Voit, Rizzo or Olson. The Comparison Featuring Statistics. @YankeesScoop

 What peaks the Yanks interest in Olson so much? Well to figure that out we have to take a deep dive into the stats and the money. Its really easy to look at WAR and make decisions based on that but that’s not the whole story. Its no secret that the Yankees like Rizzo but at what cost? Are they willing to go over the Cubs five-year, $70 million contract extension? The Yankees are pressed to make some pretty big moves this year to turn around their embarrassing organizational failures and the unsteadiness of the fans as they extend Boone. Something the Yankees care about more than anything is the money they have to work with to get this done. If Rizzo is looking for more than 14 million a year that would tax the Yankees budget pretty hard. Olson on the other hand has control up until his free agent year 2024. Olson would either hit arbitration or be given money to avoid arbitration. If Olson underperforms it would not hurt the Yankees checkbook the same way it would with Rizzo. If Olson was to perform like he did last year and years prior, they would have picked up a player that increases their odds of winning while spending less at first base. Allowing for money to be allocated elsewhere. Sure they would probably be charged pretty harshly by the A’s , but the time for winning is now. Olson is everything the Yankees wanted Greg Bird to be.

Lets dive into some sabermetrics, I’ve heard people say Voit is still a great option for the Yankees. That’s simply not the case according to the stats and health concerns. Voit doesn’t make much and performed in 2019 and helped carry the Yankees 2020 during the shortened season. Voit hit 22 homeruns in just 56 games during the shortened season. That’s pretty incredible. The 2019 season he hit 21 homeruns over the span of 118 games. That’s a little more down to earth. Also we can’t fault Voit for the amount of games in 2020 but something to note is that the 2019 season was his longest season played. Since than he has battled with a long lasting knee problem. He had four stints on the IL in 2019. They are as follows. Left knee surgery in March , Oblique strain in May , Left knee inflammation in July and Left knee again in September. Voit’s health will remain an unknown for the 2022 season and going forward. Lets look at what the organization may not like about Voit when he IS on the field. I will be comparing Voits 2019 season to Olson and Rizzo’s ’21 seasons. Voit has nearly double the strike out percentage than both Olson and Rizzo. Voit had the lowest bases taken when compared to the group, Voit obviously not known for his baserunning abilities but something to keep in mind. Especially when many fans complained they were tired of seeing an “unathletic” team. Voit had the lowest productive out percentage among the group. Scored in the least amount of baserunners when given the opportunity. Put balls in play 52% of the time , Rizzo 68% and Olson 63%. That pretty much wraps up my summary as to why the Yankees may not have liked Voit too much as the team struggled. However for those who love WAR , he had the lowest out of the group.

 So how much better is Olson than Rizzo? Well I guess it depends on what stats we look at. Certainly Rizzo’s upcoming contract vs Olson’s team control makes this comparison a lot easier depending on what the Yankees would have to give up. Olson has a 17% chance of hitting a HR on a fly ball. Rizzo only 10%. Surely in Yankee Stadium that would increase with his tailor made short porch swing. We all know how much this organization has prioritized players hitting homeruns lately. Most of Olson’s homeruns were hit to right field when you look at a spray chart some were just missing which would have been out in Yankee Stadium based on distance. He also had way more walks than Voit or Rizzo. Olson has the highest .SLG (Slugging Percentage) , Olson also has better defensive metrics than Voit and Rizzo…including range. Olson is in most ways better than an already aging and declining Rizzo. The question to be answered is what will it take to pry him from the A’s someone Cashman has done many dealings with before. Whether its Rizzo or Olson Yankee fans have nothing to worry about at first if one of them is on the ’22 team. However one thing is certain, Voit will not be the Yankees 1st baseman and most likely won’t spend another day in pinstripes.