Recently DFA'd familiar face isn't the answer to Yankees' infield injury issues

For his final act in Chicago with the Cubs, like any good former Yankee, Jon Berti played the losing role in the most controversial play of a nationally televised game. Let this be a lesson to you: if you think you're picking up a scrappy, versatile infielder, you'd better make sure they haven't played for the Yankees in the last calendar year. Make it three years, to be safe.

Last season's Yankees washouts, from Alex Verdugo to Anthony Rizzo to, on a technicality, DJ LeMahieu, have all failed to resurface in MLB after being cast astray at various points this season. Berti, who sounds like someone who'd help a team in need down the stretch, just became the latest victim of the 2024 Yankees curse, DFA'd by the Cubs after his ill-advised steal and "safe or out?" endless replay review took a run off the board (at least) on Sunday Night Baseball in St. Louis this week.

Berti ended up officially on the chopping block Tuesday when the Cubs brought both starting pitcher Javier Assad and catcher Miguel Amaya back from the 60-Day IL, taking his 0.0 bWAR, 21 hits in 100 at-bats, and zero home runs with him.

That's right. That makes two of the men who started at first base for the Yankees during last year's postseason run who are currently out of baseball. And, as embarrassing as it is that two bench-thickening trade deadline additions in Amed Rosario and Austin Slater are both currently on the Injured List, the Yankees shouldn't be tempted to grab Berti. Rolling with what they have remains a better idea.

No, Yankees should not bring Jon Berti back after Cubs DFA

If it came out that Amed Rosario was out for the season after running shoulder-first into the wall, then the Yankees would have to scrounge for an upgrade. The Yankees don't need a speedster who can cover multiple infield positions, though; they still have one of those in Jose Caballero.

What they don't have is a right-handed batter with above-average pop who can substitute in and take aim at lefty pitching. Berti ... isn't that. He's roughly the same below-.700 OPS hitter against pitchers who throw from both sides, with a .689 OPS against righties and .691 mark against left-handers.

While Berti might be the most appealing former Yankee in a sea of poor options, that's not much of an argument for claiming him and adding redundancy back to the roster. They maybe should've considered keeping him this past offseason more strongly to have an adult in the room instead of Oswald Peraza, but the results speak for themselves. It wouldn't have worked out either way.