Yankees: Why free agent Marwin Gonzalez could be a perfect fit

One of the most underrated players on the free agent market this offseason is Marwin Gonzalez. The former Astro is a switch-hitter and a super utility stud who could help the Yankees fill multiple roles if they sign him.

Jon Heyman of Fancred Sports recently reported that the Yankees are among the teams who have shown interest in the 29-year-old Gonzalez. It’s no surprise that more than half the teams in baseball have Gonzalez on their radar because over the past couple seasons he has been arguably the best utility man in the game.

During 2018 and the Astros World Series season in 2017 he mostly played left field but throughout his time in Houston, he proved to be an above average defender all over the diamond. Whether he’s been in left, at first, third, short or second Gonzalez has been sure-handed and a total team player.

He’s also no slouch at the plate hitting from both sides. Over his last four seasons, Gonzalez has averaged a .270 BA, 16 HR, and 61 RBI in 135 games. His best season came in 2017 when he played like an All-Star batting .303, with 23 HR, 90 RBI, and a .907 OPS. In a lineup filled with young stars like Altuve, Springer, Correa, and Bregman it was Gonzalez who flew under the radar and led one of the best offenses in recent memory in RBI during their championship season.

Last year his numbers took a bit of a hit because of a slow first half, but after the break, he batted .275 with 10 HR, 31 RBI, and .492 SLG%. In the postseason he continued his second-half surge hitting .333 with 2 HR and 9 RBI in 33 at-bats.

Gonzalez’s overall postseason numbers aren’t great but he has a lot of experience playing in 30 games and along the way, he’s picked up numerous clutch hits. It was his game-tying, 9th inning home run off Kenley Jansen in Game 2 of the 2017 World Series that saved the Astros from facing a 2-0 deficit and certain defeat.

A team like the Yankees would certainly welcome Gonzalez and his postseason experience to their roster, but the main reason he’d be a perfect fit is his versatility. I already listed off all the positions Gonzalez can play at a high level defensively and if he were to sign with New York you can bet manager Aaron Boone would plug him in pretty much anywhere.

To start the season Gonzalez could be the ideal short-term replacement for Didi Gregorius at shortstop. He could also play at second, his best position in the infield if the Yanks felt more comfortable with Gleyber Torres at short. Either way, Gonzalez would have a starting spot in the infield and get everyday at-bats.

The beauty with Gonzalez is that once Didi comes back the Yanks could move him out to left field where he could platoon with the veteran Brett Gardner. As we saw last season Gardner probably isn’t an everyday player anymore at this point in his career so there’s a good chance Gonzalez would eventually take hold of that starting job just as Andrew McCutchen did this past season.

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Now I know a lot of Yankee fans are hoping the Yankees sign Manny Machado to be their shortstop next season, but I’d much rather have Gonzalez for multiple reasons. The obvious reason is that he’d cost way less to sign. Machado is going to try to break records with his next contract and could get up to 10 years at over $300 million.

Gonzalez isn’t going to come cheap himself but he’s probably only going to get a four or five-year deal wherever he signs. I’m not saying the Yankees should go all in and overpay to get him but if they can get Gonzalez to sign a four-year deal for around $50 million they should do so.

He’s also just a better fit on the current Yankees roster because of his versatility. Also, if the Yanks signed Machado they’d likely end up trading budding star Miguel Andujar, but if they signed Gonzalez instead that wouldn’t need to. And unlike Machado, you don’t have to worry about any character issues with Gonzalez because he’s a team-first guy who’s more than willing to do whatever he has to do to help his team win.

In the coming days and weeks, there’s sure to be a ton of competition to sign Gonzalez but based on which team is the best fit, I can’t see a better landing spot for him than the Yankees.