Yankees Should Name Tyler Wade Starting Shortstop

Following the injury to Didi Gregorius, Yankees prospect Tyler Wade has something none of the other shortstop stopgaps have — upside.

22-year-old Tyler Wade has better athleticism, speed, defensive ability, and emerging power than any of the other options Yankees manager Joe Girardi has at his disposal to replace the injured Didi Gregorius.

As of now, Gregorius is slated to miss the first four to six weeks of the new season. But that timeline says nothing about Gregorius’ ability to pick up where he left off for the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic.

Should Gregorius show signs of rust once he comes off the disabled list, or worse, re-injure himself, the Yankees need to have someone who can fill in at short for the long haul — Pete Kozma, Ronald Torreyes, Ruben Tejada, or Donovan Solano are not the answer.

Even if the Yankees inevitably decide to shift Starlin Castro back to his original position, I still believe the versatile left-handed hitting Wade and his .368 batting average this spring is capable of much more than Rob Refsnyder. There’s no comparing the defense of the two men, as the Yankees have stated on numerous occasions that they feel Wade has all the tools to be a legitimate starting shortstop at the big league level.

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The thing that could stop Wade’s ascension to the Bronx is the fact that he isn’t on the 40-man roster. So unless the Yanks DFA’ed a guy like Torreyes, or move the injured Tyler Austin to the 60-day DL (both sensible options), Wade may begin the year at Triple-A Scranton instead.

For those fans who feel prospects need 1500 at-bats or more in the minors before they are ready for the majors (or so I was recently told on Twitter), stop.

Wade’s played a full season of short at Double-A Trenton and has caught the attention of Girardi for good reason. Girardi spoke about Wade yesterday to NJ Advance Media:

“He made a lot of plays (Saturday), big double for us (Saturday),” Girardi said. “We’re looking at everyone who’s here. It wasn’t a decision we expected us to make but we’ve got to. He’s a young man who played pretty well in Double-A last year. He’s got versatility to him, left-handed bat, he’s got speed. He’s getting a good look.”

Next: Tommy John, Who Dat?

If I were the Yankees, I bring up the kid — because quite simply, I think he gives the ball club the best chance of winning games until Gregorius returns sometime in May. It’s not brain surgery — we’ve already seen what the other replacement options are capable of at the big league level — and it isn’t enough. Don’t be surprised if Wade excels at the next level. I won’t.