Yankees Acquire Mariners SS Brendan Ryan as Insurance for Derek Jeter
September 10, 2013 · Chris Stephens · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
In a surprising move, the New York Yankees acquired shortstop Brendan Ryan from the Seattle Mariners.
While Ryan won’t be eligible for the postseason because he wasn’t with the Yankees on Sept. 1, it does bring into question whether there is a bigger concern about Derek Jeter.
Jeter underwent a CT scan on Sept. 7 on his surgically repaired left ankle, according to ESPN New York’s Ian Begley. The results came back negative, but Jeter still isn’t on the field.
Instead, he’s still officially listed as day-to-day, according to David Waldstein of the New York Times.
With that said, Ryan gives the Yankees extra insurance in the season’s final 17 games as they push for the playoffs. After all games were finished Tuesday, the Yankees sat two games back for the second wild card.
So, having Ryan would obviously be better than Eduardo Nunez, right?
Comparisons
The Yankees obviously spoke to their confidence in Nunez by making this move. But let’s look deeper into the numbers:
Note: Defensive stats are just at shortstop.
The numbers show Nunez is actually better at the plate, while Ryan has a little more range. Both have made the same amount of errors, so nobody has the advantage there.
When looking at these numbers, I don’t see how (other than as insurance in case Nunez gets injured) Ryan is an upgrade at shortstop.
It’s nice to see the Yankees making moves to help them to get to the finish line, but it seems this is more of a knee-jerk reaction than anything else.
I’ll be interested to see who is the player to be named later.
The Bigger Issue
This move does show there is a bigger issue in New York.
What if Jeter will never be able to be back at full health again? What if his body has finally given out?
Is it a move that signals the Yankees could be going after a free agent at shortstop this offseason? Maybe we’ll see Jhonny Peralta in pinstripes next year, because it seems he won’t be going back to Detroit with Jose Iglesias now in town.
Could Yankees fans bear to lose both Jeter and Mariano Rivera in one year? All that would leave them is Andy Pettitte for the “Core Four,” who still could come back next year, even at 42.
Things are changing in the Bronx, and fans are going to have to come to terms with the fact that the Jeter of old is gone for good. Once that is realized, the healing process will begin.
Until then, knee-jerk moves to get players like Ryan to put a warm body in a hole on the field will continue to happen.
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