This news from the AP via ESPN. Joe Girardi states that, “The earliest we would need him in the outfield would be interleague, and that’s a ways off,” Girardi said Wednesday. “That’s why we envision him as our everyday DH. We need him. He’s a great RBI guy. He’s very important to our lineup.”
There’s not a lot of flexibility in that lineup if Jorge can’t catch. Cross those fingers that Posada keeps improving at his current pace or there could be a serious logjam at DH.
Steve’s Thoughts: This of course begs the question ‘What happens in June?’ Matsui’s a Left fielder who bat plays nicely there, but his glove does not. As it is, we already have an outfield logjam with Nady, Gardner, Damon, Swisher and to a lesser degree Melky all vying for playing time. Girardi has long made it known he prefers to keep the DH spot open to rest his regulars and still keep their bat in the lineup, and has been quoted recently saying that he thinks Baseball is shifting away from the power game to more of a speed-pitching-fielding direction in the post steroid era.
The easy answer is ‘Someone will get hurt, don’t worry about it’. But this also might signal a willingness to move someone at the trade deadline (or sooner) if everyone’s healthy. Of the 6 outfielders, who might that be?
My guess is Matsui, especially if Nick Swisher gets off to a hot start. As we saw this off season, the Yanks won’t offer arbitration to any of their aging, highly paid players for fear they’ll accept. So free agent compensation isn’t an issue with him. He’s really the square peg on this team, he offers the team a solid though replaceable bat and little flexibility otherwise. On days he plays the OF he’s a downgrade defensively, Damon would still lead off as the DH. Which tells me they might very well be shopping him. It doesn’t make sense to play him in Left, except for the occasional matchup or day off for Damon. You’d leave him at DH unless you were showcasing him. If he gets steady time out there in June, it could mean a trade is brewing.
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11 Responses to Matsui Won't Play OF Until June
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TIQ IQ
Yeah, that is why Posada is so important- a lot of the lineup decisions depend on him and his ability to catch.
I was wondering if someone else was going to post this.
Anyhoo, there’s more people who seem to think Nady would be the one shopped, but two things work against that. First, he’s a Boras client so doing a trade where you extend the guy won’t happen with him. Second, Nady is better and more flexible defensively, and as a righty bat he gives the lineup more balance heading into the playoffs.
I think Matsui would be the one shopped, and then who knows if anyone offers enough to make it worthwhile.
I wouldn’t shop either of them. My goal is to win the WOrld Series this season, and if it means having good players on the bench, so be it.
Exactly, I can’t imagine getting enough back to make it worth doing. But its something to kick around in March.
Now, if Swisher, Posada, and Damon are all having big years, then I could see them trading Matsui or Nady.
If Swish alone bounces back to 06-07 form, there’s little reason to keep Matsui around. He’s just as productive and better (and more flexible) defensively. Give him the DH ABs and/or rotate your starters through the DH spot to rest them later in the year and play Swish in the field.
The only reason they would trade them is to fill a hole. If a pitcher goes down, then I wouldn’t be surprised to see them kick the tires. For now, though, there’s no reason to think they would trade any of these guys.
I think the point is that they will not use him in the outfield at least until they have to use him in national league stadiums. I didn’t take it that after that he would play in the outfield regularly. He’ll probably go back to being a fulltime DH.
Agreed. If it were up to me, that would be the only time he sees the field. There is no way he belongs out there.
“Matsui won’t play OF EVER AGAIN” would have been a headline that would have made me a lot happier.
It’s always good to have the option to play him out there, though. Joe loves to mix and match and get guys regular play.