It has been well-documented that this World Series lacked star power.
But you know what wasn’t lacking? Young talent and potential future stars.
Covering the first two games of the Fall Classic last weekend in Texas, it was striking how much of an impact a handful of young players were making for each team.
The Diamondbacks had plenty of them: 23-year-old outfielder Corbin Carroll, batting either leadoff or second, and flying around the bases; 23-year-old catcher Gabriel Moreno, batting third and looking more and more like an absolute steal from the Blue Jays; 23-year-old outfielder Alek Thomas, terrific in center with a bat that can play; and even 24-year-old shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, a slick defender who makes some noise in the nine-hole.
The Rangers were more veteran overall, but even they had 21-year-old outfielder Evan Carter — who didn’t make his MLB debut until Sept. 8 — batting third and posing a real threat and 25-year-old rookie third baseman Josh Jung playing solid defense with an impact bat.
As someone who was watching another team for the rest of the season, it begged the question: Where was that kind of instant young impact from the Yankees this year?
Anthony Volpe, their 22-year-old shortstop, had some quality stretches offensively (but not nearly consistently enough) and played strong defense while 20-year-old outfielder Jasson Dominguez had a great first week in the big leagues before tearing his UCL.
To be fair, not all of these cases are completely apples-to-apples comparisons. Unlike Volpe, Carroll, Moreno and Jung each got their feet wet with 25-32 games last season. The second-year Thomas had an underwhelming season offensively (though he is a Gold Glove finalist) and Perdomo also had a full year of experience under his belt coming into 2023.
Plus, young players immediately finding success in the majors is not the norm. Rookies this season averaged a slash line of .240/.310/.391 — though Dominguez’s and Wells’ slugging percentages were the only marks above those averages for the Yankees’ young crew.
Still, it has been a growing trend with the Yankees that their top prospects have too often stalled out or regressed upon reaching the majors.
They can point to Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres as success stories, but then there is Miguel Andujar, Clint Frazier, Estevan Florial, Gary Sanchez, Greg Bird, and so on.
That’s one of the many aspects the Yankees need to evaluate during their deep dive this offseason. In the meantime, here’s where their young position players stand with the offseason about to officially kick into gear with the GM Meetings beginning Tuesday in Scottsdale, Ariz.:
Anthony Volpe
The rookie shortstop had his share of ups and downs throughout the year, but showed enough defensively (he is a Gold Glove finalist) to entrench himself as the Yankees’ shortstop moving forward.
He was the first rookie in franchise history to record 20-plus homers and 20-plus steals, but the elephant in the room was that he hit just .209 with a .283 on-base percentage.
The Yankees need more consistency from him offensively — perhaps sacrificing some of the power and tendency to pull the ball for more of a gap-to-gap approach — but remain steadfast that he is capable of making the necessary adjustments.
Austin Wells
The 24-year-old arrived in September known for his bat with some questions about his future as a catcher. As much as is possible in just 19 games, Wells made a strong impression behind the plate and left the Yankees believing he can stick at catcher.
His bat also came alive late, and the fact that he hits from the left side cannot be underestimated in this lineup.
The most likely scenario is the Yankees open next season with Wells and Jose Trevino combining as a tandem behind the plate. It remains to be seen exactly how their playing time is split up — you can bet Trevino continues to catch Gerrit Cole — but pitchers did seem to enjoy throwing to Wells.
“He’s got me more excited moving forward than even before he got here,” manager Aaron Boone said on the final weekend of the regular season.
Jasson Dominguez
What Carter did for the Rangers is somewhat reminiscent of what Dominguez did for the Yankees — only the switch-hitting center fielder’s September cameo got cut short when it was revealed that he had a torn UCL.
That required Tommy John surgery, which is expected to make him unavailable to the Yankees until at least June or July. The surgery robbed Dominguez of about 20 games in September, but will also cost him the chance to have a normal spring training in which he could have possibly solidified the center field job for 2024.
Now the question is whether the Yankees have seen enough out of Dominguez that they will bring him right to the majors whenever he is healthy. How they address center field this offseason may signal which way they are leaning.
Oswaldo Cabrera
Last offseason, Cabrera looked primed to take on an important role for the Yankees after impressing in his late-season call-up in 2022. Instead, he took a step back in 2023, failing to take advantage of the chance to be the starting left fielder and hitting just .211 with a .574 OPS (even with a solid finish to the season).
With Isiah Kiner-Falefa likely leaving via free agency, the Yankees need the switch-hitting (for now at least) Cabrera to step into that regular utility role and provide better at-bats than he showed for most of this year.
Oswald Peraza
After starting a playoff game at shortstop in 2022, Peraza was expected to have the upper hand to win the starting job in spring training, only for Volpe to leap over him and nab it.
That put Peraza in a tough spot this season, going up and down between The Bronx and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and batting just .191 with a .539 OPS across 52 big league games.
For now, the 23-year-old appears headed for splitting time between third base and second base, though the Yankees also have Torres and DJ LeMahieu more worthy of at-bats at those positions.
It’s possible Peraza could be a trade candidate, but would the Yankees really move him now, when his value has taken a hit from where it was a year ago?
Peraza’s defense is major-league caliber. His bat is still a question mark.
“That’s the thing — can he get to that level to where [his mechanics] allow him to be a big league hitter? A big league everyday offensive player?” Boone said. “There’s no question in my mind defensively. There’s no question in my mind he has the offensive tools and physical tools to do that. But he’s going to have to continue to make adjustments as well.”
Everson Pereira
Of all the position players the Yankees called up from Triple-A this season, Pereira had the toughest time adjusting to big league pitching.
With a chance to show he could be a possible solution in left field, Pereira hit just .151 with a .427 OPS in 27 games (103 plate appearances). He appears ticketed to start 2024 back at Triple-A.
“Obviously, he hasn’t gotten a lot of results offensively, and in a lot of ways it’s been a struggle,” Boone said. “But I think you’ve seen some nuggets in there that get you excited. I think he’s done a great job defensively. … You see the athleticism. We haven’t gotten to see the power as far as results in the game, but it’s a guy with a lot of power. A lot of opposite-field power.
“For him, it’s going to be, can he control the strike zone at a level he needs to be successful up here and then can he bat-to-ball it enough to really be a quality big-league player? He’s got the talent, he’s got the tools. He’s put together some really good seasons now in the minor leagues to earn this opportunity. Now it’s continuing to develop, can he get to that next level? That’s what remains to be seen with a lot of these guys.”
A Bronx return for Eric Chavez?
One name worth watching as teams fill their managerial vacancies around the league: Eric Chavez.
If Chavez is not hired for one of those openings — he has said being a manager is his ultimate goal — or to become someone’s bench coach, it would make sense for the Yankees to see whether he’s interested in being their next hitting coach.
For a few weeks during the 2021-22 offseason, the Yankees had hired Chavez to be an assistant hitting coach before the Mets swooped in and hired him away as their primary hitting coach. The former Silver Slugger was then Buck Showalter’s bench coach in 2023.
But this quote from Chavez ahead of the 2022 season echoes some of what Aaron Judge was talking about the Yankees needing:
“We are the filter,” Chavez said. “We want the information to filter and when the players do get here [after the lockout], just kind of building those relationships and understanding what makes each player tick and what they need to go out and perform.”
A man of character
A year after taking home AL MVP honors, Judge won the award that may have even more meaning: the Roberto Clemente Award.
Earlier this week, Judge was named the recipient of the Clemente award, which honors the player “who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.”
Judge has plenty on his plate during the season, namely fulfilling his duties as team captain and the most important bat in the Yankees lineup. But he always does seem to find time to visit with kids and charitable groups on the field before games, in addition to his work through his ALL RISE Foundation.
The Yankees were fortunate enough to be in Pittsburgh in September for Roberto Clemente Day, when Boone touched on the significance of the award in Clemente’s name.
“I’ve talked to many people over the years that have ultimately won the Roberto Clemente Award — oftentimes great players in their own right that have won MVPs, Silver Sluggers, you name it,” Boone said. “Almost to a man, the most meaningful award they’ve ever won is the Roberto Clemente Award.”
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