With Mark Teixeira hurt and Greg Bird (seen above) recovering from right torn labrum shoulder surgery, the Yankees signed first baseman Ike Davis. AP Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
In some baseball news, the Yankees made it official signing Ike Davis today. The 29-year old veteran first baseman once was a first round pick of the Mets in the 2008 MLB Draft out of Arizona State, going number 18 overall.
After some initial success in Queens highlighted by slugging 32 home runs and driving in 90 runs at age 25 in ’12, he fell out of favor. Skipper Terry Collins and the Mets organization preferred Lucas Duda, who I got to see when he played for the Brooklyn Cyclones in the New York-Penn League. Eventually, the Mets traded Davis to the Pirates in 2014 where he hit 10 dingers with 46 RBI’s. He moved on to Oakland last year and only got into 74 games, hitting .229 with three homers and 20 RBI’s.
It’s been a dramatic fall for Davis. He was cut by the Texas Rangers this past weekend. Facing a uncertain situation at first, the Yanks signed him. With Mark Teixeira sidelined indefinitely with torn cartilage in the right knee which he won’t have surgery on, the Yankees thought they had a temporary solution with Chris Parmelee. But following a good start that included a two-homer game, he strained his right hamstring while making a stretch at first. That forced general manager Brian Cashman to act fast.
With Rob Refsnyder still learning first and not hitting as frequently, it made sense to bring in a proven vet. Davis has never been more than a career .239 hitter. He has a good track record of getting on base due to a good eye. But the inconsistency at the plate is why he’s now bounced around the majors. This will be his fourth roster. He never played for Texas. Instead, he played for their Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock of the Pacific Coast League going .268-4-25 in 39 games. Now, he’ll have maybe one last chance on a major league ball club. Making room for him on the 25-man roster, Chad Green was sent down.
Injuries change plans. In baseball, you can never have enough depth. The Yankees are being tested. Had Greg Bird not needed off-season surgery to repair a torn right shoulder labrum, none of this would be necessary. In 46 games as a rookie call-up from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last year, the 22-year old hit 11 home runs with 31 RBI’s. He also batted .261 and had a solid .343 on-base percentage. Unfortunately, he’s out for the season. Even if he had been healthy, he would’ve been in Triple-A prior to Teixeira’s injury and struggles. In 188 plate appearances, he was hitting .188 with three homers and 12 RBI’s.
With an inconsistent offense, the Yankees were counting on a healthy Teixeira to supply power in the middle of the order. Considering that he hit 31 dingers and knocked in 79 in 111 games last year, the expectation was that he could again go for 30-plus home runs and drive in 100. Instead, the 36-year old hasn’t been the same in a walk year. He could return by the end of the month. Though I wouldn’t count on it. Especially with torn cartilage.
It’s not like the Yanks are going anywhere. After white washing the hapless Mike Trout Angels in a four-game sweep, they dropped the final two home games against the mediocre Tigers. That included getting shutdown by former Mets farmhand Michael Fulmer in a 4-1 loss on Old-Timer’s Day. Even with Michael Pineda pitching better of late allowing two earned yesterday, the Yankee bats were silent.
As a team, they’re hitting .242 which ranks 12th in the American League. The league average is .254. They also don’t get on base consistently. Even with the 1-2 punch of Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner coming on, they rank second to last in the AL with a .306 OBP. It doesn’t help that Carlos Beltran is the only consistent power threat. The ageless wonder leads the Bronx Bombers in home runs (16) and RBI’s (44) by a wide margin. Alex Rodriguez has seven homers and 21 RBI’s in 133 at bats. Brian McCann has just eight dingers and 22 knocked with a .222 average in 193 at bats.
Starlin Castro has produced in his first season at second hitting nine dingers and 25 RBI’s. But the former Cub has never been consistent which explains his .286 OBP and .253 average. There just isn’t much consistency from an everyday lineup that includes veteran third baseman Chase Headley, who is stuck on three home runs and 13 RBI’s with a .240 average. You get the picture.
The Yanks are 31-32 in fourth place in the AL East. They trail first place Baltimore and Boston by five and a half games. Each big slugging teams are 10 games over .500 with identical 36-26 records. Toronto has righted the ship and are 35-30 and only two and a half back. Considering the way the Orioles and Red Sox bash the ball, they can overcome shaky pitching. The Blue Jays have actually been carried by their starting pitching. A surprise. All three teams are stronger than a weak hitting Yankee team that doesn’t have great pitching.
Even with a lock down bullpen, they should strongly consider moving either Andrew Miller or Aroldis Chapman before next month’s trade deadline. Quite a few contenders could use power lefties who can close games. The Giants and Cubs are at the top of the list. We’ll see what direction the Yankees take in the next few weeks.
