The Yankees lineup for Monday’s series opener against the Guardians included Willie Calhoun at DH and Franchy Cordero in left field, batting fifth and seventh, respectively.
Elsewhere, the struggling Isiah Kiner-Falefa got the start at third base, and picked up his first hit of the season in a 1-for-3 night where the Yanks couldn’t generate any offense after the first inning in a 3-2 loss.
For Keith McPherson, the Yankees’ failure to generate more runs after the opening frame, and the underwhelming names in the back end of the lineup, is another sign of the team’s “bargain bin” shopping coming back to bite them early in the season.
“I knew for a fact that they weren’t gonna sign a left fielder and bring [Aaron] Hicks back and say ‘Oh, he worked out really hard in the offseason,’ and then they were gonna go to the clearance rack and sign a bunch of bargain bin guys, and they did,” Keith said. “Willie Calhoun deserves a shot because of what he did in spring training, but does he deserve a shot this early, at DH, batting fifth behind Stanton?”
Hicks did not play on Monday, and has seen sparing playing time after a disastrous 2022 season, but one in which the Yankees did not follow up by signing a new outfielder or swinging a trade for Bryan Reynolds, and Keith says it will haunt the Yankees as it did on Monday.
“Franchy Cordero and Willie Calhoun being in this lineup, that means the bargain bin guys that you signed…yes, the guys you found on the clearance rack are better than the guy you signed for seven years and $70 million,” Keith said.
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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