Yankees Need to Make a Decision on Rob Refsnyder

When next season begins, Rob Refsnyder will already be 26-years-old, meaning his fringe prospect status is set to expire.

Starlin Castro will be hard-pressed to return to the Yankees starting lineup after being diagnosed with a Grade 1 hamstring strain. So now would be the ideal time to find out if Rob Refsnyder has what it takes to be an everyday player, at his most natural of positions–second base.

Yet low and behold, Joe Girardi started Ronald Torreyes at second on Sunday against the Red Sox and even plugged in journeyman infielder Donovan Solano at third base–who was called up earlier in the day after back spasms forced Chase Headley out of the lineup pregame.

However, Refsnyder could be found in right field–batting ninth. While I certainly understand that there are only so many moves that can be made in the face of injuries galore, playing Refsnyder in a position that will inevitably be given back to Aaron Judge next season makes little to no sense.

If you’re in the minority that thinks Judge won’t automatically get that job back, then at the very least, the Yankees would be much better off installing Tyler Austin there for the rest of this campaign. I’d be curious to see how he handles those worrisome carroms, because first base is Greg Bird‘s to lose.

It’s funny, though, Refsnyder has gained a little bit of that Brett Gardner fandom, where people genuinely like his game, but can’t explain why.

Certainly, it can’t be because of his bat. I mean .250/.325/.311, with zero home runs, and 12 RBI isn’t making people flock to MLB.com to purchase #38 Yankees jerseys.

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Those dismal stats are exactly the reason he can’t be considered a utility player. That designation is usually reserved for a guy without a true position (which Refsnyder is)–who can play many different positions well enough; and that same guy most definitely mashes with the best of them.

Think Ben Zobrist, Matt Carpenter, Trea Turner, Eduardo Nunez, Enrique Hernandez. No way–no how does Refsnyder belong in the same category with these talents.

Now I’m not saying he can’t possibly get to that level; I mean, look how long it took Nunez to grow into an all-star caliber player. But 167 at-bats over the course of 53 games won’t get him there anytime soon.

In Spring Training, when Yankees fans were calling for Chase Headley to be replaced, it was Refsnyder whom they wanted to learn how to play third base. When Castro struggled as he so often does during the first half of the season, it was Refsnyder they wanted at second. And when Mark Teixeira was all but the ghost of his former self before Austin was promoted, it was Refsnyder they wanted at first.

That’s why if the Yankees won’t play him now, at the one position they’ve been grooming him at since they drafted him as an outfielder out of the University of Arizona, or at third–which is one of the few positions that the organization isn’t flush with up and coming prospects, then why play him at all?

At Refsnyder’s current standing, he has almost no value to the organization. He’s no better than current backups like Torreyes in the infield, or Aaron Hicks in the outfield.

So let Refsnyder start the final handful of games where he feels most comfortable– again, either at second (where he started 16 games at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) or third base (where started 26 games).

The guy has been willing to do exactly what the Yankees have asked of him in 2016, including three separate trips to the minors.

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Why not reward him with one final shot to potentially prove to his club, or one of the other 29 Major League organizations, that he can indeed play at the highest of levels.