The New York Yankees signed former New York Mets middle
infielder Ruben Tejada to a minor league deal with a presumed invitation to the
Yankees spring training camp down in Tampa this coming spring. We’ll meet the
man the Yankees signed here in a few hours on the blog but before we get to
that I want to share my initial response, impression and the major question
that came along with the signing. I also want to explore whether such a signing
by the Bronx Bombers now makes both Robert Refsnyder and Ronald Torreyes not
only trade bait but expendable as well.
I’ll start slow with my initial response. My initial
response to the signing was not a real major one. It’s a minor league deal with
an invitation to spring training. The Yankees will likely have many veterans
and reclamation projects that they sign to similar deals this winter and spring
so the fact that it’s Tejada is not a huge deal to me. I think it’s being made
into a bigger deal than it is by most because he used to play for the Mets, and
truth be told a little of it also has to do with the fact that news is slow
right now around the Christmas holidays. This was merely a blip on the radar
for me until I started thinking whether this was a precursor to something to
come, something much bigger.
Let’s be honest, and this is coming from the biggest Rob Refsnyder
fan besides his own mother, both Refsnyder and Torreyes are easily expendable.
While I believe with constant and consistent at bats Refsnyder could become a
line-drive hitter and an overall good hitter in the Major Leagues manager Joe
Girardi has proven time and time again that this is not simply going to happen.
With that said Refsnyder and Torreyes lend little to the team in terms of
offense, their value is on defense at this point unfortunately and their
versatility and ability to play multiple positions. Something that Tejada could
also lend the Yankees in the middle infield.
Now we know the Yankees and their seemingly infatuation with
having veteran players on the team, even in the midst of a rebuild on the fly,
so it worries me that Tejada may get that 25th spot and a young guy
who still has some trade value like Refsnyder may be out the door in a deal for
a starting pitcher. Of course Refsnyder alone, or Torreyes either for that
matter, cannot fetch a pitcher on their own but when thrown into a package with
someone else (Brett Gardner) you may have the makings of a deal on your hands.
And that worries me if I am being honest.
