Cashman: *When* Jeter Moves From SS, He’d Be My Pick For CF
Via ESPN.com -
If 36-year-old Derek Jeter doesn’t last at shortstop for the length of his new four-year contract, New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman thinks Jeter is best suited for a switch to center field.
“I like corner outfielders and corner infielders who have power, so for me, if he’s ever gonna move, it’s probably gonna be a Robin Yount situation. But we don’t have to deal with it at this point,” Cashman said Tuesday. “We’ll deal with it when we have to.”
This offseason, almost immediately after Jeter signed a three-year, $51 million deal with an option for a fourth year, speculation centered on whether the longtime Yankee could play shortstop for the life of the contract. Cashman said that he would “be surprised” if Jeter stays there for the duration, “but that doesn’t mean it’s not possible.”
“I know he’s working hard to put himself in that position,” Cashman told WFAN’s Mike Francesa at a breakfast appearance at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York.
“Jeter’s our shortstop, period,” Cashman added.
Typical Cashman. Only he would move a player in his extreme late ’30′s to center field. Note that Yount was 29-years old when he made the switch from SS to CF.
…and then Yount remained the Brewers regular CF until age 37.
Then he retired.
Derek Jeter can barely play SS so I don’t see how he can play CF. Hopefully Derek Jeter never plays a single inning of a single meaningful game in the OF in Yankee pinstripes.
MJ Recanati wrote:
I agree but what are our options, really, now that he is signed for at least three more years? DH? He wouldn’t be your prototypical DH either. The fact of the matter is, if he weren’t Derek Jeter, the Yankees would have let him walk, just like they did with Bernie and Matsui. We can only pray that he plays a sufficient SS for the next three years and continues to hit to a .300 BA.
@ LMJ229:
Right, that’s my point. He shouldn’t play CF at all. If he has to play at all, he should remain at SS.
To me, the day he can’t play SS regularly is the day you put him on the bench and force his hand to retirement or demanding a trade. You can’t just coddle an old, incapacitated Jeter on the basis that once upon a time ago he was a great player and you sure as hell can’t stick him in the OF because DH and 1B are occupied.
Life does not revolve around Jeter. If he’s truly committed to winning, he’ll have to accept the bench role one day.
MJ Recanati wrote:
Amen.
MJ Recanati wrote:
We lost this battle the day the Yankees decided to go for a three-year deal, much less the easy-option fourth year. Management failed to keep winning in the forefront during the negotiations. The team will be saddled with the albatross of a bad deal for a declining player who clogs the roster and weakens the defense at a critical position. When that day comes — and I have said from the first it won’t be any later than year three of the deal — expect to hear the new organizational mantra that “Jeter’s intangibles and leadership outweigh his diminshed performance on the field.” In fact, I suspect the Steinbrenner boys and Levine are already practicing saying it in the mirror every morning.
If anything, I would guess that Jeter would be moved to LF. His bat won’t really profile at DH. The Jeter in CF ship sailed back in 2004-5; I’d be very surprised if that happens. I don’t think he has the arm to play 3B or RF. I doubt that they’d flip Cano and Jeter at the keystone.
This season will see where we are in relation to Jeter’s defense @ short, and the urgency, if any, to move him off the position.
FWIW, Gardner will be cost controlled, Granderson (2013 option) and Swisher (2012 option) will be at or near the end of their contracts. Too much is happening down the line to speculate; there may be a new GM, there may be a strong FA class, a trade may be made to fill a hole, someone may step up from the minors, someone may get hurt, etc, etc, etc.
Raf wrote:
In almost any other ballpark, I could see it. In “Death Valley” — even the abridged version we have now, as compared to the pre-74 renovations — is not a place where I’d hide Derek Jeter at age 37 or older. If career OF’ers like Matsui and Damon couldn’t quite hack it out there, I don’t see why Jeter would be able to.
My scenario would be moving Jeter to 3B and DHing ARod. Maybe it isn’t the optimal choice but I don’t see Jeter in the OF and I don’t see him at DH, and 1B and 2B aren’t options.
More on what Cash said today:
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/01/25/brian-cashman-is-dropping-some-moderate-sized-bombs-this-morning/
Heard that he also said that he told Posada that he would only catch in emergency situations – thus, the Yanks will carry 3 catchers this season, in a sense, with Posada on the roster. Does that make sense?
Steve Lombardi wrote:
Yes, in this context it does. Posada has become a full-time DH; the Yankees have decided he cannot catch anymore on a regular basis, which includes a rotation. The catching chores will be handled primarily by Martin, with Cervelli as the back-up unless and until Montero is ready. In reality the situation is not much different than the one at the start of 2010, when Nick Johnson was a full-time DH who could occasionally fill in at first. A DH who does not play the field hampers roster flexibility a little, but many AL teams find themselves doing this.
Jim TreshFan wrote:
I thought about that one but A-Rod has become a pretty decent 3B and, after having watched him transition from SS to 3B, I realized that the move is not as easy as one would think. I guess we’ll see …
I really don’t understand why the Yankees signed Jeter to more than a two-year deal. I don’t mind offering him a higher annual salary than what he would get on the open market but the contract length is a real issue for me. My understanding is that the fourth year is a player option so it is basically a four-year deal. That is way too much.
There’s something up with Cashman. I mentioned this over the weekend, he has been featured several times on Hot Stove and seemed off his game on each occasion. Brian knows how to handle questions, this response makes no sense whatsoever. Anyone who would suggest moving a 38 or 39 year old player who has spent his career at short to centerfield knows nothing about baseball. Brian was no fan of the Jeter contract, I think he’s thumbing his nose at the Yankee ownership group. It looks more and more like he is getting ready to exit.
Jim TreshFan wrote:
I don’t think Jeter has the arm for 3B.
LMJ229 wrote:
I don’t either. No sensible person can rationalize the decision to keep Jeter around for three more years, let alone four years, at the money he’s making. It was an absurd contract.
Steve Lombardi wrote:
I thought that was the plan all along?
Joseph Maloney wrote:
Nothing wrong with throwing an idea out there.
Raf wrote:
so did I …
I think Scout summarized it best.
Joseph Maloney wrote:
Agreed
Joseph Maloney wrote:
Not a very classy way to exit if that is the case.
Pure gold:
NYPost_Kernan on Twitter: With Jeter in CF some day love how Brian Cashman sees corner OFs as power positions, that explains why slugger Brett Gardner is #Yankees LF
Steve Lombardi wrote:
Could also explain why Swisher, Teix & Rodriguez are manning their current positions
Theres only one position he can play when he moves off SS besides being the DH. That’s 3b.
In two/three years, when it is obvious to everyone, except perhaps Jeter, that he can no longer handle shortstop, his hitting will be too diminished to hold any other regular job.
At that point, the only practical regular position for Jeter will be left…
…left out of the lineup.