Yankees Making the Team Meter: Hitters - Week Three

We’re inching closer to Opening Day and only one of these Making the Team Meter updates remains after today. Jason brought us up to speed on the pitchers in Yankees camp this morning, but the Yankees’ position player mix was thrown into a bit of a loop with the news that Didi Gregorius was returning from the World Baseball Classic with an injury.

So most of the updates from today’s MTTM stemmed from Didi’s hematoma, though Mason Williams and Jorge Mateo were both cut from camp this week. They were assigned to Scranton and Tampa, respectively, which would be logical places for them to begin 2017. For the rest of the players on the fringe still in camp however, here’s the key and meter:

Although not much has changed, Didi’s injury has caused some minor ripple effects. Ronald Torreyes was always in a terrific position to make the Opening Day roster since he can cover shortstop and didn’t spend a day in the minor leagues last year, but since there’s even a slight chance that Gregorius isn’t 100 percent, that should lock it up. The team certainly likes him enough that he should be around.

The injury also allowed each of Pete Kozma, Ruben Tejada, and most intriguingly, Tyler Wade, to bump up from yellow to light green on the meter. The odds are still probably good that that Gregorius recovers in time for Opening Day and none of them are needed on the MLB roster, but they have a better chance than they did last week. It would be fun to see Wade get a shot. He’s played more games than anyone in camp, the Yankees like his versatility, and he absolutely offers more intrigue than Kozma or Tejada. Since he hasn’t played in Triple-A yet though, the veterans probably have a better chance.

Elsewhere, Greg Bird, Aaron Judge, and Austin Romine all look set for Opening Day. Rob Refsnyder’s on the outside looking in, though there’s a scenario where the Yankees start Torreyes or shift Starlin Castro to shortstop in wake of the Gregorius injury and perhaps Refsnyder steps in. (His dismal showing in camp isn’t helping him though.) Gleyber Torres is still murdering baseballs, though he’s not going to be in that Didi replacement mix. He should see some time above A-ball first, and Wade’s existence allows the Yankees to plug him in if needed and still give development time to their top prospect.

It’d be great to see a little more Clint Frazier before camp breaks, just because he would be an excellent midseason call-up candidate. He even homered in the past week! Time for some more #RedThunder.

What do you think of the hitters in camp so far?