Aaron Boone keeps lying.
After returning from the IL, catcher Jose Trevino gave the scorching hot Austin Wells a much needed day off. Boone assured fans that Wells had proven over the last month that he can, and will be, the everyday starting catcher. Hell, he’s been the Yankees third best hitter since mid-July.
The AL Rookie of the Year Race is getting exciting!
— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) August 17, 2024
Colton Cowser leads all AL rookies with 3.1 fWAR thanks to some excellent defense. Austin Wells is the most efficient rookie and an elite farmer. Wilyer Abreu's bat has vaulted him into the conversation
Don't forget Luis Gil! pic.twitter.com/5E1VlJHNk7
Trevino went on to start two out of three games against the Tigers, and then after an off day on Monday, was in the lineup again for game one in a series against Cleveland. Three out of four games Trevino played due to pitching matchups, according to Boone. Wells has struggled lefty on lefty in his small sample size; the funny part is, so does Trevino. There is no upgrade, no matter what Boone says, even the stats don’t back it up.
@frommypointofviewpod Trevino is playing again over Wells tonight against Cleveland bc of “pitching matchups.” One of the dumbest excuses and reasoning. Play the better player. Im sick of this #yankees #mlb #newyork #austinwells #josetrevino #baseball #fyp #podcast #clips ♬ original sound - John Grimaldi
Luckily, in game two tonight (8/21) against Cleveland, Wells is getting the nod with a lefty on the bump, Joey Cantillo. Hopefully this is a sign of more to come. Play your best players; there should not be a universe that exists where Jose Trevino is playing three out of four games over Austin Wells anymore.
Play Your Best Players
Speaking of playing your best players, it’s time to have a serious discussion about Alex Verdugo’s and DJ LeMahieu’s role on this roster. Both have been unplayable. Aaron Boone continues to say DJ is “breaking out” but the truth of the matter is that he’s playing worse than Josh Donaldson was before he was DFA’d by the Yankees, and it’s a much bigger sample size.
Josh Donaldson’s 2023 in 34 games before getting DFA’d:
— Addison (@YankeeWRLD) August 21, 2024
10 HR | .434 SLG | .659 OPS | 73 wRC+
DJ LeMahieu’s 2024 through 62 games:
2 HR | .250 SLG | .514 OPS | 49 wRC+
WHAT ARE WE STILL DOING HERE
Alex Verdugo has been ABYSMAL at the plate since June 1st😬
— Fireside Yankees (@FiresideYankees) August 21, 2024
57 wRC+ | .557 OPS | -0.7 fWAR | 2 HR
With Jasson Dominguez ready to go, WHAT SHOULD THE YANKEES DO WITH DUGIE? #Yankees pic.twitter.com/XirS2bD4el
There simply is no reason for DJ to be on this roster. Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza offer as much utility defensively as DJ does, if not more, and both offer an astronomically higher upside offensively at this point in the season. I would consider keeping Alex Verdugo for depth reasons, but he is a free agent at the end of the year so losing him now wouldn’t mean much. Whereas DJ still has money owed to him, which is almost certainly part of the dilemma.
What the Yankees did to Jasson Dominguez for the Little League Classic game, appointing him the ’27th man’, is reprehensible. Keep him down or call him up for good, he doesn’t need any of this back-and-forth nonsense.
The fanbase has been clamoring to chop the dead weight for years. Things started to move in a good direction when Donaldson was finally DFA’d (probably a full season too late); don’t make the same mistake with DJ. Unfortunately, it seems his body never really recovered from the injuries he has suffered over the past few years, and he just isn’t the same hitter. Get the young kids in the rotation now and get them some ABs, the team will be better off for it.
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