Yankees: It’s time to make some changes to the starting lineup

The Yankees lineup hasn’t been at full strength yet this season and the offense’s overall production has been somewhat inconsistent. In fact, outside of the three-game sweep this past weekend in Baltimore they’ve really struggled as a whole. 12 games is obviously a very small sample size but I think it’s time for Aaron Boone to consider making some changes to the batting order.

When the season started and we new Aaron Hicks was going to begin the year on the injured list I don’t think many fans had a problem with Brett Gardner leading off. He has the most experience doing so and he enjoyed a great Spring Training so it made sense for the Yankees to insert him there until Hicks returns.

However, here we are today with no clue when Hicks might be back and Gardner has gotten off to a very slow start. Gardner homered in Wednesday’s game at Houston but in 44 at-bats he’s hitting .196 and slugging .370 with two home runs and three RBI. His struggles have been a continuation of the ones he had during the second half of last season. He batted .209, slugged .316 and ended up losing his starting job in September to Andrew McCutchen.

With the Yankees lack of depth in the outfield right now I’m not suggesting they should bench Gardner and play Mike Tauchman more. He should continue to get the majority of the starts in center field but he needs to be moved to the bottom of the order. However, I will say that if his struggles continue he should move back to the bench and Clint Frazier should take his job in left for good once Hicks comes back.

As for now, the Yanks need a spark at the top of the lineup and at this point in Gardner’s career, I don’t think they’re going to get it from him. Gleyber Torres would be an intriguing option for many to take over but I’d rather see him hit third and D.J. LeMahieu leadoff.

LeMahieu has been the Yanks primary leadoff man against left-handed starters and he’s one of the few hitters in the lineup who’s actually swung the bat extremely well so far. He’s hitting a team-leading .410 in 39 at-bats and leads as well in OBP with a .455.

During his time with the Rockies LeMahieu predominantly batted second but with Judge locked into that spot he’s the best option right now to hit in front of him. I know Boone loves to split up the righties and lefties in the order but LeMahieu has been the Yankees most consistent hitter thus far. Until Hicks comes back he should maximize the number of at-bats for D.J. each game and bat him first.

As previously mentioned above now’s the time to move Gleyber Torres up in the order and bat third. Luke Voit has looked better of late after a terrible opening homestand but if this Yankee offense is going to reach its full potential I don’t think it’s going to happen with him in the three hole. Voit was excellent last season for the Yanks and while I don’t believe that stretch was a fluke the odds of him producing those kinds of numbers again over a full season are slim.

Part of the reason Voit is batting third is due to the injuries to Didi Gregorius, Giancarlo Stanton, and Miguel Andujar. Once they all return I assume he’s not going to hit that high up in the order so why continue to hit him there now when guys like Torres and Gary Sanchez are better options?

That being said, given the great start Sanchez has gotten off to batting mostly cleanup he should stay there, but Torres should flip flop with Voit. Torres might end up being the best all-around hitter in this lineup by the end of the season (if he’s not already right now) so there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be batting third. Voit should keep getting more playing time than the struggling Greg Bird, but he’s been a little too inconsistent early on to continue to bat in the top third of the lineup.

With LeMahieu first, Judge second, Torres third and Sanchez fourth here’s how the rest of the order should line up moving forward:

1. D.J. LeMahieu 2B
2. Aaron Judge RF
3. Gleyber Torres SS
4. Gary Sanchez C
5. Luke Voit DH
6. Clint Frazier LF
7. Greg Bird 1B
8. Gio Urshela 3B
9. Brett Gardner CF

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I’m sure Boone would consider batting Bird in between Voit and Sanchez or Voit and Frazier to split up the righties, but seventh is as high as he should be until he starts producing. The only reason I have him in this lineup at all is because of his power potential and the fact that the only options to replace him in the order are Tyler Wade and Mike Tauchman.

With Didi and Hicks out they desperately need Bird to step up and be that left-handed power source they’ve been missing. If he ever turns it around then I’d be fine with him batting behind Sanchez or Voit, but based on his results so far there’s not much reason for optimism.

At the bottom of the order, Gardner fits in the nine-hole because he can essentially serve as a second leadoff guy when the lineup turns over. Gio Urshela and Tyler Wade will likely split the playing time until Troy Tulowitzki or Andujar (hopefully) returns, but Wade continues to look overmatched by big league pitching so when he does play he should bat last and swap spots with Gardner.