FanSided

3 Yankees first base options no one is talking about

By Adam Weinrib |
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - SEPTEMBER 11: Pavin Smith #26 of the Arizona Diamondbacks reacts after his RBI single against the Seattle Mariners during the fourth inning at T-Mobile Park on September 11, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - SEPTEMBER 11: Pavin Smith #26 of the Arizona Diamondbacks reacts after his RBI single against the Seattle Mariners during the fourth inning at T-Mobile Park on September 11, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
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Pavin Smith #26 of the Arizona Diamondbacks (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
Pavin Smith #26 of the Arizona Diamondbacks (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) /

Despite Luke Voit’s protest, the New York Yankees will have a new first baseman when the 2022 season begins.

Will it be a return engagement from Anthony Rizzo, who was solid if unspectacular in his second-half stint in 2021?

Will it be a superstar name like Freddie Freeman, via free agency, or Matt Olson, via trade (as long as Oswald Peraza’s not involved, apparently)?

One thing most haven’t considered yet, for whatever reason, is the Yankees opting to get funky with it.

They’re going to get funky and weird at shortstop, after all. They plan to get funky in the rotation every single year. So why wouldn’t they go off the board in the first base chase — while again ignoring Voit, who’s right here?

With all caveats in mind, we attempted to round up any and all first base possibilities that haven’t been accounted for yet — within reason. DJ LeMahieu just … can’t start the year there. As intrigued as we’d be by absorbing Joey Votto’s contract, we don’t think that’s under consideration.

Apologies to Evan White of the Mariners, who’s been so brutal in his short MLB career that we can’t justify adding him as an offseason solution of any kind. Perhaps, in a world where Voit stays, he’s added to the depth chart, but there’s zero indication a contending team could rely on him in any way.

Additional apologies to Carlos Santana of the Kansas City Royals, who I really wanted to argue was very good but was, in fact, bad last season and would be a poor fit defensively. There’s no reason whatsoever to deprioritize Voit and help clear the Royals’ path for Nick Pratto at this point. But I was trying to be nice.

3 off-the-board first base options for the Yankees in 2022

3. Pavin Smith

No, the Yankees shouldn’t dump Voit, add Pavin Smith, and call it an offseason. But how would you feel about keeping both on board?

OK, understood, not great, but allow me to make the sale.

Smith, just 26 years old, had a roughly league-average season with the bat in 2021, hitting .267 from the left side with a .328 OBP, 11 bombs, and 49 RBI in 145 games.

While those numbers are somewhat underwhelming, they show decent potential for a former first-round pick in his first full season in a poor-performing lineup down in the desert — at least, they’re certainly more appealing than what his fellow D-Backs first base trade option, Christian Walker, put up at the age of 30 (88 OPS+).

Smith, who can also serve as the team’s fourth/fifth outfielder (in right), presents underlying numbers that could indicate a positive trend. He finished in the red in hard-hit percentage (63rd percentile), maximum exit velocity (76th), xBA (57th), whiff percentage (90th), K percentage (63rd) and chase rate (75th). In other words, he rarely chases, doesn’t get himself out, doesn’t miss fastballs down the pike (a Yankees bugaboo), and has room to grow.

Would swiping Smith be as valuable to the Yankees as a Matt Olson trade? Hell no. Surrendering more assets for Olson makes all the sense in the world.

But if the Yankees go off the board, they just might go way off and try to unlock this ex-first-rounder’s potential to hit strikes hard, as Dillon Lawson always says.

Eric Hosmer #30 of the San Diego Padres (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
Eric Hosmer #30 of the San Diego Padres (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

2. Eric Hosmer

Can the Yankees and Padres pull off the MLB equivalent of the James Harden trade?

No, not the first one, the other one.

Eric Hosmer’s “onerous” contract isn’t all that untenable in the modern MLB landscape. He’s making “just” $18 million per year for the next four seasons.

The main issue with importing Hosmer isn’t his deal (or, at least, it shouldn’t be); the issue is he hasn’t been the player that his reputation claims he is.

Hosmer’s supposed clutch gene and 2017 powerhouse season (133 OPS+) cover for the fact that he’s been mostly powerless since, hitting 12 home runs with a .732 OPS and 104 OPS+ last season in San Diego at the age of 31. He hit 22 bombs in 2019, his second full season as a Padre … and yet he only posted a 94 OPS+ relative to his peers. Remember the 2019 rocket ball? That should lay things out for you pretty plainly, in case you forgot!

Who are we kidding? You’re a Yankee fan. You didn’t forget.

Hosmer’s playoff experience is also plainly overrated; during the 2015 title run, he hit .190, .250, and .190 in the three rounds of KC’s championship drive. There are worse players in baseball than Hosmer, a four-time Gold Glover and a gamer. But if the Yankees are going to absorb the contract in full, San Diego will need to include a top prospect as well, something they’ve explored in the past. How about Hos and 20-year-old top-10 prospect Joshua Mears for four Yankees prospects, two in the top 10?

Oh, and Hosmer’s hard-hit percentage (79th percentile) and average exit velocity (73rd) were actually quite solid last year. Easy to see that slipping by the goalie, but it’s true. This would be difficult to endorse (especially with the other names on the table), but this move could easily be bleaker.

Josh Bell #19 of the Washington Nationals (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
Josh Bell #19 of the Washington Nationals (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /

1. Josh Bell

Josh Bell is under contract for one more season with the rebuilding Washington Nationals.

He’s a little Luke Voit-esque, but beyond that, it’s hard to find a bad word to say about him, especially after a rebound 2021 (and being Voit-esque is only a bad thing in the eyes of the Yanks!).

Worth 3.1 WAR last year, Bell slugged 27 homers, batted .261, OBP’d .347 and posted a largely silent 124 OPS+. Oh, and perhaps craziest of all, he struck out just 101 times in 144 games last season. In fact, his career-high is 118. The man makes a good deal of contact!

Would you like to hear the Baseball Savant profile? Of course you would. Quick summary: he murdered the baseball last year with remarkable consistency.

92nd percentile average exit velocity, 93rd percentile hard-hit percentage, 82 xBA, 79 xSLG … the only thing he doesn’t do well is sprint quickly. If you trade for Bell, you’re acquiring a surprisingly decent glove who rockets baseballs across the yard.

Only issue? Washington managed to acquire Bell at a discount last offseason, and they’ll need a haul for him to be convinced to part ways with one of their better assets.

It’s quite possible the Nats won’t want to drop Bell until the trade deadline, taking full advantage of the league’s desperation. Maybe the Yankees can use his single year of control as a counter-measure, though, prying him loose for, say … Luis Gil, Brandon Lockridge, and Estevan Florial?

Oh, and he’s a switch-hitter.

Last offseason, we didn’t see the point in adding Bell with Voit still in tow. Hand up. We were wrong … but we also had no idea about Voit’s degenerative knee. Now, if Brian Cashman could get his hands on Bell, we don’t think he’d balk at the idea.

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