Yankees hope table setters such as Gleyber Torres arrive for 2018

The Yankees have moved from a team of, if, to a team of, when. That last question cannot be answered, however, until Judge and Stanton have teammates to drive in.

The Yankees front office has to be ecstatic. Whatever plans they had for 2017 must have been eclipsed, as were the Red Sox as the presumptive favorites in the division.

Now, as every article that is not about Gerrit Cole can tell you, the team dreams of bigger things. And goals such as a division title, a deeper playoff run—even a World Series title—are all realistic, if not exactly written in the stars.

But for those plans to come to fruition, Cashman has to hope a few more prospects get ripe before the 2018 baseball season.

That’s partially true because of the price of Giancarlo Stanton: 2B Starlin Castro. The trade was without question a net gain for the Yankees, but, still, it was a trade-off. Castro was the only Yankee to hit at least .300 last season; next was part-timer Ronald Torreyes (.292).

The Price You Pay

Of course, OBP is the real stat line that delineates table setters. Here, Castro was only seventh (.338). That’s still better than Didi Gregorius (.318) and Torreyes (.314), though.

The bad news is who was above him.

Chase Headley was third on that list (.352); he has been returned to San Diego with a thanks for his service. Jacoby Ellsbury was fifth at .348. But it’ll be a bad day at black rock if Ellsbury gets another 356 at-bats this year.

And at four was forever Yankee Brett Gardner, with an even .350. That tied Brett for 60th in baseball. Plus, his age for the upcoming season—34—suggests a further diminution of his skills.

That still leaves two of the highest on-base guys in the majors on the roster. Giancarlo Stanton came in at number 23 with a .376, while Judge’s .422 made him third. Also, although he did not get enough AB’s to qualify for an official listing, Aaron Hicks ended with a .372.

Hicks, however, is still a maybe player, while Stanton and Judge can best serve the team by hitting home runs. With men on base, preferably. And these are the men that Cash hopes are on base in 2018.

2B Gleyber Torres

Torres will spend the entire 2018 season at the age of 21. The hope is that he will also spend the entire season in pinstripes.

Gleyber sports a minor league career slash of .282/.360/.416. That shows real promise for a young player. But even more so does his line from last year: .287/.383/.480.

That marks the second time in his four year career that Torres has reached at least a .383 OBP. Of more significance, it hopefully shows a young player close to finishing his development.

The Yankees will soon find out. Gleyber will enter Spring Training with an infield position his to lose. And the lead-off spot in the order. If he plays as he is capable of, as he did in the Arizona Fall League, for instance, he will become the Yankees most consistent run batted in.

One Step Up

And that’s for two reasons. One, if he can post a slash of .403/.513/.645 over the six weeks of spring training, as he did for the six weeks of the 2016 AFL, then he will force his way not only on the team but also to the top of its order.

Two, Aaron Boone does not seem as married to some conventions as Joe Girardi was. Joe would have had a very difficult time putting a rookie in the number one hole. It is more likely that Joe started Gardy at the top and Gleyber at nine to begin the season.

That approach can save a young player. But it can also needlessly hamstring an offense when a player doesn’t need the protection. Torres strikes me as the type of who rises to reach the spotlight and burying him probably serves the team ill.

That alone could create a very high OBP tandem of Torres and Judge. The Yankees, however, probably want Bird to hit number two next year.

But right now, Bird remains a player the team is more hopeful of than counting on.

1B Greg Bird

Bird had one of those rare seasons in which he proved both his supporters and detractors right, as Tim Tebow once had. Critics rightly point out how fragile Bird is; he appeared in only 48 games last year. Of course, that was a lot better than the zero games he played in two years ago.

But when he played, he was every bit the dynamic offensive player his boosters were confident he could be. His line in the postseason reads more like a seasoned veteran’s than a rookie’s: .250/.421/.500, with eleven hits in thirteen games, three home runs and six RBI’s.

And the reason the Yankees might move him up in the order is Gleyber Torres. Managers prefer but are not married to line-ups that alternate left and right-handed hitters.

That’s part of the reason Judge, the rightie, hit second after the left-handed Gardner.

But if the right-handed Torres does indeed take over the top spot, Boone might move leftie Bird in behind him. That sets up Judge batting third and, possibly, Stanton fourth. This is probably one of those times when talent trumps batting order, as Stanton also bats from the right side.

Livin’ In the Future

If the trend under Girardi continues, Didi would bat next from the left, followed by Gary Sanchez on the right. The idea of Sanchez, already the best power hitting backstop in baseball, batting sixth in any lineup says a lot about the power in that order.

But that all starts with Torres, and then Bird. And that all starts with health.

There is every reason to think Greg will have a full, healthy season. Just as there was last year. Yet, a hard to diagnose foot injury kept him hobbled until September. If Bird stays healthy and performs to his talent, the Yankees will have a lethal line-up.

If not, the first six hitters will feature too many righties, and Boone will have a lot of juggling to do. Or Gardy will be back at the top of the order, which is fine but not great.

The problem with some of this analysis is that there are two infield spots open, and too long to go before the end of Spring Training.

A free agent might be brought in, such as Todd Frazier or Eduardo Nunez. Or a Brandon Drury-type might be traded for. Even so, I will assume that Miguel Andujar will win the job at third base at some point this year.

3B Miguel Andujar

Andujar is known to have the best infield arm in the Yankees’ system. His defensive struggles of the past seemed to have stemmed from footwork and consistency. However, all reports suggest that Miguel has improved enough that defense no longer holds him back.

Perhaps the best evidence is that both Cash and Hal Steinbrenner have spoken openly about those improvements.

The two are normally stoic and reserved, knowing it is often a mistake to build up a rookie in New York. So when they go out of their way like that, they are saying they are satisfied and ready for him to play in the Bronx.

That doesn’t mean he enters SP with a job; it means he now has the skills to be considered for the job. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him at third on Opening Day.

There are those who think the Yankees would not start two rookies in the infield, but I think that is exactly the type of dynamic thinking Boonie brings to the table.

Reason to Believe

Miguel slashed .315/.352/.498 over two levels of the minors last year. And while his OBP is not high, he makes up for it with his average and slugging. A walk might be as good as a hit, but only if that hit is a single.

Andujar hit 36 doubles last year; had he spent his entire season at Scranton, he would have led this playoff team by seven.

He’s also a rightie, so it makes sense that switch-hitting Aaron Hicks would bat left after Yo Soy, followed by Miguel, leaving leftie Gardner at the bottom of the order, followed by rightie Torres back at the top.

And it is really the bottom of the order that holds the key to the season. When 2-3-4 in the line-up are all counted on to produce 100 RBI’s, they will need more than just the person batting in the number one spot to be on base.

That’s the dream, though; waking reality might not be so simple. Again, without knowing if any players will be brought in, here are the internal replacements and role players likely to make the difference between a division title and maybe staying home.