Predicting moves Yankees will make at 4 key positions after MLB lockout

3. Predicting Yankees Moves: Shortstop

This is a two-pronged prediction. No Story. Definitely no Correa. We’re, personally, setting those possibilities at 10-15% and at -1000%.

We’re also not prepared, though, to just pencil in Andrelton Simmons and call it a day, though he does seem like the most realistic addition. If Simmons is the move, he can’t be the only move, considering he can’t hit a lick and certainly won’t be improving in that department as he ages. All his Statcast metrics are trending down to a hilarious degree that’d leave him behind most of the National League’s pitchers, if we were ranking threats with the bat. He’s a praying mantis in the field and a garden slug at the plate.

Therefore, we’ve got the Yankees bringing in reinforcements and trading for possibly-busted Pirates prospect Kevin Newman. If he’s able to realize his potential, Newman brings all the bat-to-ball skills fans have been begging for, along with an adequate glove. Good enough in the field to be worth 0.5 WAR last season despite posting a horrid 56 OPS+, Newman peaked in 2019 at the age of 25, with a 110 OPS+, 12 homers, and 64 RBI while batting .308. Or perhaps he peaked last Spring Training, when he opened camp with a hitting streak that opened eyes, only to dissolve when April arrived?

Dillon Lawson seems like an ideal match for Newman, who’s got a short and quick swing that can execute a “wait for strikes, then pound strikes” strategy. He’s controlled through 2024, and certainly provides a higher potential peak value than former Yankees utility men like Ramiro Peña, Jayson Nix and Ronald Torreyes.

As we see it, the Yankees will rotate some combination of Simmons, Newman, and Oswaldo Cabrera around the infield this year. Disappointing, yes, but we don’t foresee a time traveling trip back to 2009’s offseason anytime soon.