Brian McCann has been traded away to the Houston Astros and
is gone for good. Austin Romine is here but he’s less than inspiring and Gary
Sanchez is currently slated to be the Yankees starting catcher. The Yankees
could, and more than likely should, look to upgrade behind the dish in my
opinion this winter which brings me to one man, Kurt Suzuki.
I am looking merely at a candidate to be the Yankees backup
catcher and mentor in case the young Sanchez goes through the growing pains
that almost every young rookie goes through at the Major League level. In no
way do I believe that Suzuki should be a starting catcher for the Yankees but
it would make me feel better about the situation in 2017 if he were sitting on
the bench on Opening Day instead of Romine. Don’t get me wrong, I love Austin
Romine as he is a product of the Yankees farm system but his career
.222/.256/.329 triple slash simply leaves me less than enthused about the
entire situation.
Kurt Suzuki was an All-Star for the Minnesota Twins just two
years ago in 2014 and truth be told he may be considered to be average at best
defensively as recently as 2016 but his veteran presence and right-handed bat
should not be slept on. Suzuki would provide some pop off the bench that Romine
does not, and truth be told Romine isn’t winning a Gold Glove Award anytime
soon either, and would provide a veteran leadership and insurance policy that
the Yankees currently lack with Romine.
It is little moves like this that can make or break a
season. Look back at the 1996 season and dynasty when the Yankees had Joe
Girardi and Jim Leyritz behind the dish. Neither were All-Stars but both played
a role and played it well while both played huge and integral parts in the
postseason and World Series. I’m thinking along those lines for Suzuki and
Sanchez in 2017.
Make it happen Cashman. Get something for Romine in a trade
if you have to, although why not try and pass him through waivers before just
to be sure. He’s passed through before and he may pass through again.