January 11th, 2022: Future of the Infield, ESPN and YES

Lockout, Day 41: I can’t believe I was once optimistic there wouldn’t be a work stoppage. How stupid of me. Congrats on somehow making baseball more boring, guys. Anyway, let's get to today's post.

1. The future at each position: infield. The lockout is a dangerous thing because there’s nothing going on and my mind wanders, and I come up with crazy ideas like “I should write about the Yankees’ long-term plan at every position.” So, let’s do that now. Let’s step back and try to figure out what the future holds all around the diamond.

I was planning to cover each position at once, but the post started to get a little unwieldy, so let’s break it up. We’ll cover the infield today, the outfield Friday, and the pitching staff (and maybe the coaching staff and front office) next week. Sound good? Let’s dive in.

Catcher

Incumbents: Gary Sanchez (free agent after 2022), Kyle Higashioka (free agent after 2024)
Notable prospects: Josh Breaux, Antonio Gomez, Austin Wells

It seems all but certain the Yankees will have a new starting catcher come Opening Day 2023. They might have a new starting catcher on Opening Day 2022, though I think that would be a surprise given the lockout and lack of available options. But, even with a massive contract year in 2022, I’m pretty sure the Yankees would take the draft pick and let Sanchez walk.

Higashioka is a quintessential backup catcher. He hits the skids whenever the Yankees give him more playing time, but in moderation (i.e. every fifth day when Gerrit Cole starts), he’s fine. Not great, not terrible. Just fine. The Yankees have their 2023 (and likely 2024) backup. Their 2023 starter? No. The catcher position is very much a long-term question.

Among those three prospects listed, Gomez is the only lock to catch long-term, and he’s a just turned 20-year-old kid with 17 games above rookie ball. Breaux has a strong arm and power, but his receiving isn’t great, and his plate discipline and pitch recognition is rough. His upside is something like Higashioka with a lesser glove (i.e. low OBP and homers).

Wells can really hit but seems to be a catcher in name only. The reviews on his defense are not good, and if he doesn’t make big strides this year, the Yankees might just move him to first base or the outfield, and let the bat dictate his progress, not his glove. Point is, the Yankees do not have a no-doubt catcher prospect coming to take the reins in 2023.

Ignoring Sanchez, next offseason’s free agent class will have two starting caliber catchers (Willson Contreras and Omar Narvaez) plus maybe a third depending on your opinion of Christian Vazquez. The next 10 months could bring extensions and surprise trade candidates, so we’re just going to have to see how the catching market shakes out.

Post-2022 outlook: Expect the Yankees to bring in someone from outside the organization to replace Sanchez. Higashioka isn’t a starter, Gomez is too far away, and realistically, Wells won’t be able to make enough progress in 2022 to be a big league starter on Opening Day 2023. I'm pretty confident the 2023 starting catcher is not currently employed by the Yankees.

First base

Incumbent: Luke Voit (free agent after 2024)
Notable prospects: None

It’s not impossible, though it would be an upset to see Voit at first base on Opening Day. The Yankees have expressed a desire to get more left-handed and athletic, and first base is an obvious place to do it. Voit has hit .271/.363/.520 (137 wRC+) in over 1,100 plate appearances with the Yankees, but I never thought this was a long-term thing given his age (31 next month) and profile (swing-and-miss righty with bad defense). It has run its course.

Prospect-wise, first base is an unusual position. It used to be that the majority of big league first basemen were catchers who couldn’t catch or third basemen with slow reflexes. Now many of the game’s top first basemen were drafted and developed as first basemen. The top 10 in starts at first base since 2019:

1. Freddie Freeman: 371 (developed as a 1B)
2. Paul Goldschmidt: 360 (developed as a 1B)
3. Anthony Rizzo: 338 (developed as a 1B)
4. Pete Alonso: 338 (developed as a 1B)
5. Matt Olson: 336 (developed as a 1B)
6. Carlos Santana: 331 (developed as a C)
7. Eric Hosmer: 316 (developed as a 1B)
8. Jose Abreu: 313 (played 1B in Cuba)
9. Joey Votto: 303 (drafted as a C)
10. Yuli Gurriel: 297 (played SS and 3B in Cuba)

Voit himself was drafted as a catcher. I’m not sure whether all these first basemen who were developed as first basemen is the start of the trend, or just a blip on the radar, but the Yankees don’t have a legitimate first base prospect in the system. If anything, their best first base prospect is Wells, who the Yankees will keep at catcher for time being.

Also, “first baseman of the future” is not really a thing teams prioritize (similar to "DH of the future"). If you run into a Freeman or Goldschmidt, great, but it’s not a premium position, and teams are spending less on the position. Here are the five largest first base contracts in baseball history:

1. Miguel Cabrera: 8 years, $248M (signed March 2014)
2. Albert Pujols: 10 years, $240M (signed Dec. 2011)
3. Joey Votto: 10 years, $225M (signed April 2012)
4. Prince Fielder: 9 years, $214M (signed Jan. 2012)
5. Mark Teixeira: 8 years, $180M (signed Dec. 2008)

Seems like teams gave up on huge dollar first basemen around 2015 or so. Freeman is a free agent and he figures to get a big contract, though it is unlikely to crack that top five. What I’m trying to say is teams are content to cycle through cheap first basemen these days, even if it means bringing in a new guy each year. “First baseman of the future” is not a thing they target.

The Yankees adding a lefty hitting first baseman and trading Voit before Opening Day strikes me as the most likely outcome. Freeman is still out there, though I think a Rizzo reunion is more likely, plus Matt Olson is said to be available. Next offseason’s free agent class is thin at first base (Brandon Belt will be the best available). The one after that offers Olson and Max Muncy.

Post-2022 outlook: Whoever the Yankees bring in to play first base in 2022 is likely to be their 2023 first baseman as well. Freeman will require a long-term deal, Rizzo figures to get at least two years, and Olson has two more years of control. A one-year stopgap like, say, Carlos Santana, probably won’t happen. The Yankees might just stick with Voit if that's the best available.

First base is not a priority position but that doesn’t mean it’s unimportant. It just means teams are not as willing to spend on it. Rizzo or Olson as a two-year first baseman with Wells taking over after that is a sensible enough plan, even if Wells could be ready before the two years are up. We sat through some bad first base situations last decade and I don’t want to relive that. I also know this isn’t a problem the austerity era Yankees will move mountains to solve.

Second base

Incumbents: Gleyber Torres (free agent after 2024), DJ LeMahieu (signed through 2026)
Notable prospects: Oswaldo Cabrera

Like it or not, the Yankees are set at second base for the foreseeable future. Torres is a full-time second baseman now and LeMahieu has five more years to go on his contract. The Yankees could trade Gleyber (or LeMahieu) and still be set at the position for another few years. That doesn’t mean they won’t or shouldn’t look for upgrades. Just that they have options already.

Thanks to the shift, teams are more willing to put poor defenders at second base, because it’s easier to hide them. The Yankees haven’t done anything drastic at the position yet (I wanted them to try Miguel Andujar there years ago) but we’ve seen players like Max Muncy, Mike Moustakas, and Travis Shaw play second in recent years. Hardly the prototype, you know?

Most second basemen are failed shortstops. Torres certainly is one. LeMahieu played short in the minors too. Ozzie Albies, Robinson Cano, Jorge Polanco, on and on. All former shortstops who moved to second base. Oswald Peraza and Anthony Volpe are shortstops now, but who’s to say they won’t be second basemen – good second basemen – in a year or two?

Cabrera was a shortstop himself not too long ago and he can still play there on occasion, but he fits better at second. He projects as a starting second baseman on a second division team, and given his proximity to MLB (a year away, possibly less), that makes him trade bait. I have a hard time seeing Cabrera unseating Torres or LeMahieu anytime soon.

Post-2022 outlook: It’ll be Torres and/or LeMahieu for the foreseeable future. Second base is the most set position on the roster long-term. The Yankees could trade Torres and use LeMahieu’s versatility as a way to get Cabrera (or Peraza or Volpe) in the lineup at second base. I think we’re at least a year away from seriously considering that though. Maybe more.

Shortstop

Incumbents: None!
Notable prospects: Oswald Peraza, Trey Sweeney, Alex Vargas, Anthony Volpe

The Yankees don’t even have a backup shortstop right now (unless you count Jose Peraza). Now that they’ve pulled the plug on Torres at short, the only true shortstop on the 40-man roster is Peraza, and he’s barely played above Double-A. Sure, the Yankees could put Gio Urshela at short, but that shouldn’t be a long-term solution. Get a shortstop to play shortstop.

This is the greatest free agent shortstop class ever (by projected future WAR) and the Yankees sat and watched as Javy Baez, Corey Seager, and Marcus Semien signed elsewhere before the lockout. Here’s the best of what’s left in free agency (by projected 2022 WAR):

1. Carlos Correa: +5.1 WAR
2. Trevor Story: +3.6 WAR
3. Andrelton Simmons: +1.5 WAR
4. Jose Iglesias: +1.2 WAR
5. Ronald Torreyes: +0.3 WAR

It’s Correa, then Story, then a bunch of guys you don’t want. Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Paul DeJong are the best the trade market has to offer, and I gotta say, trading for an infielder too crappy for the Rangers for the second straight year does not appeal to me. The Yankees have considered Matt Chapman at short, and who knows what other creative stuff they’ve kicked around.

I’m not sold on the Yankees spending big on a free agent shortstop – my hunch is ownership plans to stay under the luxury tax threshold in 2023 (whatever the threshold is) and they won’t endanger that plan with a significant multi-year deal – meaning a stopgap is the likely outcome. Maybe they can convince Story to take a one-year deal like Semien did with the Blue Jays last year. That would be great.

Clearly, the long-term plan at short is hope like crazy Peraza or Volpe grab the job and run with it. Both are top 100 caliber prospects and it would be great to see one (or both!) develop into a guy who spends 15 years in pinstripes (Sweeney and Vargas are talented too, though they're further away from MLB). As much as I like those two, I have serious reservations with the “wait for Peraza and Volpe” plan.

First, Peraza and Volpe don’t help you win in 2022, when Gerrit Cole and Giancarlo Stanton are still in their primes and Aaron Judge is still a Yankee. Peraza’s and Volpe’s peaks don’t line up with the current core’s. They’re going to hit their primes when Cole and Stanton (and Judge?) are in their mid-30s and presumably on the decline. Can the Yankees try to win a World Series right now and stop worrying about 3-4 years down the line?

Two, prospects are suspects until proven otherwise, and how confident are you the Yankees can get the most out of Peraza and Volpe? Look what happened to basically every young core player on the roster other than Judge. They’ve all gone backwards. That isn’t to say the Yankees should stop trying to develop prospects. Just don’t put all your eggs in that basket.

And three, there are three non-first base infield positions and I promise you having multiple good and athletic middle infield types will in no way be a problem. Doesn’t Correa at third, Peraza at short, and Volpe at second sound amazing? Why don’t we hear more about that instead of the “the Yankees don’t want to block Peraza and Volpe” nonsense?

Trea Turner will be a free agent next offseason and he will be two years older than Correa and Seager are right now. After Turner, it will be several years until another elite shortstop in his 20s hits free agency. The next might be Willy Adames during the 2024-25 offseason, and he’ll have to take a few more steps forward for me to consider him elite.

Pass on Correa and Story now and the long-term shortstop plan is essentially “hope Peraza and Volpe work out or we’re screwed.” Either that or spend big on Turner next offseason, when we’ll be at maximum “but we have to lock up Judge!” excuse levels. If the Yankees aren’t going to open their wallet to sign a top shortstop this offseason, I’m not sure when they will.

Post-2022 outlook: Like I said, I’m not optimistic the Yankees will sign Correa or Story, so I expect it to be stopgap city until Peraza or Volpe are ready. That could be as soon as the second half of next season if Peraza really tears up Triple-A, or as late as never. Peraza and Volpe just may not work out. Could be Simmons, could be Kiner-Falefa, could be someone else entirely, but a stopgap(s) who keeps the seat warm for Peraza or Volpe is the most likely outcome in my opinion, and then it’ll be up to Peraza or Volpe to perform.

Third base

Incumbent: Gio Urshela (free agent after 2023)
Notable prospects: None

For all intents and purposes, Urshela is the third base version of Didi Gregorius. Productive at the plate (particularly from 2019-20), the eye test is better than the numbers on defense, he plays hard, and he’s easy to like. Like Sir Didi, Gio is a good enough player that replacing him is not a top priority, but if something better comes along, you’re not going to ignore it either.

We’ve seen the Yankees linked to Matt Chapman, and Kris Bryant is a free agent, though I think the Yankees believe they already have their 2022 and 2023 third baseman in Urshela. The Yankees love him, and with so many other pressing roster needs (first base, shortstop, etc.), I just can’t imagine third base is where they spend significant time and resources anytime soon.

The x-factor: Jose Ramirez. Ramirez is two years away from free agency (assuming his no-brainer $13M club option is exercised next winter) and he’s approaching the point where Cleveland tends to trade their best players. The Guardians won’t win a bidding war to re-sign Ramirez, so they’ll trade him, and their recent trades (Trevor Bauer, Mike Clevinger, Francisco Lindor, etc.) suggest they will take a package built around quantity rather than quality.

It’s been a while since the Yankees traded a top prospect – Justus Sheffield was the last and he was more of a top 50 guy than a top 20 guy on top 100 lists – though they’ve been more than willing to trade from the middle of the farm system. Giving up three or four second tier prospects to get a Joey Gallo or a Jameson Taillon is a-okay. Undoubtedly they would do the same with Ramirez.

Alas, the Ramirez situation is not the same as Lindor's. Lindor had a very big arbitration number ($22.3M) and Cleveland insisted Carlos Carrasco and the $27M remaining on his contract had to be included as well. It was a significant financial investment and it took some teams out of the running. Ramirez is so cheap* that every team will be after him, so there will be a bidding war, and a bidding war means top prospects will be involved.

* Every player on Cleveland’s roster other than Ramirez is pre-arbitration or arbitration-eligible. Maybe they’ll sign a free agent or three this winter, but there’s no Carrasco contract to attach to Ramirez to lower the prospect cost.

Similar to second baseman, a whole lotta third baseman are former shortstops. Alex Bregman, Manny Machado, and Yoan Moncada were all shortstops. The Yankees themselves had a pretty excellent former shortstop win a few MVPs at third base not too long ago. It is the natural order of things. Can’t handle short? Okay, give second or third a try.

The Yankees seem to be done with Miguel Andujar at third (he played left almost exclusively in Triple-A last year) and they don’t have a true third base prospect in the system, but Peraza or Volpe (or Cabrera or Sweeney or Vargas) could wind up there in time. Decent chance the Yankees’ next long-term third baseman will play shortstop in 2022, whatever level he’s at.

Post-2022 outlook: Methinks the Yankees intend to stick with Urshela the next two years unless he is so bad this coming season that he forces them to make a change. When Ramirez inevitably hits the trade market, they’ll get involved, but history says the Yankees will balk at trading their best prospects, which means they’re unlikely to get him.

What happens after two more years of Gio? Next offseason’s crop of three agent third basemen is horrible (Aledmys Diaz, anyone?), but the offseason after that will see Chapman, Ramirez, and Rafael Devers hit the market. Maybe Peraza or Volpe (or Cabrera) looks like the answer at third base then. Third base feels very much like a “let’s stick with what we have as long as possible, then figure it out once we’re forced to think about it” situation.

* * *

The Yankees’ current infield situation is not great. They need a new shortstop right away, they’ll need a new catcher next year and a new third baseman a year after that, first base is a shrug emoji, and their two second basemen are at best bounceback candidates. Unless the Yankees sign Correa or Freeman, they don’t have anyone on the infield I would comfortably expect to be an above-average performer in 2022. That’s a problem. How did it come to this?

Surprise trade candidates can and will emerge – who had Jose Berrios being traded at last year’s deadline? – and they could reshape the infield significantly. As things stand right now, the Yankees are leaning heavily on Peraza and Volpe (and possibly Wells too) to anchor the infield long-term. Catcher, first base, shortstop, and third base are all poised to turnover within the next 24 months or so.

2. New Sunday Night Baseball booth. ESPN’s new Sunday Night Baseball broadcast booth will have a very Yankees feel. Last week ESPN announced David Cone will join Eduardo Perez and Karl Ravech in the main booth, and Alex Rodriguez will team up with Michael Kay on an alternate broadcast. So A-Rod is out of the main booth, but still involved in the broadcast.

“As we begin our next chapter of baseball coverage, we aim to maximize the value of this new rights agreement by prioritizing innovation and compelling storytelling,” ESPN vice president Norby Williamson said in a statement. “We welcome David Cone to ESPN and believe he and Eduardo Perez will offer a master class in contemporary analysis, including Statcast-driven data and discussion.”

I don’t love three-man booths (too many cooks, etc. etc.) but going from A-Rod and Matt Vasgersian to Cone, Perez, and Ravech is a huge upgrade for the sport’s flagship broadcast. A-Rod is one of the greatest players I’ve ever seen and yet he’s so bad in the booth. He’s insecure and desperate to be liked, and he seems oblivious to the things that made him such a great player (why is he so obsessed with bunting?). It’s frustrating.

Ravech is fine on play-by-play and Cone can go overboard with the stats at times (I don’t need things down to the decimal place), but he and Perez check just about every box I want in an analyst: they love baseball, they’re funny and have great stories, they understand the stats and the modern game, and they can speak from experience as former players. It works. I think they’ll be great.

I have to be honest, I have no idea who the target audience is for the Kay-Rod broadcast. ESPN apparently wants it to be like their Monday Night Football Manningcast, in which Eli and Peyton casually talk about the game like two friends in a sports bar, but Kay and A-Rod? Hey, people can like whatever they like, but I can’t imagine I’ll be tuning into the Kay-Rod broadcast.

“I’m equally excited for the duo of Alex Rodriguez and Michael Kay to team up and offer fans a new, engaging experience,” Williamson said. “The innovative Sunday Night Baseball with Kay-Rod presentations will be informative and entertaining and play a crucial role in our overall Sunday Night Baseball content offerings. We’re grateful for the collaboration with the YES Network and look forward to starting the 2022 season.”

Cone and Kay are still with the YES Network, though Cone’s workload will change. He told Andrew Marchand he expects to do 50 or so games going forward rather than the almost 100 he had been doing. Between Cone cutting back and Ken Singleton retiring, YES has some broadcast gaps to fill (even with Singleton on a light schedule the last few years).

Does this mean more Paul O’Neill and John Flaherty, or will YES bring in someone new? Curtis Granderson was very good in the TBS studio last postseason, though calling a game in the booth is a different animal (A-Rod was really good in the studio too). CC Sabathia has said he’d like to call games, but is worried he’d curse too much. Mark Teixeira is on ESPN and a recognizable name. David Wells, Tino Martinez, and Jeff Nelson all made appearances on YES the last few years.

I’m not sure Kay’s workload will be reduced. It just might be shifted around (and if he does fewer games, it means more Ryan Ruocco). ESPN is only doing eight Kay-Rod broadcasts and what are the chances most (all?) of them will be Yankees games? Pretty good, I’d say. The Yankees are on Sunday Night Baseball a ton, so it could be ESPN selected those eight games based on when Kay is already in town with YES, so there’s less travel. (That might’ve been the only way Kay agreed to it.)

ESPN usually announces their Sunday Night Baseball schedule in Spring Training, though start times for most 2022 regular season games have already been announced. We can use those to get an idea of when the Yankees will be on ESPN. Here are their Sunday games with no start times announced (all other Sunday games have been announced as day games):

• April 10th vs. Red Sox
• May 1st at Royals
• May 15th at White Sox
• May 22nd vs. White Sox
• May 29th at Rays
• June 12th vs. Cubs
• June 16th vs. Astros
• July 3rd at Guardians
• July 10th at Red Sox (day before All-Star break)
• Aug. 14th at Red Sox
• Sept. 4th at Rays
• Sept. 25th vs. Red Sox

That July 10th game in Boston has already been announced as a 7pm ET start, so that’s an ESPN game. It’s too bad Yankees (and Red Sox) All-Stars have to play that night in Boston, then fly to Los Angeles for the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game, but what can you do?

I have to think at least two of the other Red Sox games will be on ESPN, maybe even all three (find someone who loves you the way ESPN loves Yankees-Red Sox games). One of the White Sox games and the Astros game seem like prime Sunday Night Baseball fodder too. We can probably scratch the Royals and Guardians games off the Sunday Night Baseball list though.

The Cubs game is a wild card. The only other games on the schedule that day that ESPN would consider for Sunday Night Baseball are Dodgers-Giants and Angels-Mets. ESPN will have other opportunities to show Dodgers-Giants next year. Cubs-Yankees happens only once every three years. They’re two high-profile teams (moreso than the Angels and Mets), so I think they’re in.

The Rays were on Sunday Night Baseball for the first time since 2014 last year, and while their players and fans say they don’t get enough respect, ESPN picks games they know will draw eyeballs. It has nothing to do with respect. The Rays are a ratings drag. They’re good and there’s an occasionally heated rivalry with the Yankees, sure, but ESPN is picking games based on ratings*, period.

* Other games on the schedule May 29th include Cubs-White Sox, Brewers-Cardinals, Astros-Mariners, and Mets-Phillies. Other games on Sept. 4th include Dodgers-Padres and Cubs-Cardinals. How do you pick Rays-anyone over those games?

Three (maybe four) Red Sox games plus one each against the Astros, Cubs, and White Sox equals six (maybe seven) potential Sunday Night Baseball broadcasts for the Yankees this coming season. Those will probably be Kay-Rod games, meaning Kay wouldn’t necessarily miss YES Network broadcasts for travel back and forth. We’ll still see Kay plenty in 2022.

Anyway, this is already too many words on the Sunday Night Baseball booth, so let’s wrap it up. Cone is great and I’m glad he landed a national gig. Baseball will be better for it. The Kay-Rod broadcast is whatever. I’m sure some people will love it. The Yankees are already on ESPN a ton. Now those games will have an even bigger Yankees feel with Cone and Kay involved.

3. Remembering a random Yankee: Cameron Maybin. This week’s random Yankee comes via multiple requests and is one of the most productive and most popular random Yankees in recent memory. Here’s the random Yankee archive. You can find links back to everyone we've covered there.

Maybin grew up in North Carolina and he comes from a very athletic family. Among his close relatives are current NFL linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin, former NFL linebacker Aaron Maybin, former NBA player Rashad McCants, and former WNBA player Rashanda McCants. Growing up, Maybin served as a bat boy for the Asheville Tourists, then the Low-A South Atlantic League affiliate of the Colorado Rockies.

“It was a blast," Maybin told Tim Hagerty about being a bat boy, specifically mentioning Juan Pierre as a player who treated him well. "I was able to be around some young professionals and understand how you want to treat the game, how you want to work. You see some good things, you see some bad things. I was able to take that and put the good things into my game as far as preparation. It was a really good experience for me, for sure."

Baseball America (subs. req’d) ranked Maybin as the second best high school prospect in the 2005 draft, behind only eventual No. 1 overall pick Justin Upton. Here’s a snippet of their pre-draft scouting report:

He has broad shoulders and long limbs and fingers, and physically evokes comparisons on the low end to Preston Wilson and on the high end to Vladimir Guerrero. He should be a premium defender in center field with experience, with long, graceful strides gobbling up turf and an average arm. As he fills out, he could move to right field and be a more athletic Cliff Floyd … (Some) scouts think his bat might take time to develop once he starts seeing good breaking balls consistently. His makeup – including good work habits, maturity and love for the game – endears him to scouts, as does his family.

The Tigers selected Maybin with the No. 10 pick and paid him a $2.65M bonus. He quickly emerged as a top prospect – Baseball America ranked Maybin as one of the game's top 10 prospect every year from 2007-09 – and the Tigers were not shy about aggressively promoting prospects under Dave Dombrowski. Maybin made his MLB debut at age 20 in Aug. 2007, only two years and two months after being drafted out of high school.

Maybin made his big league debut on Aug. 17th, 2007, at the old Yankee Stadium. He went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts that day, then went 2-for-3 with a home run the next. I was in the stands when Maybin took Roger Clemens deep to dead center field for first career home run that afternoon. Here’s the video.

"Second big league game and I hit a home run off Roger Clemens. I can tell my kids about that,” Maybin told ESPN after the game. “It felt pretty good to get one off of him.”

In 23 games with Detroit that year Maybin went 7-for-49 (.143) with 21 strikeouts and only three walks. He was overmatched and not MLB ready. It was obvious. After the season, the Tigers sent Maybin to the Marlins in the Miguel Cabrera trade, one of the most impactful and significant trades in baseball history. Here’s the full trade:

• Tigers get: 3B Miguel Cabrera, LHP Dontrelle Willis
• Marlins get: RHP Burke Badenhop, RHP Frankie De La Cruz, OF Cameron Maybin, LHP Andrew Miller, C Mike Rabelo

"Believe me, I didn't want to give up Andrew Miller. I didn't want to give up Cameron Maybin,” Dombrowski said after the trade, according to Jason Beck. “The other guys, we liked a lot, too. But you've got to give something to get something.”

Maybin and Miller were two of the 10-15 best prospects in the game at the time, but when you give up a player as good and as young as Cabrera (only 24 at the time), it’s basically impossible to win that trade, and the Marlins definitely lost it. Maybin hit .257/.323/.391 (88 OPS+) in 144 games with the Marlins from 2008-10, and spent most of those years developing in Triple-A.

The Marlins sent Maybin to the Padres for two relievers in Nov. 2010 and he had what looked like a breakout season in 2011, authoring a .264/.323/.393 (103 OPS+) line with 40 steals at age 24. That earned him a five-year, $25M extension. Alas, Maybin did not build on 2011, hitting only .236/.297/.336 (81 OPS+) over the next four seasons.

Maybin was sent to the Braves to offset salary in the Craig Kimbrel trade in April 2015, which marked the beginning of his career as a journeyman. From 2015-18, Maybin bounced from the Padres to the Braves to the Tigers (again) to the Angels to the Astros to the Marlins (again) to the Mariners. He was a postseason pinch-runner/defensive replacement during Houston’s 2017 World Series run.

From 2015-18, Maybin hit .264/.337/.372 (95 OPS+) with +4.3 WAR in 478 big league games with six teams. The Giants signed Maybin, then 32, to a minor league deal in Feb. 2019. He spent Spring Training with the Giants, got released at the end of camp, then signed another minor league deal with Cleveland. He went 11-for-51 (.216) in 14 games with their Triple-A affiliate.

While Maybin was in Triple-A with Cleveland, the Yankees dealt with an onslaught of injuries. Miguel Andujar (shoulder), Greg Bird (foot), Aaron Judge (oblique), Gary Sanchez (calf), Giancarlo Stanton (biceps), and Troy Tulowitzki (calf) were all placed on the injured list within the first 24 days of the season, and that’s just the position players.

The Yankees started Clint Frazier, Brett Gardner, and Mike Tauchman in the outfield in Anaheim on April 23rd, and that was long before anyone knew what the Yankees had in Tauchman*. That night Frazier rolled his ankle on second base, leaving the Yankees with two healthy outfielders. Tyler Wade started in left field alongside Gardner and Tauchman the next three games.

* The Yankees traded for Tauchman right at the end of Spring Training, you may recall. They did that because Aaron Hicks hurt his back at the end of camp and they needed a backup outfielder who could play center (i.e. not Frazier).

On April 25th, the Yankees acquired Maybin in a cash trade with Cleveland because they simply needed bodies. It cost them $25,000 (a standard sum in cash trades involving a non-40-man roster player) and Maybin met the Yankees in San Francisco the next day. Funny enough, Cleveland should have just kept Maybin. Their outfielders hit a combined .253/.318/.417 (89 OPS+) in 2019, a rocket ball year.

"I’m extremely excited about being a part of a storied franchise like this, with a group of guys who are trying to do something special every year," Maybin told Bryan Hoch after the trade. "I’m excited to hopefully provide a spark. I know they’re having some tough times with injuries."

It didn’t take Maybin long to make an impact. He reached base 13 times in his first eight games with the Yankees, and in the middle of June, he went on a four-game rampage that saw him go 9-for-16 (.563) with a home run in four straight games. Maybin was the first Yankees outfielder to go deep in four straight games since Danny Tartabull in 1992. Here’s the video.

"I’m thankful that I’m here,” Maybin told Hoch after the fourth game of the four-game homer streak. “I’m enjoying every moment of it, and I just want to continue to be a piece of the puzzle and continue to play good baseball."

Maybin averaged 9.4 home runs per 600 plate appearances from 2007-18, then swatted five in his first 124 plate appearances with the Yankees. He attributed his power uptick to some swing changes he first implemented with the Giants in Spring Training. Maybin stuck with them and the Yankees helped put on the finishing touches. From Lindsey Adler (subs. req’d) in 2019:

“I felt like I was close the whole time, and it was about five days before I got traded [to New York] that I said OK, instead of trying to revamp my whole swing like I did, why don’t I use my foundation that I’ve always had — controlling the zone, putting the ball in play — and then implement all the things that I’ve learned about how the swing works,” Maybin said. “Then immediately I began to feel comfortable.”

Reunited with (former Tigers teammate and Yankees hitting coach Marcus) Thames, Maybin found a club willing to support his new intention and help him find consistent results.

“I think he can impact the baseball a lot better than he was doing,” Thames said. “With that being said, he did go to someone and did some things with his swing, but I thought he looked robotic, and he didn’t look like himself. I told him to just be athletic, take some better swings and impact the baseball. He’s done that, and it’s been really good for him.”

By late-June, Maybin had emerged as a lineup staple, and the Yankees faced a roster crunch. Judge and Stanton were nearing a return, Edwin Encarnacion came over in a trade with the Mariners, and Maybin and Frazier were playing well. As was often the case with the 2019 Yankees, the problem ("problem") took care of itself. Maybin went down with a calf injury on June 23rd, two days after Judge and Stanton were activated (and Frazier was demoted).

“It’ll be a while,” Aaron Boone told Greg Joyce about the injury. Maybin was hitting .314/.391/.500 at the time, and the calf ultimately sidelined him a full month.

Maybin returned in late July and did not miss a beat. He went 15-for-37 (.405) with six doubles and two homers in his first 10 games back, and the Yankees legitimately had more good outfielders than roster spots. Judge was healthy, Maybin and Gardner were playing well, and Tauchman was in the middle of that crazy hot streak he had. Even with Stanton hurt again, the Yankees had to leave a productive player on the bench each game.

Stanton rejoined the Yankees in September and at that point Maybin’s playing time took a hit. Giancarlo had missed most of the season and the Yankees needed to make sure he got enough at-bats to get right at the plate before the postseason, so he played just about every day. Also, Encarnacion tied up the DH spot, so Stanton played the outfield.

Maybin started only 11 of the team’s final 31 games in deference to Stanton & Co., though he frequently came off the bench as a defensive replacement. He may not have played much those last few weeks, but Maybin still had value as an A+ clubhouse guy who hugged teammates after home runs and big hits, and was generally just a fun guy to root for.

“A hug is really personal. If you give a teammate or someone a hug, it lets them know you really care,” Maybin told James Wagner. “... Giving somebody a hug creates good energy. Especially when you’re around a group of guys for eight months like we are, you want to keep the energy as good and as upbeat as possible all year. When I came, I just wanted to add something new.”

In 82 regular season games with the Yankees (63 starts), Maybin hit .285/.364/.494 (127 OPS+) with a career high 11 home runs. That 127 OPS+ is his highest ever in a season in which he batted at least 40 times. He also had 17 doubles (fifth highest total of his career) in 239 plate appearances (ninth highest total of his career). Maybin was outstanding, truly.

"What a blessing it is to be part of a group like this," Maybin told Robert Aitken Jr. after the Yankees clinched the AL East title. "A group that cares about each other. A group that has a few goals. We've accomplished one and we've got another one we need to get to. This is huge, man. I've had nothing but an amazing time here and we've got some unfinished work here."

For a while there it looked like there would only be one postseason roster spot for Maybin and Tauchman, though Tauchman’s late season calf injury took care of that. Maybin was on the postseason roster as Stanton’s caddy. Stanton started all three ALDS games against the Twins in left field, and Maybin replaced him for defense in all three games. In Game 3, Maybin swatted a ninth inning solo home run against Sergio Romo to turn a 3-1 lead into a 4-1 lead. It’s his only career postseason homer (and RBI). Here’s the video.

“I like to think of myself as more than just a defensive replacement,” Maybin told Joyce after the game. “I’ve had the opportunity to have some amazing hitting coaches this year in Marcus and P.J. (Pilittere), trusting in me and believing in my work. Just a big swing right there for the team.”

To make the home run extra special, Maybin’s mother Nae Nae was in the stands for Game 3. She was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier in the year and had not seen Cameron play in person at all that season. It was her first game of 2019. Between games of a doubleheader against the Orioles on Aug. 12th, Maybin announced his mother’s cancer was in remission.

“This year, it means a lot to me to be able to go out and play in her honor, give her energy and thanks,” he said during a YES Network interview on Mother's Day (video link). “If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be the man that I am today.”

Maybin did not see much action in the ALCS loss to the Astros. He again replaced Stanton for defense in the Game 1 win, then he drew a start in Game 2 after Stanton tweaked his quad. Maybin went 1-for-2 with a walk in the loss. He did not play the rest of the series because Gardner was playing well and Hicks surprisingly returned from his elbow injury, and reached base six times in Games 3-6. Maybin went 2-for-6 with a homer, a walk, and four strikeouts in October.

After the season Maybin said he would like to re-sign with the Yankees – “I think that goes without saying,” he told Brendan Kuty – though the Yankees never showed much interest even after Hicks had Tommy John surgery. Judge was locked into right field, Gardner was quickly re-signed to play center, Tauchman had earned the fourth outfielder’s job, and the master plan was Stanton and Frazier sharing left field duty. The outfield wasn’t a priority.

“Put it like this,” Maybin told Kuty. “When you get signed out of high school as a young kid and you dream and you think what professional baseball is going to be like, and as you get into an organization and it’s nothing like that? This is what I thought it would be like, as far as the expectations, the professionalism. This is what you think big league baseball is going to be like when you’re a youth, when you imagine one day playing in the big leagues, the environment, the atmosphere. This is what you dream about. This is what you expect. You don’t get that everywhere. To have an opportunity to get that this year is a blessing for me.”

Maybin returned to the Tigers for a third stint in 2020, then was traded to the Cubs at the deadline. He spent most of 2021 in Triple-A with the Cubs and Mets, but did get into nine games with the Mets, going 1-for-28 at the plate. The one hit was an infield single (video) that ended an 0-for-27 skid, the longest hitless streak in franchise history by a non-pitcher.

At age 34, Maybin announced his retirement last week. He retired as a career .254/.323/.374 (92 OPS+) hitter with 72 home runs and 187 stolen bases in 1,162 games and 4,251 plate appearances. It adds up to +13.5 WAR, which is a fine career even if it’s not what you expect from the No. 10 pick in the draft. Maybin signed a little more than $38M in player contracts during his career and also got to 10 years of service time, locking in the full pension.

"I am the man I am today because of this game and the teams that gave a young kid from Asheville, North Carolina a chance to be great: the Tigers, Marlins, Padres, Braves, Angels, Astros, Mariners, Yankees, Cubs, and Mets,” Maybin wrote in his retirement announcement. “To the coaches, agents, mentors and most importantly, the fans, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you for your support."

"Although my journey as a professional baseball player ends here with the announcement of my retirement, my work in this game is just getting started," Maybin added. "I'm excited for what lies ahead, including my work with the Players Alliance in our effort to provide access and opportunity for the next generation of Black ballplayers."

4. Rapid fire thoughts. According to Lindsey Adler, the Yankees will name Rachel Balkovec Low-A Tampa’s new manager. It’s not official yet only because the Yankees announce their minor league coaching staffs all at once a week or two before Spring Training each year. Balkovec will be the first ever female manager in affiliated baseball. She’s been with the Yankees since 2019 and they are her third organization (Astros and Cardinals previously). She’s coached in different capacities and at different levels (including internationally), she’s fluent in analytics (she did research into hitters’ eye movements and pitchers’ hip movements at Driveline Baseball), and she’s bilingual. Balkovec is on her way up the ladder and it feels like only a matter of time until she becomes the first female Major League coach in Yankees history. Pretty cool … Mark Trumbo is among those the Yankees are considering for their suddenly vacant assistant hitting coach job, reports Kristie Ackert. Eric Chavez left last week to join the Mets as their primary hitting coach. Ackert says the Yankees want someone with big league playing experience to balance out stathead hitting coaches Dillon Lawson and Casey Dykes, and she adds Trumbo is “very well thought of and a smart and engaging communicator.” I have no opinion of Trumbo as a coach, but I know he was a popular teammate who carved out a 10-year career after hearing he didn’t have enough plate discipline to make the most of his power. Anyway, Ackert says the Yankees have cast a wide net for the assistant hitting coach job. We’ll see where it goes … And finally, a Collective Bargaining Agreement non-update: Evan Drellich (subs. req’d) says MLB is “preparing new core economic proposals” to present to the MLBPA later this month. Hopefully the proposal is reasonable enough to kick start meaningful dialogue and not one of those “we want to replace arbitration with a tip jar“ proposals that goes nowhere.

(Send your requests for Tuesday's random Yankee series and questions for Friday's mailbag to RABmailbag at gmail dot com.)