The Yankees’ Next Shortstop Should Be a Shortstop
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Soon after the Yankees’ 2021 campaign came to an end, Brian Cashman conceded that Gleyber Torres is not a shortstop.
The Yankees reached that conclusion a few weeks prior—long after everyone else had—when Torres was pulled from the position in mid-September after two seasons of persistent defensive woes. He finished the year at second base, where his big league career began.
“Gleyber is best served at second base, in reality,” Cashman said. “We’ll see where that takes us.”
Common sense would suggest that that takes the Yankees to an actual shortstop this time around. Torres, by all measures, did not meet that description. His replacement, if nothing else, must.
That seems obvious, but Torres held the gig for two seasons, and the defensively-challenged Yankees made playing guys out of position a habit last year. Meanwhile, ESPN’s Buster Olney recently said that the Yankees have discussed trading for A’s third baseman Matt Chapman – so that he can play shortstop.
"Matt Chapman, for example, maybe you acquire him to be the one-year shortstop," Olney said on The Michael Kay Show. "I know he's a third baseman, he's exceptional, but if you added Matt Chapman, you would be improving your defense on the left side of the infield. And I know the Yankees have talked a little bit about this internally."
Olney only floated this as a one-year plan, presumably until top shortstop prospects Oswald Peraza or Anthony Volpe are ready. Additionally, all kinds of ideas are tossed around MLB front offices. That doesn’t mean they’re all taken seriously. “The Yankees have talked a little bit about this internally” could mean any number of things.
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That said, the above point should be reiterated: the Yankees’ next shortstop should be a shortstop, and Chapman is not a shortstop.
Chapman is an astounding third baseman. The 28-year-old has won three Gold Gloves and two Platinum Gloves in five MLB seasons, and he frequently shines atop defensive metric leaderboards and in highlight reels. Theoretically, Chapman could be an upgrade at short over Torres and Gio Urshela, the third baseman who temporarily replaced Torres last season. He could even be an excellent shortstop if given the chance. If the Yankees had to pick a third baseman to plug in at short, Chapman would be on a short list of potentially viable candidates.
But the Yankees don’t have to do that. True shortstops Carlos Correa and Trevor Story are still free agents, as are cheaper options such as José Iglesias and Andrelton Simmons if the Yankees only want a stopgap for their heralded prospects. Chapman, meanwhile, has logged just 10 big-league innings at short.
As fun as it would be to find out what he could do with a larger sample size, the Yankees shouldn’t be looking for a new experiment at the position after they were forced to end their last one prematurely.
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