Yankees have a problem everyone would love to have | Lucas

The New York Yankees have a problem that any team in sports would love to have. They have too many good players. Just a couple of years ago, I was working in a clubhouse criticized for its players being too old. They had signed many good players, such as Carlos Beltran and Matt Holliday, which just seemed to be…

The New York Yankees have a problem that any team in sports would love to have.

They have too many good players.

Just a couple of years ago, I was working in a clubhouse criticized for its players being too old. They had signed many good players, such as Carlos Beltran and Matt Holliday, which just seemed to be past their prime.

Today, the Yankees have the youngest team they have had in about two decades.

A few years ago, Yankees fans probably would have been surprised to find that C.C. Sabathia and Brett Gardner had become the oldest players in the clubhouse.

However, today, the Yankees find their face in young ballplayers like Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez.

The Yankees roster is stacked with young talent, but they have too many good players at each position, and it is becoming even more difficult to make room for players returning from the disabled list.

Giancarlo Stanton came in a deal that was too tempting to resist for Brian Cashman. He is not in New York for his defensive skills, but for his bat. He is not a bad fielder, but it would be much more productive for the Yankees to use him in a role mostly at designated hitter. The Yankees would be better off playing Aaron Hicks in center field for defensive purposes. Not to mention, Hicks is a good power hitter, and can draw walks, making it difficult to keep him out of the lineup on a daily basis.

The outfield situation particularly came to a head on Wednesday, when the Yankees announced they would be recalling Clint Frazier from Triple-A Scranton after spending months on the disabled list. In 39 games in his first season last year, Frazier recorded four home runs and 17 RBI, while playing a stellar center field. His biggest moment came with his walk-off three-run homer against the Milwaukee Brewers on a Sunday afternoon in the Bronx. In his time at Scranton recovering from a concussion, he hit .362. He will return in the series in Kansas City this weekend.

In the infield, Didi Gregorius is the player who does not look like he is going anywhere anytime soon. Hitting in between Judge and Stanton, Gregorius has received the best pitches to hit, and he has taken advantage, even claiming early MVP consideration.

However, Brandon Drury and Greg Bird’s injuries opened the door for Miguel Andujar and Tyler Austin, respectively. Both homegrown prospects, Andujar and Austin have emerged in the latter half of the lineup. Since Drury’s migraines and blurred vision placed him on the disabled list on April 7, Andujar has hit .284 with three home runs, to go along with a .967 fielding percentage at third base. His biggest moment came with a walk-off RBI single against the Minnesota Twins a couple of weeks ago.

Bird, an excellent power-hitter, seemed to be ready to return to the major leagues full time this season after missing over 100 games last year and all of the 2016 season. His hair-raising home run off Andrew Miller in the American League Division Series gave Yankee fans hope that he would become what they had expected of him, as he hit three homers and drove in six RBI last postseason.

However, he had ankle surgery near the end of spring training, sitting him out for 6 to 8 weeks. Bird started his rehabilitation assignment on Monday at Double-A Trenton, so he should be back within a few weeks if everything goes well. Austin has hit for a low .241 average entering yesterday, but he has six homers, 19 RBI, and a solid .993 fielding percentage, showing his fielding skills can complement Bird’s power once he returns.

All of these things show that the Yankees will have a dilemma when these players return. However, the Yankees biggest need seems to be at the back end of their rotation. Sabathia and Luis Severino both have ERAs below 2.30, and have been excellent. Jordan Montgomery looks more like the way he did before the All-Star break last season, as his 3.62 ERA is still good.

However, Masahiro Tanaka has an ERA of 4.73, and Sonny Gray’s ERA has gone over 6. Tanaka may return to form like he did in the playoffs last year, but the Yankees need one more starter to make their team complete. With that, the roster’s talent surplus may come in handy later when Brian Cashman starts to make calls at the trade deadline.