In a gentle sort of coincidence, the Yankees’ Eduardo Nunez and the Mets’ Ruben Tejada each get into minor league rehab assignments this weekend in Florida. Going into 2013, they were New York’s shortstops of the Derek Jeter-less present and future; soon, injuries — a rib problem for the 26-year-old Nunez, a quad strain for the 23-year-old Tejada — interrupted their disappointing seasons on both sides of the ball.
It’s a testament to how far Tejada’s stock has fallen that manager Terry Collins said Thursday of the starting shortstop gig, “Ruben has got to go earn it back” from Omar Quintanilla, a 31-year-old journeyman who had a .674 OPS. One can imagine a similar scenario unfolding with Jayson Nix in The Bronx.
The question, then: If not Nunez and Tejada at this crucial time going forward, then who? Answers do not abound.
For the Yankees, there is little projectable talent at the upper levels of the farm system. The Triple-A job belongs to Addison Maruszak, a 26-year-old utility type who has played every infield position and the outfield corners — with one homer and no steals through 63 games. Two infielders who had much of their past three years wiped out by serious injuries, Carmen Angelini (hip, ankle, wrist) and former 40-man roster spot holder Reegie Corona (arm), are loitering at Double-A.
The highest-rated shortstops in the Yankees’ system — faint praise — are sharing the middle infield at Low-A Charleston. Rochester’s Cito Culver, a first-round pick in 2010, was batting .216 for the River Dogs with a career-worst .304 on-base percentage and 84 strikeouts going into the weekend.and tweeting aphorisms like: “This game can really have u on the edge mentally. The good players know how to handle it no matter how bad or how good they are doing.”
Culver’s defensive tools continue to draw praise, though, which is why Claudio Custodio mainly has interned at second base. Custodio, 22, from the Dominican Republic, is a 5-foot-10, 155-pound slap hitter with a developing eye and some wheels (18 walks, 18 steals through 43 games). The Yankees used this year’s fourth-round draft pick on California prep shortstop Tyler Wade.
The Mets have more organizational depth at the position, highlighted by 2012 first-rounder Gavin Cecchini, one of the team’s top position prospects, although he is several years away from contributing in Queens. The 19-year-old, playing every day for the short-season Brooklyn Cyclones, is described as having an advanced approach at the plate and pat fundamentals in the field. But he’s a line-drive hitter without pop, for now, slugging .318 through his first 68 games in the minors.
(A fun side note: Gavin’s two-years-older brother Garin is a Red Sox third-base prospect enjoying a bravura season, putting up a line of .350/.469/.532 at High-A before a recent bump to Double-A.)
Matt Reynolds, drafted one round after Cecchini last year, played mostly third base in college at Arkansas, but the Mets, fairly well set at third, have installed Reynolds at short at High-A St. Lucie despite doubts about his range. The 22-year-old is seen as a classic doubles hitter.
Wilfredo Tovar, labeled the system’s best defensive infielder by Baseball America, is in his age-21 season at Double-A, where he has struggled offensively (10 extra-base hits through 73 games). Phillip Evans, 20, a costly 15th-round sign in 2011, also was struggling with the stick at Low-A Savannah, tacking north of the Mendoza Line with an improved June.
The Mets’ biggest project is 17-year-old Dominican Amed Rosario, who was signed for $1.75 million last year. He made his pro debut last week at Rookie-level Kingsport