Yankees: Bring second baseman Joe Panik to the Bronx?

The Yankees have an embarrassment of riches both at the big league level and in the minor leagues to fill the vacancy at second base left by the departure of Starlin Castro in the Giancarlo Stanton trade.

Ronald Torreyes and Tyler Wade will undoubtedly vie for second base, as will the Yankees top prospect, Gleyber Torres, whom general manager Brian Cashman has often said this offseason will fight for the position in Spring Training.

However, Torres is coming off Tommy John surgery on his non-throwing elbow, and is a wait and see situation as we approach camp.

The Yankees can gain another year of control of Torres if he spends the first few weeks in the minors before being called up.

Torreyes is an able utility infielder who spent time at the position in 2017, playing 15 games there, while Wade appeared just four times at second base and had poor offensive numbers.

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Enter a speculative trade for Joe Panik, second baseman of the San Francisco Giants — and slide Torres to third base.

While Cashman has said that he has confidence in putting two rookie defenders in the infield, in Torres at second base and Miguel Andujar at third base, scouts have suggested that Andujar is not ready to play defensively in the big leagues, mainly because of his poor footwork.

There has been speculation that Torres could even play third base, and in fact, Brendan Kuty of NJ.com recently said:

"“Torres has a tool set that makes talent evaluators drool. At 6-foot-1, 175 pounds with a strong arm and athleticism, he projects to hit around .300 with above-average pop and has the ability to play shortstop, second base and third base at a high level — though there are some in the organization who think he’ll be best used at second or third.”"

With Torres at third base and perhaps, Panik at second base, the Yankees could shore up the defense behind what is one of the best pitching staffs in the American League.

Panik, 27, has a career line of .282/.345/.408 in four seasons with the Giants. Formerly a first-round draft pick in 2011, Panik has been an All-Star and a Gold Glove winner with the Giants since his debut in 2014. He’s a fan favorite in San Francisco and was the headliner in the Giancarlo Stanton to the Giants trade talks earlier in the offseason.

If you weren’t aware, Panik is a native New Yorker, hailing from Yonkers, having played baseball at St. John’s University.

According to Elias, on September 7, 2017, Panik had 12 hits over a three-game series to tie the MLB record for most hits in a three-game series in the modern era (since 1990).

When Buster Olney recently named the top-ten second basemen in the NL, Panik did not make the list; he did, however, make honorable mention, which I believe would make him No. 11.

Panik is a solid defender and has consistently put up above-average offensive numbers (perhaps except for 2016, which was an off year). He seems to be a player poised to breakout and another left-handed bat in the lineup would be an upgrade for the Yankees.

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Yankees fans love their prospects, such as Andujar and Torres, but they like winning even more.  Joe Panik would be a solid veteran contributor to a winning team and also a substantial investment for the future.