Yankees: Is Neil Walker a bigger bust than Chris Carter?

Scouts raved that Yankees general manager Brian Cashman made a shrewd move signing 10-year veteran Neil Walker towards the end of Spring Training. After the first month of the season, it looks like anything but.

Following the news that Yankees first baseman, Tyler Austin was to miss four games for his role in the bench-clearing brawl in Boston, I stated that if Neil Walker wanted to extend his stay in pinstripes, he’d likely need to show something with the stick to do so.

Over the course of the Yanks sweeping the Angels in Anaheim, and then dropping the first of a four-game set to the Astros, Walker has managed just two hits in 15 at-bats, while driving in three runs, scoring twice and striking out six times.

To be fair, Walker was robbed of a potential three-run homer by Kole Calhoun in Friday’s 10-inning affair. If it weren’t for bad luck, Walker would have no luck this season.

A career .270 hitter, Walker, has played much more than anticipated, so a lack of plate appearances shouldn’t be attributed to his struggles, regardless of his abbreviated spring. In 79 official at-bats, Walker’s slash line is a dreadful .165/.212/.190.

For all the talk of taking advantage of the short porch in the Bronx, his power numbers are non-existent — two doubles (both in the same game), no home runs and six RBI. Even worse is Walker’s 20:5 K:BB ratio.

Were it not for Cashman giving Walker $4 million dollars, coupled with the loss of Greg Bird, there’s no way the former 2014 NL Silver Slugger Award winner would still be employed, at least not by the Yankees.

Two things differentiate the Walker debacle from the chaos Cashman created by signing Chris Carter last spring, also following a Greg Bird injury.

First, for as bad as Walker’s been with the bat, he still plays an adequate first base. Although he was inked initially to contend with Tyler Wade for the second base job, having some experience at first base was a plus.

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Chris Carter is an atrocious defender. Everyone knew that, yet the allure of mighty Chris bashing left-handed pitching around Yankee Stadium was too appealing to pass up.

Then there’s the matter of Carter getting 184 total at-bats with the Yankees (that’s 105 more than Walker as of May 1).

Coming off a season in which he tied for the NL lead in home runs with 41, you knew Cashman was going to try to get something out of the strikeout machine, especially after he was handed $3.5 million.

In 62 games with the Yanks, Carter, who can now be found playing at Triple-A in the Angels’ organization, slashed .201/.284/.370 with eight dingers, 26 RBI and a ridiculous 76:20 K:BB ratio.

How many more times Walker steps to the plate under the direction of manager Aaron Boone is anyone guess? Although, if I were a betting man, I’d say Walker isn’t long for New York, not with Brandon Drury finishing up his minor league rehab assignment and Bird due back sometime in May.

Randy Miller of NJ.com contends that Walker will likely stick until June, followed by a DFA and subsequent trade for a mid-level prospect. Besides those familiar Pirates, who recently lost infielder Josh Harrison for 6-8 weeks, I’m not sure who would give up much of anything for the 32-year-old Walker.

Like Carter, the Walker signing was one of the rare missteps Cashman has made during his reign. One would think Cash, himself, is most disgusted, having handed out a decent chunk of change to a non-producer when staying below the luxury tax threshold is of the utmost importance.

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Without knowing just how major league ready Gleyber Torres was to start the season, plus his service-time issue, Walker was a gamble worth taking; however, it’s time for the Yankees to cut their losses.