Get used to the name Cody Ransom for the next 10 weeks, folks, because he’s your starting third baseman. He’s 33 years-old, has some pop (22hr and .482 slugging in 423 AAA AB’s last year) and is very athletic (check out this vid, courtesy of the NY Post and YouTube). He’s not a high average guy (.255 in AAA last year) but is not completely allergic to base on balls (.338 OBP), but I wouldn’t expect to see him on the basepaths all that much. Despite his athleticism, he only had 9 steals (being caught 5 times) last year. One encouraging sign is that he hit major league pitching last year, hitting .302 with 4 hrs in only 43 at bats.
There is one possibility on the FA market left, that being Mark Grudzielanek. Fangraphs gives a nice analysis of him, here, saying that he’s been a decent hitter throughout his career (for a middle infielder) but that some projections show him declining sharply.
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8 Responses to Ransom leaps into starting role
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I would much rather see them get Grudzielanek than start Ransom. Mostly because that pretty much guarantees a spot for Angel Berroa who I would really rather never see play for the Yankees.
Maybe they could trade for Chone Figgins, I doubt it though.
“Leaps” into role? I see what you did there!!!!
This is why it’s hard to defend Brian Cashman in terms of his team-building skills. Now, the Yankees have Cody Ransom as their starting third baseman. Is that acceptable when you have a $200 million team? It’s absurd — he takes the starters for granted and hasn’t put together an acceptable bench in years. If he would have signed a guy like Rich Aurilia a few weeks ago, this wouldn’t have been a problem (Aurilia accepted a MINOR-LEAGUE deal with the Giants).
Aurilia definitely would have made sense.
Aurilia is just below replacement level and is 36 years old. Yes he’s a nice name with a good history, but who knows maybe Ransom can be the same thing. I can’t jump all over a GM for not having a great bench. Perhaps Aurilia didn’t want to come here thinking he’d never get to play with Arod, Jeter and Teixeira starting everyday.
Tough to bash a GM when you don’t have all the facts. Ransom appears to be the best he could do at this time, so if he does indeed play (which may not be the case if Arod can rehab it) then you we’ll see how he does.
People are always looking for someone to blame…
Aurilia is still better than Cody Ransom and he accepted a minor-league deal that could eventually lead to a platoon. The Yankees could have offered him enough money to play in NY as a utility IF.
Ransom is a 32-year old that had his best season as a part-time player, last year. In 166 games, he’s a .251/.348/.432 hitter with 7 homers (4 of them were produced in 2008). He’s not good offensively, he’s not good defensively, he’s not good — period. But, he’ll be the starting third baseman, if A-Rod isn’t playing.
Nobody is blaming Brian Cashman for Alex’s injury as that wouldn’t make sense. It is, however, perfectly acceptable to blame Brian Cashman for his replacement. He is, after all, the GM, right?
It is true that the Yanks might have a tougher time assembling a high profile bench b/c there is much less hope of starting. That’s a good point. They’ve been able to attract Sierras and Strawberrys and Vizcainos in the past, though, so it’s not impossible, if you sell it correctly, though sometimes Torre was helpful in that regard.
Chris… if there is any knock on Cashman here it is that it took him too long to convince George and Co. to rebuild the minor league system, thus leaving the Yankees without a young player to call up and provide at least replacement level production.
Aurilia obviously has had a much better career than Cody Ransom, however at this moment can anyone guarantee that Aurilia can perform better than Ransom? Is there basically any difference between the two players at this time? And again perhaps Aurilia didn’t want to play in NY, figuring he’s likely to get far more playing time in San Francisco if he catches on there. Seeing as the Giants don’t really have an infield, I’d say that’s highly likely. I can understand going after Cashman for not having a true center fielder, but I have a hard time going after a GM for what may or may not sit on his bench.
Tom..in Vizcaino’s half season as the Yankee reserve infielder, he had an OPS+ of 67. I’d eat my hat if Ransom couldn’t duplicate that figure. And yes we all enjoyed his game winning base hit in game 1 of the 2000 WS, but that I’d say is what they call being in the right place at the right time. I agree Sierra was a nice bench alternative, but if you look at our current bench the outfield isn’t exactly hurting right now. And as for Strawberry, well he didn’t have to worry about fighting Arod or Teixeira for playing time.