SSTN Mailbag: Berti, First Base, And The Bullpen!

My day job brought me to Syracuse. While that may not sound particularly exhilarating, it's a city I know very well, so there is a comfort and routine that I'm normally able to follow. I've been coming here with varying degrees of frequency for 9+ years now, and in all of that time, I had never gone to see the AAA Syracuse Mets. That's not really for lack of trying; every time I'd look up tickets on a rare night where I wasn't otherwise engaged, the team was either on the road or it rained.

As luck would have it, the stars finally aligned on Wednesday night, and not only did I get to go to a game, but that game was against the AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre Rail Riders! To say that I was a kid in a candy store is an understatement. I got seats behind home plate for an incredibly reasonable price, I didn't spend an arm or a leg on the combination of food (no matter what else is available, I think it should be mandatory to have a hot dog or two at a ballgame) and parking, stadium staff were accommodating and friendly, and I got to see almost every young and rehabbing Yankee I wanted to see in one visit. Oh, and it was a gorgeous night, which makes baseball that much better.

I'll have a fuller write-up of the game this weekend, but it was illuminating on a lot of levels. Among the players you'll see featured in that write-up include: John Berti, Jasson Dominguez, Oswald Peraza, Jorbit Vivas, Ben Rice, JC Escarra, TJ Rumfield, Tanner Tully, Lou Trivino, and Ian Hamilton. You'll also get some brief thoughts on some young Mets prospects I saw. It was a great night to see a game, and I also happened to observe some interesting tid-bits for our readers here. A total win-win.

As always, thanks for the great questions and keep them coming to SSTNReadermail@gmail.com. In this week's SSTN Mailbag, we'll talk about Jon Berti, first base, and the bullpen! Let's get at it:

David asks: When Jon Berti is ready to return to the team, what do you think his role will be? He was originally going to at least share 3b, but with Jazz over there and Gleyber hitting, it doesn't seem likely anymore.

Jon Berti was one of the guys I saw down in Scranton on Wednesday night, and it was fun to remember why many of us were pleased by his arrival via trade at the end of Spring Training. I don't want to give away too much from my weekend post, but Berti's at-bats are as professional as they come. He takes pitches just off the edge of the plate, shows good patience, and at least on Wednesday, hits the ball where it's pitched. When he swings, he generally makes contact. He bats from the right side, which should help the Yankees against left-handed pitching, their performance against whom has been a season-long struggle.

Among the most interesting aspects of Jon Berti's return is where he'll play. On Wednesday night, I was shocked to see him playing LF. I had forgotten that he had played outfield in the past, and there is certainly room for Berti in LF. I have been pounding the table since Verdugo's acquisition that he needed a platoon partner against left-handed pitching, and he's continued to prove that point throughout this season. As bad as Verdugo has been against righties, he has been markedly worse against lefties. Berti would help alleviate that issue, though maybe not as well as some of the platoon trade targets I noted in June and July.

Berti can be a platoon left fielder, a defensive replacement for Jazz Chisholm Jr. or Gleyber Torres (with a switch placing Jazz at 2B and Berti at 3B), a late-inning pinch runner, and even a pinch hit option against tough lefty relievers. There's a clear role for Berti. More interestingly, that role illuminates just how far DJ LeMahieu has fallen. Outside of platooning at 1B, I can't come up with a good reason to keep DJLM over Berti. That's sad, because I believe DJ gives every ounce of what he has, but it's true. I don't expect the Yankees to make the right choice from a baseball perspective by DFA'ing DJ, but it's likely the right move from a pure baseball perspective.

Fuster asks: next year, who's on first? assuming that it isn't Rizzo, are there likely to be any good two-way first basemen available for acquisition or are the Yankees best served by employing someone already in the organization?

That's going to be a very interesting storyline this winter. I agree that Rizzo isn't the answer, but there also aren't a lot of great answers for 1B out there. Christian Walker is the only free agent 1B I see that is of any interest, but he's also becoming a free agent heading into his age-34 season, so I don't know how many years I'm really willing to go to secure Walker's services. Walker is a premium defender with good offense from the right-side, but first basemen in their mid-30s tend to fall off of the performance cliff suddenly. The Yankees will hopefully retain Soto's services for the foreseeable future this winter, and given Hal's spending history, I would expect that there will not be a lot leftover for other free agents.

Moving internally, I was disappointed that Ben Rice didn't get a fuller shot. He got a fairly quick hook after he fell into a slump following the three homer game, and I think his bat has enough upside to possibly be part of the answer at 1B. That said, Rice looked really, really bad in multiple ways when I saw him on Wednesday night, so I'm not sure I want to count on him going into next season. TJ Rumfield has an excellent glove at 1B, and he makes gobs of contact. Unfortunately, he's still tweaking his swing to find more lift. I don't know that I would project more than 15 HR for Rumfield at the big league level right now, which puts a lot of pressure on him to make tons of contact and show patience at the plate. That's a lot to ask from a rookie.

Given those options, I can't help but think the Yanks might look to the trade market to acquire a 1B. I continue to dream about acquiring Vladito, but I think an under the radar, young 1B might be the play via trade. There aren't many out there, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Yankees try to find one half of a platoon or a young player with promising peripherals. I need more time to think about who fits those molds.

Michael asks: What can the Yankees do to the bullpen for the playoffs?

I've been asked some version of this question multiple times in the last couple of weeks. The hard answer is that while change is coming to the bullpen, there are no silver bullets in all likelihood. Ian Hamilton and Lou Trivino have enough stuff to help in the middle innings, and possibly even late in games depending on how their command rounds into form. I also think it's entirely likely that 2 starters head to the bullpen for the playoffs. I think Nestor is a very interesting option out of the bullpen, and I have come around on the idea that one of Gil or Schmidt should move back to the bullpen sometime in September.

That's a lot of movement, but I don't know if it will be enough. I think the Yankees are going to have to lean hard on their starters in the playoffs, but the evidence suggests that's a tall order for this group. The Yankees have to hope that all of the aforementioned guys suddenly find their peak performance in the next month.