Yankees: Tyler Austin the obvious and best choice to stay with the club

With Yankees first baseman Greg Bird due back in a week, GM Brian Cashman will need to choose who goes and who stays.

Yankees first baseman Tyler Austin has proved beyond doubt that he belongs with this club. Austin is currently batting .261, is first among rookies in OPS at .910 and SLG at .587 — and is second with eight home runs and 23 RBI. Austin has produced numbers about equal to Bird’s best.

After suffered a four-game suspension and the loss of playing time to Neil Walker, Austin only recently found his timing at the plate. Before his suspension, Austin was hitting .290 and was first among all rookies in HR, RBI and OPS. He has also demolished left-handed pitching, slashing .324/.703/1.098. His defense is stellar and far superior to that of Walker.

On the year, Neil Walker’s numbers are .211/.298/.555 with 0 HR and 11 RBI. I know Walker came alive for a week or so and helped the Yankees with some timely hits, but he has regressed again and is still not what the Yankees bargained for sure.

Tyler Austin also has better numbers than Neil Walker vs RHP

The rookie first baseman has better numbers vs. RHP, hitting .211, as opposed to Neil Walker’s .202 batting average. Austin has hit more HR than Walker 4/0 and driven in more runs with 12 RBI compared to Walker’s nine. Austin is a superior player and a better match to compliment with Bird who hits left-handed.

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At 26, Tyler Austin still has a future with the Yankees and could easily be the starting first baseman on many other teams. Neil Walker, 32, is probably a member of the Yanks for just this year, and only that, if he is not offloaded by Cashman at the trade deadline.

Austin is pre-arbitration eligible and therefore under team control until 2023, making him a valuable commodity.

It makes absolutely no sense to send Austin down to Triple-A, where Brandon Drury, another frustrated player resides — just to keep Walker because the Yankees pay him more. Think Chris Carter last season or Jacoby Ellsbury now.

I’ve heard a lot of hype about Walker’s clubhouse presence. That is a good thing, of course. However, Austin is just as much a part of that clubhouse especially after the incident in Boston and his subsequent suspension.

On the subject of Boston, Austin has the numbers against Chris Sale, not Walker, and that might be very important moving forward this year.

Next: Cole Hamels to the Bronx?

Many of my readers have suggested that the Yankees stay with a bullpen of seven pitchers. With the current rotation, I find it difficult to believe that Cashman will go that route. Maybe he tries it for a while, but until the Bombers make the trade to bring another quality starter to the rotation, I think eight relievers plus closer Aroldis Chapman is the way to go.