Yankees: Five players who will help the team before the year is out

A reserve outfielder not named Williams

The Yankees, by now, should have come to the point where they realize that Mason Williams is, at best, a serviceable reserve outfielder. And it’s questionable that he’s even that.

And when you consider that he’s been with the Yankees since 2010 as a first-round draft pick, and that he’s played in fifty-some games with the team in the Bronx while playing almost 600 games in the team’s farm system, that should slam the door on whatever the Yankees think his value to the team is.

And yet, when it came time to call up a replacement for Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian Cashman went to Williams based on the fact that he has major league experience, albeit a very small sample.

But at some point this season, the Yankees have an opportunity to go a different route, even if it means throwing a rookie into the fire.

Dustin Fowler is having a helluva season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and sooner or later the Yankees will have to come to terms with the fact that, experience or not, Fowler can help this team.

In 65 games for the Railriders, Fowler is batting .300 with 12 home runs and 39 RBI. He also has a whopping 153 total bases and a .890 OPS to his credit, and he’s played all three outfield positions.

He’s only 22 and for the Yankees, that’s usually a “he needs more seasoning” barrier, but for this young player, an exception needs to be made.