Yankees 2020 Roster Report Cards: Miscellaneous Position Players

Every team has random players at some point in a season, even the best ones. Mike Figga played in one game for the 1998 Yankees. In the road to the the franchise’s first ever championship in 1923, someone named Oscar Roettger threw 11.2 innings. No matter which year or team you look at, you’ll probably find someone who played in like two games all season.

Now, it’s time to look back at who those players were for the 2020 Yankees. No matter what you think of them, by rule, they all go down as Yankee legends.

Estevan Florial

Grade: Incomplete

2020 Statistics: 1 game, 3 plate appearances, 0 HR, 0 RBI, .333/.333/.333, 87 OPS+, .294 wOBA, 0.0 fWAR

2021 Contract Status: Pre-arbitration eligible

Not a ton can be said of Florial’s season since it consisted of one major league game and zero in the minors. However, it was cool that we got to see the MLB debut of a highly ranked Yankees prospect.

After having never played a game above High-A, Florial was called up on August 28th as the extra man for a doubleheader. He played center field and hit seventh in the first game of the day, and singled in his second at bat in the fifth inning. He returned to the alternate site after the game. However, for someone who has dealt with injuries over the past couple years, getting a major league hit had to be satisfying, even if this was the weirdest season ever.

Erik Kratz

Grade: A-

2020 Statistics: 18 games, 30 plate appearances, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .321/.367/.393, 112 OPS+, .335 wOBA, 0.3 fWAR

Bonus Pitching Stats: 2 games, 2 IP, 9.00 ERA, 17.69 FIP, 9.51 xFIP, 0.0 K/9, 0.0 BB/9, -0.1 fWAR

2021 Contract Status: Free agent, announced retirement

Thanks to his second stint as a Yankee, Kratz will go down as a genuine cult favorite. He somewhat inexplicably put up good stats. We got to see and learn about his heartwarming relationship with Deivi García. He even pitched in a game. It was fun.

After a long professional career than began all the way back in 2002, Kratz announced his retirement after the season. Some team will almost assuredly hire him in some role, and based on what we’ve seen from him, he’s probably going to be awesome at it.

Jordy Mercer

Grade: Incomplete

2020 Statistics with Yankees: 6 games, 13 plate appearances, 0 HR, 0 RBI, .182/.308/.182, 42 OPS+, .224 wOBA, 0.0 fWAR

2021 Contract Status: Free agent

Someday, you’re going to be bored on the internet and come across the 2020 Yankees Sporcle quiz. You’re going to get all the big names, but give up on some of the people who only played one game. However, there’s going to be one position player who you just can’t remember. “Who played six games that I’m totally forgetting about?” you’ll wonder. You’ll fail to remember and time will expire. Then the name will be revealed: Jordy Mercer.

The former Pirates and Tigers infielder was signed on August 17th and sent to the alternate site. Eleven days later, with the Yankees dealing with some injuries, he was called up. The only interesting thing he really did was hit a single in the ninth inning during the August 29th game against the Mets. It moved Clint Frazier to third and allowed him to score the game-winning run on a wild pitch in the next at bat. Other than that, Mercer just sorta existed. He was designated for assignment on September 1st.