Sunday, March 23, 2014

Yangervis Solarte vs. Dean Anna: Ultimate Battle


Brendan Ryan as we all know has a pinched nerve in his upper back and will very likely start the season on the disabled list for the Yankees so the question has arose, who will replace him on the roster? We are going under the assumption that Eduardo Nunez, minor league option and all, will make the club as a backup and platoon player at third base and everywhere else in the infield in a pinch or an emergency leaving two men for the job, Yangervis Solarte and Dean Anna.

As everyone probably knows by now I am a big stat guy, sabermetrics and the classic alike, so let's start comparing these two there, seen below using their spring training stats this season:

Dean Anna:
YearAgeGSGPAABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSOBAOBPSLGOPS
20142717373138000358.258.378.258.636
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/22/2014.

Yangervis Solarte
YearAgeGSGPAABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSOBAOBPSLGOPS
201426183733915002845.455.514.6361.150
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/22/2014.

Obviously no one outside of maybe Francisco Cervelli has outhit Solarte this season, the question is do we chalk them up to simply being spring training stats or is he the real deal? Solarte's career minor league numbers are a .286/.336/.397/.733, obviously a far cry from batting nearly .500, but he is also 26 years old. Could a breakout, and some truth, be that much outside the realm of possibility? Probably not. 


Dean Anna hasn't opened too many eyes with the bat but with his career minor league stat line of .286/.386/.428/.815 suggest that he can be better than what we have seen lately. As with Solarte, Anna is close to entering his true prime seasons and could be in line for a breakout with the bat. The problem is Anna has similar minor league stats to Solarte making it extremely difficult to separate the two offensively.

What about defensively? In his minor league career Solarte has played games at 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, RF, and CF. Anna, in comparison, has played games at 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, LF, and RF. Another deadlock unless you consider Solarte's two games in center field enough of an advantage. Neither have had a cup of coffee in the major leagues really so you can't even use that as an advantage for one or the other.


What do the Yankees do here? flip a coin? Consult one of those California physics on television? Say neither and give the job to Scott Sizemore simply to have #24 back on the field on Opening Day? I don't know, I really just don't know. What say you?

22 comments:

  1. Solarte in my opinion. To me he just looks more comfortable in his skin this spring training, and in the bigs, being comfortable in your skin is what you need.

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    1. Yangervis Solarte is my pick, even though they are about the same with their stats down on the farm, one thing sticks out...Solarte is a switch hitter. I don't know his splits but, maybe the team will give us some information on him.
      I truly like Anna, he is a more finished infielder, Solarte is more aggressive and seems to be stronger, even in the field.
      I would pencil him in as our everyday 3rd baseman and have Anna be the super sub.
      Kelley has not shown me a lot at 3rd, it looks like he is playing in-between. He has to move in or out a step+, the way he is now...he is getting bad hops and eaten alive. He has played 3rd only a few times, and I believe it takes more than ST to get the position down pat.
      Just my observation and opinion.

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    2. Like you touched on, Johnson is still learning third. On top of that the Yankees have him learning first at the same time. I am willing to be patient with him defensively as long as the bat shows up.

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  2. My hands are turned upward....This is ultra tuff.
    Sizemore is in the mix also ?
    My guess is that the grizzled MGR, and his bench coach will go with Solarte.
    Anna, and Sizemore to AAA. Sizemore has an out, in May.

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    1. Sizemore has a very very outside shot since he missed all that time with a quad injury. Still in camp though so that has to count for something

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  3. I guess it depends on how they're viewed by Girardi. Next year we will need both a 2b and ss. Where does Girardi envision them playing next year? I don't think you could make a bad decision either way.

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    1. Yangervis Solarte for 3rd base next year if not this year. Our regular 3rd baseman will help him get comfortable at 3rd.
      Plus, as I wrote above; Kelly hasn't shown me much at 3rd or with the bat, and Solarte is a switch hitter...as with pitching, one can't have to many switch hitters on the team.

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    2. Ken... Here's my 2 cents worth. Solarte would indeed be a good choice for 3b. But I envision Jagielo as our long term solution at 3b, and he could arrive as early as 2015 if he continues his development. I like Solarte at 2b, and Anna at ss. Therefore, unfortunately, I would want Anna to break camp with the big team, and Solarte go to AAA.

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    3. No Problem Jeff; Your guess is as good as mine.
      I would want Anna on the team also, as for Sol playing 2nd base, he could end-up there...why not, your guess is as good as mine.
      I feel his style is best suited for 3rd, but hay, he may end up in the OF. lol
      Jagielo has shown those that have seen him play, he is the real deal. He may be but, untill I see him play more than a couple games I will not pass any judgement on him. I have head; "this guy is the next Mickey" or Whitey Ford or Jeter for damn near 70 years now. I'll wait to see what he has and if he can live up to the hype.

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    4. The Yankees are certainly pushing and rushing Jagielo like they need him and need him now. 2015 may be a little ambitious but you never know, polished college bats go through the system fast.

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  4. What I see is a call up in 2015. But like you said, he is a 3 year college player that has already shown he can hit with a wooden bat, so who knows.

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  5. Sizemore has some experience. I'd rather he may the team

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  6. A call up in 2015 is definitely in the card, agreed. I thought you meant he broke camp with us.

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  7. For everyone's info, Sizemore does not play shortstop. The idea is to bring up someone who plays SS.

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  8. Also, the minor league stats may be similar, but Anna has a much better eye (386 career OBP) compared to Solarte's 336 career OBP. It seems Anna would translate to the majors over Solarte. However, they both deserve a shot.

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    1. John B...
      OBP out of all the other stats? You must know better than that, he is not a set the table guy, he is a Switch Hitting guy with pop...the guy brings home the bacon!
      I really like Anna, he is a very good player, if given the chance. But, I can't pass on a switch hitting infielder with pop. He can play almost every place on the field as can Anna.
      I wouldn't be disappointed with either one!

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  9. While I agree Mr. Bishop that Sizemore does not play shortstop you have to remember the Yankees have no problem with that. Kelly Johnson doesn't play first base, he is our Mark Teixeira insurance policy.

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  10. Ken

    OBP is a great way to evaluate a player, especially when competing for a job. You have to remember that even though Solarte has "pop" he is going to be hitting at the bottom of the lineup, likely 8th, so the on base is more important in that situation than the pop. If he were batting cleanup that would be a totally different story.

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    1. Daniel...
      As you point out, in the say, 7 or 8 spot, whom ever it is, should be a good OBP hitter...no doubt about it. That is the book and you and the book are right!
      My reasoning for either one...
      For Solarte; Wouldn't it be nice to have someone that can pick-up a base runner that is already on base? He seems to be a bit better at knocking in runs, let him do it! How many times has there been a #5-#6 or #7 guy on base and we send up our weakest RBI guy and nothing happens?
      For Anna; Anna would give us a bit more OBP and speed, he is also a better bunter and move a runner along if need be. He also will hit one out at times. He and Brett in the #8 and #9 spot can and will get on base a bit more often to set up the other guys.
      As I said, I like Anna as well as Sol, for different reasons.
      I will be happy to have either one of them! But, the big thing for me is; Solarte is a switch hitter. That would give us 4 SH in the line-up and maybe 5 at times, if Zolo is in the line-up.

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  11. Daniel...
    The answer to which player to keep is easy...keep them both!
    Let Kelly go down and have Solarte at 3rd base with Anna the super sub.
    Thus one wouldn't need to have a right and left handed hitter for 3rd. Johnson has not shown me a lot at 3rd base anyhow. Question is, how good is Sol playing 3rd?
    But it is up to the Manager, it all depends on what sort of team he wants to put on the field...that will be a very hard choice for him to make!

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    1. Absolutely no scenario where Kelly Johnson goes down, he has no options and is not on a split or a minor league contraxt.

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