The good news for the Yankees is that despite playing awful for over a month, they aren’t the worst in baseball. Of course, that stigma falls on a woeful team from the South Side. Their only real rival is the 1962 Mets.
The bad news is that the Yankees are really just a two-man offensive line. As I pointed out to Mets troll and truther Luis Severino, his former team not only had two “good” hitters, but two of the best hitters of all time, but as he said, we all know two doesn’t get the job done. This isn’t tennis.
Even Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig needed supporting actors, as did the greats Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. That’s where I come in.
To be fair, two of the four solutions I proposed are currently Yankees employees, so I’m not putting too much effort into it here, but anyway, here’s the Heyman Plan: four ways to beef up their brutal offensive power.
1. Giancarlo Stanton is expected to return on Monday and should immediately be inserted as the cleanup hitter, but unfortunately for the Bronx Bombers as the team stands, this is an embarrassment.
Their cleanup hitter has been the worst this year, but it’s been especially bad since their shocking slump began on June 15. Since they went from the best team in baseball to the worst, their cleanup hitters are batting .164/.219/.258, even worse than their .204/.269/.324 this season. The lack of a cleanup hitter may also be affecting Judge, who was walked four times in one game by manager Carlos Mendoza, the first manager to employ a strategy that worked for Judge.
2. The Martian could be coming to the Yankees in a week or two. Jason Dominguez may be a strange savior, with little track record and recent injuries. But everyone thinks he has a lot of potential. He has only 31 at-bats in the major leagues, but he has four home runs. Dominguez was rostered by Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes-Barre on Friday and should join the Yankees as a full-time player as soon as possible.
Upon arrival, Dominguez would be my plan to replace benched Alex Verdugo in left field. I’m sad to suggest this, but we have no choice right now, as Verdugo, a renowned quote machine, hasn’t had a hit in weeks. I know he was highly rated by Aaron Boone and was the lead dog early in the season, but reality is starting to sink in.
Honestly, this is Alex Cora’s year. The Boston manager just signed him to a new, record-breaking $21.75 million three-year contract, but Verdugo, his former thorn, remains a mystery. Verdugo started well, but since June 15 he’s batting just .149 and is lacking confidence, so he brought him up to bat on a sacrifice bunt and brought in defensive specialist catcher Carlos Navaez, who has only been at the plate twice (Navaez struck out). Either way, it’s time to see if the Martian lives up to the lofty expectations.
3. At third base, it’s not going to stay that way. They have three very solid backup/utility players in DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera and a recovering Jon Berti. And then there’s JD Davis, who’s had a bad year and is in the red this year (six RBIs total). There’s no one obvious candidate, but there are a lot of possibilities, including:
Ryan McMahon: He’s clearly the best outside option, but the Rockies have told him, and everyone who asks, that he’s unavailable.
Jonathan India: I like him, but unfortunately, he has two more years left on his contract, which makes the Reds like him even more and aren’t going to trade him unless they pay a huge amount of money.
Luis Rengifo: He is a versatile player who could also switch to second base if the Yankees let Gleyber Torres go at the end of the year.
Jazz Chisholm: He would prefer to move back to the infield (source), but speculation is that he could really shine if he emerges from the Marlins mess. He’s comfortable at second base, but could move to third. The Pirates and Mariners are also in the running.
Matt Chapman: The Giants now appear to be considering a sale, but are believed to want to retain key defensive players who are available to opt out at the end of this season.
Yandy Diaz: He’s back, and the Rays are clearly selling players. Zach Eflin is the fourth Rays player to be traded to the rival Orioles, unfortunately. Eflin played third base from 2020-2022.
Isaac Paredes: The Rays are still listening to all the players who haven’t been finalized, but it’s concerning that all 69 of his home runs with the Rays were written off, so Yankee Stadium isn’t the perfect spot (Houston would be a better choice with the Crawford Box closer).
Four. Maybe take a shot at Vladimir Guerrero Jr. They could probably get by with eager rookie Ben Rice at first base, and nobody thinks the Blue Jays, who were reluctant to even trade Chris Bassitt and Kevin Gausman, would trade Guerrero with a year left on his contract, especially to a division rival. But it’s worth asking. A significant upgrade should be the goal.
