fourth and fifth. That is progress, although Headley and Castro were still inexplicably in the second and third spots.

It seems like the Yankees are easing the kids into more central roles in the offense, but Girardi would not commit to hitting them in the middle of the lineup going forward when asked on Wednesday, telling Joe Giglio of NJ Advance Media,

“I’m not sure. Obviously your hope is that—over time—they can become middle-of-the-order guys, very consistent middle of the order, very productive middle-of-the-order guys. But I’m not going to put that kind of pressure on them.”

While Girardi’s hesitance is understandable, it’s hard to argue that Judge and Sanchez aren’t the teams two best power hitters at this point. If veteran egos weren’t a factor at this point, the ideal Yankees lineup would probably look something like this:

Against RHP:

1. Brett Gardner– LF (99 wRC+)
2. Aaron Judge- RF (227 wRC+)
3. Didi Gregorius- SS (104 wRC+)
4. Gary Sanchez- C (197 wRC+)
5. Brian McCann– DH (99 wRC+)
6. Tyler Austin- 1B (94 wRC+)
7. Chase Headley- 3B (95 wRC+)
8. Starlin Castro- 2B (86 wRC+)
9. Jacoby Ellsbury– CF (86 wRC+)

Against LHP:

1. Aaron Hicks- CF (86 wRC+)
2. Aaron Judge- RF (227 wRC+)
3. Didi Gregorius- SS (104 wRC+)
4. Gary Sanchez- C (197 wRC+)
5. Mark Teixeira- 1B (99 wRC+)
6. Tyler Austin- DH (94 wRC+)
7. Chase Headley- 3B (95 wRC+)
8. Starlin Castro- 2B (86 wRC+)
9. Rob Refsnyder-LF (77 wRC+)

Next: Yankees Will Need to Get Creative to Move Jacoby Ellsbury

Dropping Jacoby Ellsbury out of the leadoff spot should be priority one after two truly awful seasons. If and when the Yankees bring Rob Refnsyder back up, he and Aaron Hicks should be used as platoon partners for Ellsbury and Gardner at this point. Tex and McCann would also be a solid team splitting time at DH down the stretch, which would allow Tyler Austin to play every day.