What If Brian McCann’s Foot Becomes a Long Term Problem

Brian McCann left the game with the Seattle Mariners on Thursday afternoon with a sore right foot, a foot problem that has caused him problems for a few weeks now. The team sent him to New York for an MRI as a precaution after x-rays came back negative on the injury. What would the Yankees do, if they could do anything, to replace McCann both behind the plate and in the lineup if the foot issue becomes a long term issue going forward?

The obvious choice for the starting catcher position would be John Ryan Murphy who is currently serving as the back up to McCann but who comes up to back up Murphy? Is it veteran Eddy Rodriguez who signed a minor league deal with the team to come out of retirement before the 2015 season? Is it Austin Romine who lost the backup catcher competition this spring training and has done little to make Joe Girardi’s decision look foolish? Or would it be a wildcard and a young prospect like Gary Sanchez who is currently tearing up Double-A pitching and making stride after stride defensively? The stats don’t tell all but they are a good place to start.

Romine:

Year	Lev	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2015	AAA	37	153	136	22	33	10	3	16	14	19	.243	.320	.382	.703

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Rodriguez:

Year	Lev	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2015	AAA	17	57	53	2	9	3	0	4	3	19	.170	.211	.226	.437

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Sanchez:

Year	Lev	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2015	AA	39	172	158	21	41	7	6	23	4	11	37	.259	.314	.418	.732

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Basing it off stats alone you have to think that Sanchez would get it but based on reality he is the least likely of the three to get the shot. While Sanchez does have a leg up on the completion as he is already on the team’s 40 man roster you would have to think that Romine or Rodriguez would get the nod here. The team would likely call up Romine to see if he can improve on his spring stats if I were to take a guess but you never know. The most ideal situation would be that McCann’s foot is fine and the two days off did him a world of good. If not the Yankees offense is in big, big trouble.