A lot has to go wrong for us to see Nick Swisher back in
Yankees pinstripes and back in front of a Yankee Stadium crowd, right? Well if
you think about it, and mix in a little speculation with a sample size of
history and decisions made by this front office and organization, there
probably doesn’t need to be much go wrong to see Swisher in 2016. Not much at
all actually.
First and foremost Brian Cashman stated before the season
that the last bench spot would be used primarily as a revolving door all season
long much like the bullpen was used in 2015. That means the spot that Ronald
Torreyes currently occupies could go to another outfielder when necessary,
Slade Heathcott and Ben Gamel come to mind immediately, or another infielder
like Robert Refsnyder in a pinch. Why not Swisher? And I’m not saying I want
Swisher to occupy the spot and I’m not saying I think it’s a good idea or a bad
idea for Swisher to occupy the spot but I do think the Yankees could allow him
to occupy the spot and that’s the point of this post.
Swisher has a June opt-out date written into his minor
league deal so he can leave on his own sometime in June anyway, I can’t see the
Yankees letting a veteran like Swisher walk away for nothing, not without
giving him a shot on a trial basis similar to the one they gave Refsnyder
before the All-Star break in 2015, with or without an injury.
If there is any injury to Mark Teixeira then Swisher is the
first one on the shuttle from Scranton to the Bronx but what if an outfielder
goes down? Would the team rely on Ben Gamel or Slade Heathcott or would they
call on the veteran Swisher to ride the bench while Hicks gets the majority of
the playing time for New York? History would tell you it would be Swisher and
his switch hitting bat and goofy personality taking the bench slot while
Heathcott, who they couldn’t rely on to make the Scranton Shuttle on time, and
Gamel, an unproven rookie, stay down in Triple-A for the time being.
Not a lot has to happen for Swisher to join the Yankees and
I think he ultimately will before the end of the season. I’m reserving
judgement on whether it would be a good idea and situation or a bad idea and a
bad situation for now but it’s coming, so brace yourselves.
HOPEFULLY NONE
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