Not even a year after they desperately obtained Alfonso Soriano and he nearly powered them to the playoffs, the Yankees could no longer watch his failings on both sides of the ball – particularly as a hitter.
So they designated Soriano for assignment on Sunday. Thus, they now could use a corner outfielder that can produce some offense. What if I told you their hottest hitter in the minors – someone batting .315 at Triple-A with a .968 OPS – was a corner outfielder?
That would be Rob Refsnyder. For weeks, there have been calls for the Yankees to summon Refsnyder to play second base to unseat Brian Roberts. But I have been wondering why they do not just call up Refsnyder to replace Soriano. After all, one item holding the 23-year-old back from promotion is he is still a work-in-progress at second base.
But he started for three years in right field at the University of Arizona, including on the 2012 national champions, and his head coach there, Andy Lopez, told me, “(Refsnyder) was outstanding in right field. He took good routes, had good jumps and has outstanding arm strength.”
The Yanks transitioned Refsnyder to second base because they thought his batting skills – high average, questionable power – would play better there. But he has 40 extra-base hits in 86 games between Double- and Triple-A, including 10 homers. He has shown some thump, hit for a high average (.334), demonstrated a good eye (.402 on-base percentage), and has persisted with qualities that attracted the Yanks in the first place – high energy, good work ethic, quick aptitude.
Yet, Brian Cashman said the Yanks “are not ready to pull that plug yet” and summon Refsnyder.
“But he has certainly gotten our attention,” the general manager said. “He hasn’t played the outfield in two years. But will I rule it out for some point? No. But for now we have other options.”
It is probable the Yanks will call up Scott Sizemore or perhaps Zoilo Almonte, with Jose Pirela having a chance, too.
But Refsnyder is outperforming them all in his month at Triple-A. And Lopez said he expects his former player will continue to hit at any level because “he is an old soul at the plate for a young guy. He understands the importance of doing his job. He knows if he makes solid contact the hits will fall. He does not get frustrated. He has a lot of poise at the plate.”
However, the Yanks sense they have a 40-man roster crunch coming this offseason and Refsnyder does not yet have to be protected away from the Rule 5 draft. But can the Yanks really worry about a 40-man roster spot in the winter when their summer is in such peril?
Refsnyder has been the rare Yankee farmhand who has continued to excel when pushed to higher levels. The Red Sox just essentially made this kind of move to try to ignite their offense by promoting an infielder they were transitioning to the outfield in Mookie Betts. Betts had 276 minor league games and 1,206 plate appearances. Refsnyder has 262 minor league games and 1,104 plate appearances.
This falls into the “what do the Yanks have to lose?” category. They should try Refsnyder in the outfield.
Seattle might have spot for Soriano
Soriano hit the most homers in the majors (17) from his acquisition last July 26 to the end of the year, providing power to a powerless Yankee lineup. It is now possible that was the last spasm of excellence in a brilliant career. Soriano is one of six players with more than 400 homers (he has 412) and 250 steals (289). The others are Alex Rodriguez, Andre Dawson, Willie Mays, Barry Bonds and Gary Sheffield.
Most players designated for assignment do not end up getting traded and are simply released. It is possible – perhaps probable – another club will pick up Soriano and take a small gamble that he has something left and does something like he did late last season for the Yanks.
If you are looking for a team that could make sense, it is the Mariners. Even in this, his worst season, Soriano still had a .410 slugging percentage against lefties. Seattle is next-to-last in the majors in both slugging and OPS vs. southpaws. The Mariners activated Corey Hart from the DL on Friday and will hope he can have an impact against lefties. But he missed all last season with a knee injury and most of this year with a hamstring problem, so he is risky, too.
Also, Soriano almost certainly would have Dominican countryman and former Yankee teammate Robinson Cano, Seattle’s second baseman, vouch for what a great teammate Soriano is.
Numbers say consolation prize McCarthy was Snake-bit
The Cubs loved Addison Russell, and once Oakland agreed to put him into a deal for Jeff Samardzija, the Yanks simply did not have a player that could entice Chicago in a greater way. Jason Hammel was a pitcher the Yanks liked, but didn’t love enough to pay a big premium.
So they ended up getting Brandon McCarthy, believing he falls into a similar realm as Hammel, but without the high cost – in this case just Vidal Nuno, who was going to have difficulty staying on the Yankee 40-man roster this offseason. With McCarthy, the Yanks essentially believe his best results are ahead of him in 2014 because he pitched better than his results to date: 3-10 with a 5.01 ERA, which is third-worst among 93 qualifiers.
If you like McCarthy to do better, you see his strikeout-to-walk ratio is 4.65 (ninth in the majors) and his groundball rate (55.3 percent) is sixth in the majors. Brian Cashman cited that groundball rate pitching as a righty in Yankee Stadium as key. Still, even with a 92- to 95-mph heavy sinker that elicits grounders, McCarthy had made enough mistakes this year to allow 15 homers and a .469 slugging percentage. To give a comparison, Mark Teixeira began Sunday with 15 homers and a .461 slugging percentage.
Also, keep in mind that the Yanks have among the worst infield defenses in the majors.