Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Chase Utley Clears Waivers


I was on the Vinny Brown Radio Show earlier today, and part of our discussion revolved around Chase Utley. The question posed was "should the Yankees deal for Utley?"

I said they shouldn't, because while the duo of Stephen Drew and Brendan Ryan are far from "good", Chase Utley is having a horrible season (.190/.262/.294) and wouldn't help. The fact is that Drew and Ryan are there for their defense, and that is going just fine. As much as we'd like to see a better hitter at second base, there's a chance that Utley could be worse.

However, Vinny made a good point about how different environments can change a player for the better. At one time Chase was one of, if not the best second baseman in the league. The guy knows how to play at an elite level. Will his body allow him to do that, or somewhat close to it, today? I doubt it, but I also think he can play better than he has.

Face it, playing for a contender in New York can certainly get the juices flowing. We've seen it before, like with Alfonso Soriano in 2013 or Ichiro Suzuki in 2012.

So if the Yankees can acquire Utley for little to nothing, then I say "go for it". Especially if they avoid those vesting options for 2016 through 2018.

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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)