In 2023, the New York Yankees lacked sufficient starter quality, but this off-season, they made depth a top focus.
With Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo, general manager Brian Cashman has successfully defended two starting outfield positions. Still, the goal was always to be ready for everything and to have some competent deaf works on hand.
The Yankees have three players: Estevan Florial, whose time with the team may be coming to an end; Trent Grisham, who was acquired in the trade for Soto; and Everson Pereira, who may return to Triple-A. Not to mention Oswaldo Cabrera, a super-utility player who can play every position on the field but still needs to improve his offensive output.
The Yankees See Upside in Newly Acquired Outfielder Via Waivers
However, Cashman recently acquired right-handed outfielder Oscar Gonzalez, 25, from the Cleveland Guardians via waivers. Gonzalez, who hit.214/.239/.312 in 54 games last season, is coming off a poor campaign. He only missed one season after having an incredible 2022 season in which he collected a 125 wRC+, which indicated that he was 25% better than the average hitter. He played 83 games in Triple-A.
Gonzalez participated in 91 games in 2022, scoring.296/.327/.461. Even if his career walk rate is a dismal 3.6%, he did strike out at a respectable 19.6% pace in 2022. In his finest professional season, he blasted 11 home runs and collected 43 RBIs, but the Yankees are still trying to unlock his full potential after acquiring him.
It’s interesting to note that he had an 88.5 average exit velocity, a 7.8% barrel rate, and a 40.6% hard-hit rate for Cleveland in the previous season. Although his slugging metrics are respectable, he has trouble making reliable contact. His low walk percentage suggests that he is an aggressive hitter, yet he had severe trouble hitting offspeed pitches and fastballs. Strangely enough, he batted.246 last year against breaking balls, but.197 against fastballs and.188 against offspeed pitches.
Gonzalez appears to struggle against velocity as opposing pitchers threw fastballs 50.1% of the time, with a whiff rate of 27.3% and a put-away rate of 20.4%. That is obviously not ideal because breaking balls should have lower averages than fastballs. In contrast to a player like Anthony Volpe, who hit.248 against fastballs and.147 against breaking balls, he has the opposite issue.
It’s crucial to remember that Gonzalez had his greatest professional season in 2022 and performed admirably against fastballs. He had a.438 slugging percentage and hit.313 against them. The sharp decline might be an aberration in his tale, and the Yankees believe they can make long-term adjustments to address it.
Thankfully, he still has two minor league options, and the Yankees could want to try him out with their Triple-A affiliate in Scranton to see if he can improve things. Despite his formidable stature at 6’4″ and 240 pounds, there is still a lot of value to be found in this. It’s just up to the Yankees to unlock it.
