Aaron Judge is back! But the Yankees have a gaping hole in left field. Yankee left fielders hit .206/.305/.330 during the 2022 season. Here are four players who the Yankees should consider at the position.
Oswaldo Cabrera
Oswaldo Cabrera was so much fun last year. He came up to play some infield during the lowest points of the summer, but ended up playing corner outfield for most of the last two months of the season. Statcast had him as an average left fielder, but just a .287 xWOBA.
Cabrera seems like a bad Plan A in left field. His .741 OPS last season feels like about his ceiling. He’s not fast enough to be an elite defensive outfielder, but rates as well above average all across the infield. Cabrera is the perfect super utility player. He’s a Marwin Gonzalez, but good. When a player gets injured, Cabrera is a great option to fill in for an extended period. He might play his way into full-time, but betting on Cabrera right away feels like a low ceiling move.
Andrew Benintendi
I wish Benintendi had one more year of team control after the Yankees traded for him at the deadline. He’s basically a perfect left fielder for the team in 2023. He’s a left-handed contact hitter who is an average defensive left fielder. Baseball Savant has him as a pretty consistent .330 xWOBA hitter despite a more pitcher-friendly environment in recent seasons. He keeps improving his strikeout rate, with a career best 14.8% in 2022.
So why not sign him to a four or five year contract? My problem with Benintendi is that I think he’s going to age poorly. He doesn’t hit for much power. He doesn’t take a ton of walks. He’s an average runner with an average arm. He hits for just enough power to get by now, but doesn’t have a lot of space to fall back as he ages. He doesn’t have a high ceiling. In a few years, I think Benintendi is essentially Aaron Hicks.
The Yankees have outfielders in the system who could push for a spot pretty soon. I don’t want to block Peirera or Domginuez or Jones with a mediocre aging Benintendi in 2024 or 2025.
Bryan Reynolds
Reynolds recently requested a trade from the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Yankees are interested. The fit makes a lot of sense. Reynolds broke out during the 2021 season with a .386 xWOBA and elite defense in center. He’s a switch hitter. He has eye-popping exit velocity readings, which we know the Yankees love. His 2022 was less impressive, but that could be explained by Reynolds being unhappy. He’s 28 years old under team control for three more seasons.
I love it. Reynolds should be a standout defensive left fielder. If Bader leaves via free agency, he could slot over to center easily and let a prospect play a corner spot. The Yankees need lineup balance. He’s cheap, allowing the team to sign a Carlos Rodon or other top player. He’s younger than a lot of the expensive Yankee players, but older than the prospects, so he doesn’t cause a roster crunch problem in a few years.
The big question for any trade candidate is cost. Reynolds is a strong trade chip, but shouldn’t cost a Volpe or Dominguez. I think he might not even cost a Peraza. I could see the Yankees building a trade package arounds guys like Austin Wells, Everson Peirera and Clark Schmidt that Pittsburgh would be very happy with. Maybe the Pirates would even take some of Aaron Hicks’ salary off our hands. The Yankees and Pirates trade a lot, so they should be able to work out a deal. I wouldn’t trade Volpe or Dominguez for Reynolds, and I’d have to think hard about Peraza.
Michael Conforto
I’m a little bit confused about why we haven’t heard Conforto’s name connected with the Yankees more often. The corner outfielder lost the 2022 season to shoulder surgery. He’s probably looking for short contract to rebuild his value, so he doesn’t block the prospects. He’s a lefty who consistently puts up wOBAs in the .350-.370 range. He’s an above-average defender in right field. Shift restrictions will likely help him. I think Conforto fits well on this team and in this stadium, especially without a long term commitment.
Why haven’t they been connected to Conforto? Maybe the shoulder isn’t healthy, so Conforto would lose arm strength. That’s less of a problem in left than right. Maybe the Yankees don’t like his intangibles. Maybe they’ve been so focused on Judge that they haven’t thought about left as much. I don’t know, but Conforto just makes sense in pinstripes.