I have long advocated that the Yankees give Elijah Dukes a shot on their bench. With Curtis Granderson hurt, Randy Winn struggling, and Marcus Thames occupying the DH slot, the time is right for the addition of another bat. Yes, I know the offense is just fine and that the Yankees are a playoff team without Dukes. But the difference between Dukes and Winn could make a difference in October, and unlike other external bench options, it will not cost the Yankees any players to obtain Dukes.
I outlined the pros and cons during the offseason:
PROS
1) He has plenty of talent: He had a poor 2009 that was marred by injury and a strange loss of power, but his 2008 was fantastic and suggested that he was a star in the making. I am not really sure why he fell of a cliff in 2009, but it is clear that he has the skills and athleticism to be an above average player with the bat and adequate with the glove.
2) He projects to be better than the Yankees current options at 4th and 5th outfielder. His projected wOBA based on an average of four projection systems is .346, significantly better than that of Marcus Thames and Randy Winn.
3) This is a good fit for Dukes: While he may not start right away, New York is likely his best shot to play in a winning environment for the first time while also affording him a reasonable chance of grabbing a starting spot. Being that Dukes has played for two awful franchises thus far, it might be a strong motivator for him to play with regularity for a winner.
4) He’s cheap, you can cut ties immediately if there is a problem, and he gives them options next offseason: Dukes will likely require less than a million dollars to sign, and can be stashed in the minors if he does not make the team immediately. Furthermore, there is no real downside here. If he acts up or plays poorly, he can simply be cut or traded without any repercussions.
CONS
1) His performance dropped in 2009, and he cannot stay healthy: His performance in 2009 was fairly shoddy, and he gained a reputation amongst National fans for having poor baseball instincts in the field and on the basepaths. Furthermore, Dukes has had trouble staying on the field, with 4 stints on the DL over the last 2 seasons. Then again, if he gets hurt, the Yankees would simply be right back where they are right now.
2) There are some very serious behavioral issues. I do not want to sweep these under the rug, because Elijah has had some serious issues that include multiple arrests and prompted the Nationals to hire someone to follow him around and keep him out of trouble. Furthermore, dropping that a player with that sort of history into the shark tank that is the NY media frenzy may not be the brightest of ideas.
Ultimately, I think it is worth a shot. As I noted above, if Dukes does not work out, the club is right back where they started and can go look for other options. If he succeeds, the Yankees will have obtained a young power bat for practically nothing. Why not give him a shot?
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27 Responses to Advocating Signing Elijah Dukes, Again
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TIQ IQ
guy’s got a 80 potential score in ootp 11, so sign him!!!1
I’m with you. Worth a shot… and if he could mean the end to Randy Winn then he will be my hero. I haven’t disliked a player so much since Richie Sexton.
Right now its worth a shot, with the veterans on the team, he shouldnt be a problem
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I am totally against bringing in some nitwit to “play” for the Yankees. The guy is a problem and has no place in the Yankee clubhouse. Sorry, but he thinks that the “thug life” is how he wants to live. The Yanks have gone out and gotten players that are good in the clubhouse, good on the field, and good off the field. This clown is not worth even a wave.
Why are you feeling that the nitwit shouldn’t “play” with the Yankees? Because he’s a bad guy? Isn’t there the thought that a player that knows he has no room for error would be a worthwhile gamble? And how exactly do you know what he wants to live the “thug life?” Sounds “ignorant” to me.
Yes, because he is a bad guy. This is NYC, not some small town. How do I know, look at his track record. He is a repeat offender. Open your eyes, this guy is a no good low life. That is why he is available. If his upside was better than his liability on and off the field than someone would sign him. Come to work with me and see how people don’t change. The same animals get into the same trouble everyday. His room for error has passed. He was given ample opportunities to straighten out his act, yet he choose to continue down the path of being an a$$. Sorry, but this is a poor choice of argument.
You called him an “animal” that says it all. Your opinion is ignorant and ill-based. There are many athletes that have had previous problems and are still playing today or made a change for the better. Dukes is a baseball player, has the stats to prove it. He should be given the chance, you should be banned from posting. The word “animal” is simply unacceptable.
It isn’t a one time thing. I know that there are players who have gotten in trouble here and there. This guy is “trouble” plain and simple. He has no place in baseball let alone the they NY Yankees. Keep it moving Nats Fan.
It seems to me that Cashman has worked hard to bring in strong character guys and it has been paying off. Maybe the Yankee’s veterans could be a good influence on Dukes and help him realize his potential, but he could also continue to be a cancer and be a bad influence on the younger players. Why would Cashman want Dukes anywhere near Cano or Montero (if you stash him in AAA)? If it turns out that Granderson is going to miss more time than expected and Winn continues to not hit, then explore the trade market. I’d sooner bring up Colin Curtis than sign Dukes.
True but couldn’t the cancer be easily removed? He knows that one strike and he’s out, so if he messes up, you cut him.
No, Cancer is not easily removed. If it were, no one would die from it. If it were, it wouldn’t come back. If it were, we wouldn’t be having this discussion, cause it wouldn’t be called Cancer.
Cancer….again you are great with your words. Please go back to your expert source…..the media (lol)…..and respond to this comment with one incident that Dukes was involved in while playing for the Nationals. Even when they released him the managers stated it was purely a baseball decision. Yes, he may not have fit in when the clubhouse spirit….and that is their choice. Spirit over skill. Still there is no justification for him not playing baseball again.
Where to begin…okay 2003:
Arrested by Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office: Allegation, Domestic Harassment. Charges dropped by female complainant prior to prosecution.
Arrested by Hillsborough CSO: Allegation/Chare, After being stopped, Mr. Dukes did so attempt to obstruct governmental administration and did resist arrest. He was sent to a violence intervention program as a plea.
2004:
Arrested by HCSO: Allegation, Domestic Assault. Female complainant dropped charges prior to prosecution.
2005:
Arrested by HCSO: Allegation, Domestic Battery. Dukes plead “no contest” was fined and placed on probation.
Arrested by Tampa PD: Allegaton, Domestic Assault. “Defendant to wit did in fact choke (his domestic partner)” I don’t know what the outcome of the charges were in this case.
Arrested by HCSO: Allegation, Aggravated Unlicensed Operation. Dukes, without a driver’s license was stopped driving a vehicle and charged as so. (lemme guess, he didn’t have the time or money to go get a license right?)
2007:
Arrested by Tampa PD: Resultant from traffic stop due to operating vehicle with unreasonably loud stereo sounding, aka disturbing the peace. Upon approach, officers could smell marijuana emitting from the vehicle, and later recovered 2 grams of the same substance from his vehicle. Charge: Unlawful Possession of Marijuana.
Although there were no “incidents” reported while a member of the Washington Nationals, the team took a different approach than that of Tampa Bay. They set up Dukes with a “shadow”, a person to look after his private life and hopefully keep him out of trouble. Either this program was a success or something was hidden, to that we may never know.
I don’t know what you do for a living, but I know what I do. Unfortunately, I deal with people such as Dukes all the time. I have seen women beaten and then scared to actually do anything about it so they drop the charges. I’ve seen people argue with the police and resist arrest, which Dukes obviously thought was okay on at least one occasion. And since I work in an “urban” area, I see who is driving around without getting the proper paperwork, blasting music to show off, and smoking marijuana in their car and I wouldn’t invite anyone of them into my house. There have been other athletes who have come from the same type of environment that Dukes has come from. I understand that his father was murdered after selling fake crack cocaine to someone. I understand that he grew up in a small place with his working Mom and his 5 siblings. But that isn’t an excuse for not doing the right thing. Some guys get it, and some guys don’t. My opinion is that he just doesn’t get it. I’d love to see an actual copy of his “rap” sheet which documents all of his arrests and outcomes but that info is usual difficult to get a hold of through FOIA and cannot be run by anyone unless it is needed for a trial or case due to privacy standards. So, we all have to live with what is actually reported as fact by the media, that is how our society is built.
He blew it for himself. No one pushed his hand to beat his wife/girlfriend what ever. I don’t care if he smokes marijuana, but why do it in a car in public? Only thing I can see is that he has no class and no respect. He doesn’t belong with the Yankees or any other franchise. Talent doesn’t give you the right to be a punk.
I’m no Yankee fan, but it’s probably not a good reason for the team to take on Dukes. When a team loses over 100 games two seasons in a row, as did the Nationals, there’s a reason, and that’s because too many of its players stink. Improving requires getting rid of those players. Dukes was cut by the Nationals, even though they haven’t even an average major league outfielder to play right field. It’s only May, but check the standings.
Correlation does not imply causation.
Maybe the reason for the drastic improvement is the addition of Ivan Rodriguez! He wasn’t there last year, and the team stunk. He is there this year, and they are five over .500. Mike Franseca thinks he is the reason, so maybe that’s the reason!
By the way, if you didn’t get my sarcasm Dukes missed a LOT of last season. Don’t you think if he was one of the reasons the team was so bad, he would have had to play?
I apologize if my comment was less than clear. I did not mean to blame Dukes for a terrible record over the last year, but only to point out that the team’s decision makers determined that he was not good enough to help the team improve. Being injured is part of that, being unable to hit breaking balls is part of that, and not working very hard to get better is part of that. Cashman is a smart GM, I doubt he will bite on Dukes.
As for your first comment, I think Franseca is onto the same idea that I am. Get rid of the bad players and replace them with better ones. No argument here that Rodriquez is an important addition. The Nationals will need to continue making smart moves (additions and deletions) in order to be a real contender.
Offense is not a problem with this Yankee lineup. Simply keep Thames off the field, and hold steady playing Winn in LF. You want to put an unproven ex-con player with “potential” in LF and into the same dugout with Derek Jeter? Do we REALLY need Duke’s bat in the lineup to win games?
The tools are already here, this is a completely unnecessary option.
Still wouldn’t be a terrible idea to bring him in. As Moshe said, all it takes is a chance. It’s like buying a lotto ticket; it probably won’t pay off but if the tools come around, it could be very valuable.
BTW, Lotto tickets are a waste of money. I will continue to save my $1 every day and will retire happy, have the things I like now, and not be addicted to some unreasonable gambling enterprise that was created for education, however only generates 17cents per $ for that cause. Like the chances of you winning the lottery with $1, those are the chances Dukes does well. Not nearly worth the liability cause we aren’t playing with $1. We are playing with at least $400,000 and team chemistry.
Ex-con would imply that he served jail time. He hasn’t. Get your facts straight.
Do you have solid proof that he did not spend at least 1 day in jail. It appears that he may have done so from the charges he has faced. When you can document solid proof with a source, don’t jump down anyone else throat. I’m not saying he is right or wrong in his statement, but your specific reply is unsubstantiated because you don’t actually prove his comment to be inaccurate, you just simply deny it with no basis or reason.
Colin Curtis, bring up Colin Curtis as soon as his ankle is better.He’s the real deal and deserves to play.The homegrown kids are the best and are deserving of a chance.Curtis is ready to explode.
My money is on any “other” no Winn–no dukes– dont see anyone on the farm. Trade please!!!!
Sign Dukes now. It is a no-brainer, with no risk.
this guy has a lot of potential especially if he plays in yankee stadium where they hit a lot of home runs. he could hit 35 home runs in that ballpark so give him a chance!!!!!