The Yankees beat the Red Sox last night and are looking for a series win this afternoon as Hiroki Kuroda takes on John Lackey. Mark Reynolds made his Yankee debut last night and Alfonso Soriano continued to collect all the RBI, but today is a new day. The Yankees send out their lineup:
#Yankees lineup vs BOS: Gardner CF, Ichiro RF, Cano 2B, Soriano LF, Rodriguez 3B, Granderson DH, Nunez SS, Overbay 1B, Stewart C, Kuroda P
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 17, 2013
The duo of Brett Gardner and Ichiro Suzuki are back on top of the lineup, while Robinson Cano, Alfonso Soriano, and Alex Rodriguez make up the heart of the order. Facing a right-hander, Vernon Wells and Mark Reynolds are out of the lineup, so instead Curtis Granderson is the DH and Lyle Overbay is back at first base. Eduardo Nunez is sandwiched between the two and Chris Stewart brings up the rear as usual.
It looks like Reynolds and Overbay will split time at first base and Granderson and Wells will split time in the outfield or at DH, depending on lefty/righty match ups. Chris Stewart will just play all the time, no matter what.
Jose Abreu has defected from Cuba and now it's only a matter of time before he's declared a free agent and allowed to sign with a team. He's 26 and put up even better numbers in Cuba than Yasiel Puig or Yoenis Cespedes, so many teams are going to be interested. The problem is that he only plays first base or DH. That won't be a problem for teams like the Mets, Rangers, Pirates, and other teams who don't have a solid player already locked in at the position, but it will make things difficult for the Yankees because of Mark Teixeira.
Brian Cashman has been gun shy about pursuing international free agents like Puig, Cespeds, and Yu Darvish, and each has proved to be a wise investment for their team, even if they are expensive. In a bubble, it would be a good thing for the Yankees to grab a young offensive powerhouse at a time where the core has gotten old and no prospects have arrived to replace them.
Unfortunately, it has been said that the bidding for him will likely reach $60 million and over, which is not only a lot to pay for a first baseman with no experience in Major League Baseball, but also a lot to pay for a designated hitter, since Tex isn't going anywhere. It would be nice to see the Yankees take an active approach in big name international free agents, but this might not be the time for such a deal. Until the contracts of Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and Mark Teixeira get off the books, the Yankees might not go big on anyone at all unless it's Robinson Cano.