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The New York Yankees have seen some impressive adjustments from several new faces.
After losing the likes of Juan Soto, Gleyber Torres, Anthony Rizzo, Alex Verdugo and Clay Holmes following a World Series run last season, several of the team’s replacements have been vital to 21-16 record and overall lead in the American League East division to start this one.
Max Fried has become the team’s new ace, Paul Goldschmidt is a powerful running mate for Aaron Judge and Ben Rice has announced himself as a lineup staple. But one new face has had more mixed results.
After joining the Yankees in a trade from the Chicago Cubs, Cody Bellinger has slashed just .215/.288/.388. The Yankees have stuck with him, despite having several intriguing options for the outfield, despite those struggles. That can make it hard to keep him in the lineup as Aaron Judge, Jasson Dominguez and Trent Grisham all demand playing time as well.
“The Yankees have four starting-caliber outfielders on their active roster and all of them deserve consistent playing time,” Max Goodman wrote for NJ Advance Media “It’s a situation that creates what manager Aaron Boone recently referred to as a ‘puzzle’ and it’s a ‘little bit of a challenge’ when deciding who is starting every game.”
That competition might move Bellinger out of the lineup more often as his production at the plate has been lacking. But Bellinger’s salary and defense make that decision more challenging.
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“The Yankees invested a lot of money to acquire Cody Bellinger this past winter and while his overall numbers reflect how he’s been struggling to find results, he’s a quality defender and his upside is tremendous in the middle of the order,” Goodman added. “Plus, he’s flashed more power in these last few series, a sign that he could be breaking out.”
Bellinger’s potential turnaround was underscored by a key homer in the team’s Wednesday game against the San Diego Padres, which broke up a no-hit bid by Dylan Cease. The Yankees might now feel like they don’t want to interrupt a coming hot streak from Bellinger, and the decision on his playing time is just growing more difficult.
“There isn’t an easy way to turn this situation into a platoon either,” per Goodman. “If everybody in the Yankees’ outfield continues to play well, however, then that job will only get tougher for the Yankees’ skipper.”
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Peter Chawaga is a veteran journalist covering Major League Baseball for The Sporting News. His MLB reporting has included feature interviews with commissioner Rob Manfred and Hall of Fame slugger David Ortiz, salary analysis, player rankings and more. He has covered baseball for Forbes, Yardbarker, Pitcher List, Athlon and other outlets.
With over ten years of newsroom experience, he has previously covered finance, technology, arts, and culture for newspapers, magazines, and websites nationwide. He graduated from Wake Forest University with a degree in English and journalism.
English (US)