Yankees Mailbag: Peraza/Volpe swap and opinions on Bauers and IKF

Good afternoon everyone, it’s time to dive back into the mailbag and answer some of your questions. Remember to send in your questions for our weekly call by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.

BFear04 asks: After Bauers’ homer the other night and his playing what do you think of Jake?

Well, a single homer doesn’t change much on Bauers’ profile, but it was overall a great game for Bauers and when he does get the bat on the ball he’s got a decent bit of pop in the bat. The problem is outside of his outburst on Thursday ... he hasn’t done much of that. Bauers is what he is — an alright bench bat for first base that can also spot up in the outfield, with the former being a far more comfortable fit defensively.

Paul M. asks: With Peraza hitting well at Triple-A, why not swap him for Volpe who needs more seasoning?

I could certainly advocate for Peraza getting another promotion back up to the bigs, as he’s been crushing it since getting sent down in the middle of the month. In his 14 games at Triple-A since, he’s picked up at least one hit in all but one of those games, and 10 of those hits have been homers. It’s clear that he’s adjusted and had a wake-up call after his poor start to the year with the Yankees, and were it not for the roster constraints of having Josh Donaldson and DJ LeMahieu both on the roster I think Peraza would be a cinch to be up by now.

That being said, I don’t think Peraza’s ascension needs to be at the expense of Volpe’s progression in the majors. Volpe isn’t struggling nearly as bad as Peraza was at this level, and is displaying that his power and speed translates well. It’s just a matter of his luck catching up to his hard contact and plate discipline, as Esteban detailed earlier this week. I don’t think this is something that Volpe would get tremendous value out of working through this in Scranton, but instead getting steady consistent play in the majors. It’s not like he’s a black hole in the lineup — he’s been far from the lowest point of the offense — and the potential for growth could lead to him being one of the most important members of the team supporting Aaron Judge and the big boppers at the top.

BFear04 also asks: Why is there all this hate on IKF he has done everything the Yanks have asked him to do. He has a good attitude and will help out any way he can.

IKF was an awkward fit for a stopgap shortstop, even though it did ultimately just last a single season, because it effectively neutered the offense and didn’t work out that well defensively either. Now that he’s moved over to a utility role and handed the starting spot over to Volpe, IKF is both less responsible for the struggles of the lineup and performing more effectively of late thanks to some adjustments he’s had time to work on. I have little to no complaints about IKF in his current role and state, but there’s understandably some lingering opinions from last year where he was put into a suboptimal position.