Isiah Kiner-Falefa showed his outfield inexperience on Thursday night, as a bad route on a line dreve led to two runs instead of a much-needed out for Luis Severino.
Kiner-Falefa has been valuable in a utility role this season, but Keith McPherson says the Yankees’ reliance on him for consistent outfield playing time highlights their negligence to add a reliable left fielder in the offseason.
“We know what the problems are, but they’ll consistently do some of the same things and expect different results,” Keith said. “Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
“You needed a left fielder the last three years. You needed one in the offseason. But you told us Aaron Hicks is working real hard in the offseason, he’s gonna have a bounceback year. Oswaldo Cabrera, the young guy showed up for a month at the end of the season last year, but he’s also a kid. He’s a spark, but he’s also not an outfielder. He played most of his minor league games in the infield. But yeah, that’s good enough. We’re not gonna go sign anybody. We’re gonna have all of these spring training invites. Rafael Ortega, Willie Calhoun, Billy McKinney, Jake Bauers.”
The Yankees have been starved for quality outfield play at the corners this season, especially with Aaron Judge on the shelf for the foreseeable future. But the Yanks believed in Hicks, it backfired, and they have been scrambling for replacements ever since.
“Injuries are gonna hit the Yankees like they always do,” Keith said. “And there’s gonna be a carousel of random guys in left field.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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