Courtesy of Tim Farrell/The Star-Ledger
(The following is being syndicated from An A-Blog for A-Rod)
It hasn’t been a very long career for Eduardo Nunez, but it also certainly hasn’t been one short on headlines. Once the heir apparent to Derek Jeter as the Yankees’ everyday shortstop, Nunez has been shuffled around various positions and roles, experimented with as an outfielder, dangled as trade bait, and shuttled back and forth between the Majors and Triple-A constantly since first breaking in in 2010. Based on Cash’s comments to ESPN NY yesterday, it doesn’t look like that trend is going to cease in 2013. Speaking to Andrew Marchand, Cash stated that Nunez will be shifted back to the utility infielder role if he makes the team this season, the same role that was taken from him in May of last season. If that doesn’t make a lot of sense to you, good. Because it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me either.
Most of Nunez’s previous moves were facilitated by injuries to other players and the need for backups at those positions. But Nunez himself has also been the cause of some of the role adjustments, or rather his defensive shortcomings have been the cause. Despite having great speed and arm strength, Nunez still hasn’t been able to put it all together to become even a marginal defensive player. The Yankees all but admitted this was the reason for his demotion to Triple-A last May, saying they wanted him to focus solely on playing shortstop. Now that tune seems to have changed heading into this season and I don’t understand why. If Nunez wasn’t strong enough defensively to handle a utility role in 2012, and spent the remainder of the season playing just shortstop, how can the Yankees reasonably expect him to be any better in a utility role in 2013?
For all the defensive gaffes he’s made on the field, the Yankees should share some of the blame off the field for how they’ve managed Nunez’s career. He’s been tried at shortstop, second base, third base, both outfield corners, and briefly as a DH at the end of last season. Between the constant position changes and the up and down movement between Triple-A and the Majors, Nunez has never had a real chance to settle into one role and focus on fixing the parts of his game that need to be fixed to make him a better insert position here.
In a way, his early career path is reminiscent of those that Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes found themselves on when they first broke in with the Yankees. Those 2 were both shuttled between starter and reliever roles, and between Triple-A and the Majors, with the Yankee decision makers being the driving force behind the moves. It might be a bit of stretch to try to connect a middle infielder to a couple of pitchers, but one thing that remains a constant for all of them and any young player is the need for consistency in what they’re doing and the role they’re playing so they can get comfortable and figure out what they need to do to be successful. Joba and Phil didn’t have that in their first few years and those years ended up being wasted ones that they can’t get back, and now Nunez appears to be on a similar path.
Cash didn’t even talk about Nunez’s latest role change like it was a sure thing, saying, “If he makes our club, it will be at a utility role,” and that “how he looks in the spring” could determine whether Nunez makes the Opening Day roster or ends up back in Triple-A as the starting shortstop. It’s bad enough the Yankees have plugged him in where they felt they needed him, then yanked him out when they either felt they could use him somewhere else or felt he wasn’t getting the job done to their liking. Now they’re sending him into Spring Training under those same guidelines and holding his roster spot over his head to boot. At this point, the Yankees probably would have been better off trading him years back when they had the chance.
Having a good utility infielder on your bench is a very valuable asset, and Eduardo Nunez could very well turn out to be a good utility infielder. He’s still just 25 years old, he makes a lot of contact and has some pop at the plate, he runs the bases incredibly well, and he has all the physical tools to be an effective defensive player. But he’s already been told he wasn’t good enough for the job once, and now it sounds like the Yankees are going to test him again after making the decision to limit him to just shortstop work in 2012. These kind of tactics might work with veteran players, but I question the decision to use them in this situation with Nunez, a player who has already struggled in this role and is still trying to find his way as a Major Leaguer. The Yankees constantly jerking Nunez around could end up doing him more harm than good, both in the upcoming season and the future.
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12 Responses to Do The Yankees Have Any Idea What They’re Doing With Eduardo Nunez?
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TIQ IQ
Cashman was just stating the obvious — that if you aren’t a starter, you have to be able to play multiple positions in order to be a valuable player off the bench. There was no place for Nunez on the MLB roster last year because defensively he couldn’t hack it at multiple positions.
I have no problem with what Cashman said. Nunez still might be Jeter’s successor at SS or if Cano leaves, he could end up at 2B. If he is going to be on the MLB roster this year, barring injury though, it is going to have to be in a utility role. Why not let him compete for that in spring training rather than hand the job to Jayson Nix?
If you are going to question anything about how they handled him, it’s why didn’t they have him work on his defense at 2B and 3B in the minors last year because it doesn’t look like Jeter is ready to retire soon. Maybe they were showcasing him for trades by having him play his best position. I do think Nunez could start at SS for many teams. The threshold just isn’t that high right now at SS.
It’s unthinkable, but maybe Nunez should be the regular SS in 2013. Last year, his fielding at SS was better than Jeter’s (UZR/150 was -12.9 for Nunez vs. -16.4 for Jeter.) Apparently Nunez’s greater range offset his many errors. Nunez’s fielding could get steadier with regular play. OTOH Jeter’s fielding will likely decline due to age and his injury.
Putting Nunez in as SS makes Jeter available as a right handed DH. And, I think Jeter would be a very good corner outfielder. It’s also possible that Jeter’s career might be prolonged a bit by relieving him of the SS duties.
IMHO they should try this. If Nunez’s fielding doesn’t improve, they could always put Jeter back at SS.
Of course, I know this would never happen in the real world…
Nunez started all of 13 games at SS last year. Even the most ardent UZR zealot would not put much stock in 13 games worth of data.
The answer is no….the Yankees do not know what they are gonna do w him. Youk is the 3rd baseman and can rest the Rod when he comes back and rest Tex at 1st….Nix can play SS and 2nd to rest those guys. He should be spending all winter being taught the outfield so he can get PAs as a righty hitting corner outfielder. He is an athlete, he can be taught outfield.
LOL…this is going to make a ton of you groan. I think the Yankees should be planning ahead and have Nunez play second base. He should take all his reps there, given opportunities to play there. Why you ask? Because I think the Yankees need to trade Robinson Cano at the trading deadline when some club is desperate for a bat. The haul could be extensive. Then I would like to see if the Yankees could pry Troy Tulowitski from the Rockies. His is owed a ton of money, but is only 28 and will be 35 when the contract expires (not awful). He is coming off an injury and Colorado has Josh Rutledge (who filled in for Tulo) who is a real deal at SS. So the Rockies may consider moving Tulo. The Yanks trade Cano, get some really good pieces, and use some of them to get Tulo. Tulo comes over to Yanks. Tulo and Jeter share SS/DH position. Jeter retires at end of 13 and Yanks have a great player and guy to replace Jeter. Plus Tulo is a huge Jeter fan. He would love playing on the same team as Jeter. Once Cano is gone the Yanks will just have to make due with Nunez at 2. I really think he will get better if he is given chance to play everyday. Let’s face it….Cano is not going to listen to any contract talks from the Yankees while Boras is his agent. I would not let him walk for a measly draft pick if I could get players back that might help the Yankees or be helpful in a trade. But I am on the war path with all my friends about trading Cano..they think I am nuts.
Rockies wouldn’t trade Tulowitski for a player who can’t be signed to a contract that doesn’t pay a LOT more than Troy’s. that’s simply silly.
you want to trade Cano for value, try Texas
yeah, the Yankees indeed know what they’re doing with Nunez.
they’re dangling him and seeing if they get a bite. that’s what you do with guys who don’t yet have a clear job on a team with a couple of holes in the roster.
@FUSTER…you did NOT read my post carefully. I never said trade Cano to Rockies for Troy. I said trade Cano at the trading deadline to some team desperate for a bat. Then use some of those players (and others if need be) to try and pry Troy away from the Rockies. Why is that silly? Teams often will trade for a guy if they think it would put them in the WS regardless of whether they can sign them. The Rockies would have to at least consider trading Tulo…they have a ready replacement, Josh Rutledge, who filled in quite well for Tulo this past season. Troy is coming off surgery/injury season (much like Jeter, but 10 yrs younger). I just think Cashman does not plan ahead nor is he bold in his thinking. He has two players that could give him some great bargaining chips to fill some of the Yankees many needs come 2014. We will see what happens at trading deadline. But if Cano and Granderson are still on the team..then I think Cashman is an idiot.
the y simply won’t trade him at all unless he breaks down or insists on a trade.
PS…what is silly Fuster is you thinking that trading Nunez will help fill a couple of holes. Really….????? Nunez and who else? Who is going to take a SS that is a defensive liablity? And what do you think the Yankees are going to get for him? Are you one of those guys who think the Yankees can get Miami’s Stanton for Phil Hughes and a couple of minor leaguers? Dream on.
I never said, nor implied, that Nunez would would fill those holes. that would indeed be silly.
He would be part of a package.
Martin: I understand your point but maybe I’m just sentimental; I really hope Cano is signed long term. He needs to be a Yankee for life. His talent is the type that we need to keep him in pinstripes. Unfortunately, we just don’t produce players of his caliber too often, thus, we need to keep him around.
Fuster: You should really read the post before criticizing it. Otherwise you may appear silly.