Yankees fans, get to know outfielder Mike Tauchman

On Sunday, the Yankees announced their 25-man Opening Day roster. To the surprise of many, the versatile Tyler Wade was sent to the minors in lieu of the recently acquired outfielder, Mike Tauchman.

When the Yankees reassigned Clint Frazier to Triple-A on Saturday, it was assumed the 25th man on the big league roster would be the uber-versatile, left-handed hitting Tyler Wade.

After all, Wade, 24, slashed .319/.360/.532 with one home run and three stolen bases in 50 plate appearances this spring — and with Aaron Hicks expected to miss at least the first series of the regular season versus the Orioles, now was Wade’s chance to prove he belongs.

However, general manager Brian Cashman called an audible and traded left-handed reliever David Diehl to the Rockies for outfielder Mike Tauchman.

Across 10 innings this spring, Diehl showed a lot of promise, striking out 18 batters. And although his Grapefruit League ERA ended at 4.50, Diehl was said to impress manager Aaron Boone. Well, so much for that.

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As for the left-handed Tauchman, he’s able to play all three outfield positions while scouts consider him to have “plus speed and solid plate discipline with gap power.”

Unfortunately, at 28, Tauchman hasn’t gotten much of an opportunity at the major league level to prove scouts correct.

In 69 plate appearances since 2017 (37 last season), Tauchman has slashed .153/.265/.203 with two RBIs and a 25:9 K:BB ratio. Even during this Spring Training, Tauchman’s stats were barely more impressive than Frazier’s, and far from Wade’s: .196 BA, four doubles, eight RBIs and a 13:9 K:BB ratio across 55 plate appearances.

While I understand that Wade isn’t a prototypical outfielder, Brian Cashman let it be known during the offseason that the Yankees’ outfield depth was plentiful.

Yet he’s just acquired a career minor leaguer, albeit one that hit .323/.408/.571 with 20 home runs, 26 doubles, 81 RBIs and 12 stolen bases in 112 Triple-A games in the Pacific Coast League.

To make room for Tauchman on the 40-man roster, pitcher Jordan Montgomery was moved to the 60-day injured list as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.

As for the duration of Tauchman’s stay with the Yanks, that may all depend on how long Hicks is on the shelf. As Boone told NJ.com, a healthier roster could mean the return of Wade, sooner rather than later.

"“When we’re whole, (Wade) actually makes a little more sense because of the versatility that we feel he now really possesses,” Boone said. “So this could be a situation where Tyler gets his chance even as we get healthier. That’s possible.”"

All in all, Tauchman, the former 10th round pick of the Rockies in the 2013 draft, will need to impress when he does get the chance to take the field in pinstripes.