Matt Adams the 2018 Version of Matt Holliday?

Earlier I teased a Matt Adams to the Yankees post after the former St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves first baseman was non-tendered recently and here it is. Could Matt Adams be the Yankees version of his former teammate Matt Holliday here in 2017? What about Adams becoming the 2018 version of Chris Carter in the Bronx if the budget would allow? Would it make sense for the Yankees and would Adams likely get a better free agent offer elsewhere? Let’s take a look.

Adams played 100 games for the Braves after being acquired from the Cardinals last season hitting .271 with 19 home runs. Adams bats left-handed and throws right-handed which might make him redundant on a Yankees roster that already has an oft-injured Greg Bird so I wanted to take a look at his splits to see how Adams handled left-handed pitching to see if he could be a decent compliment to Bird on the bench. The splits were not favorable for Adams who hit .180/.206/.377/.583 with just three home runs and 12 RBI in 63 plate appearances. That, in the now immortal words of former Yankees manager Joe Girardi, is not what you want.

If you’re looking for a silver lining, and when I say “you” I mean all the people who have tweeted and emailed us about the possible addition of Adams to the Yankees this offseason which prompted this extended post, Adams is almost a .300 hitter against right-handed pitching which makes me wonder if he is worth signing for the designated hitter position. The Yankees are pretty right-handed hitting heavy with the bats of Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge in the middle of the lineup and Adams may be a decent compliment and way to break up those two along with Didi Gregorius, Bird, Brett Gardner and others.

Adams wouldn’t come with a huge price tag presumably and would likely be signed on a one-year deal which at least intrigues me as the Yankees look to fill their DH position next season. Adams won’t offer much in the way of defense, although having him as the DH would allow New York to play him at first if and when something was to happen to Bird next season, but the lefty could add some pop to the lineup that Holliday was supposed to offer in 2017. If the price tag is low and the amount of years that Adams is looking for fits in with the Yankees future plans, then I am all for signing the former Cardinal and Brave. If Adams wants two years or more or if Adams wants an astronomical amount of money, then I am leaning towards a hard pass on the first baseman. What are your thoughts?