Okay so I teased with starting off the morning with a doom
and gloom type post and I quickly turned things around but there’s something
building inside of me that cannot be contained. I need to rant and personally I
feel like I have a damn good reason to. The New York Yankees are expecting
outfielder Aaron Hicks to be back from the disabled list as early as next week
after starting a rehab assignment in Triple-A with the Scranton RailRiders leaving the Yankees with an impending and
very tough decision to make. Who goes down when Hicks returns from the disabled
list, assuming everyone is healthy and intact between then and now? Is it a
pitcher? The Yankees are already carrying 13 pitchers at the time of this
writing, or will it be Clint Frazier? It can’t be Frazier, can it? I mean, it
can’t be Frazier and if it is I have a feeling I might have to rage for a bit. Keep
reading.
I get that this is a business and logistically it makes
sense that Frazier would be the one to go down. Frazier is the low man on the
hypothetical totem pole and he has a minor league option where many have not
but the Yankees are in the heat of a pennant race right now. Would the Yankees
not prefer to have their second best outfielder, albeit in a small sample size
and second best outfielder according to OPS behind Aaron Judge, for that
potential playoff push? Especially when the Yankees still have Jacoby Ellsbury
on their active roster burning up a valuable spot and resources. You’re going
to send down Frazier and keep Ellsbury? Yeah I can’t really justify this line
of thinking in my head. I can’t.
I know it’s probably much easier said than done and I
totally get that and probably agree with that, but still. It really just irks
me to be involved in this youth movement from a fan’s perspective only to see a
guy like Frazier go down, who just for the record has far exceeded expectations
at the Major League level thus far to date, while someone like Ellsbury or even
Chase Headley remain on the team. Phantom DL Ellsbury or Matt Holliday, do
something. Just don’t send down Frazier. And I really don’t want to hear the
load of crap about how the Yankees can’t move the Ellsbury contract. There’s
been worse contracts moved with more money and years left on them than Ellsbury’s
both in the month of July and in the month of August. Cashman can get it done,
so do it.
I apologize for starting this Thursday off with a rant but I
am just growing so sick and tired of seeing good, young players sent down to
the minor leagues because they have options while mediocre or less-than-average
players remaining on the team mooching playing time. This is a youth movement
and a team trying to compete all bunched up into one huge ball of hard
decisions but sending Frazier down shouldn’t be one of them in my opinion.
Right now, I think Matt Holliday should be the odd man out. He is not right and has not been since he returned from the DL. I'd throw him back on the DL until he can prove he is the "first half" Matt Holliday again because he has not recovered from the viral infection. The Yankees aren't going to eat the money left on Ellsbury's contract so he's not going anywhere. Teach Hicksie how to play first base! ;)
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