Anthony Volpe gets a turn at shortstop for the Yankees Monday night, teaming with DJ LeMahieu as the Yankees’ double-play combo in their game against the Pirates.
Volpe, Oswald Peraza, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa have all gotten run at short this spring (as well as other positions), and the Yankees claim that it truly is more competition and less “get reps and go with IKF,” but time remains to see where that ends up.
One thing spring has also brought, though, is a pair of injuries to NL West middle infielders: Dodgers shortstop Gavin Lux is out for the season with a torn ACL, and Rockies second baseman Brendan Rodgers is going for a second opinion on a dislocated shoulder, but the first opinion was season-ending surgery.
Colorado’s infield is thin and the Dodgers’ backup plan at short is 34-year-old Miguel Rojas, whom they had acquired to be a utility infielder – so it stands to reason that both could be in the market for a one-year stopgap to replace their injured stars.
And that’s exactly what Tiki Barber, at least, had in mind when discussing those injuries Monday, vis-à-vis some thoughts from the Rockies’ front office over the weekend.
“We’ve talked about it, and the reason I bring this up is because (the Yankees) are trying to clear space,” Tiki said. “There’s a logjam in the infield, and Peraza is likely to beat out IKF at shortstop, so it seems IKF becomes expendable.”
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A deal to the Dodgers could put IKF at short in LA for a year, move Rojas back to a utility role, and clear the way for Peraza and maybe Volpe to be on the Yankees’ opening day roster. However, in a phone interview with Joel Sherman of the New York Post over the weekend, Rockies GM Billy Schmidt said for now, Colorado will move third baseman Ryan McMahon to second and look at internal options at the hot corner, but…
“Right now we are looking internally and then, if not, I might have a conversation with Cash at some point if we have anything they like,” Schmidt said.
“They” is the Yankees and Cash is GM Brian Cashman, and, boy, does THAT open up some doors?
“That’s clearly Torres, and if Gleyber gets traded – he’s still young and he’s got another arbitration year – it makes sense for the Yankees that if Volpe is ready, move him to second base, trade Torres and IKF, and let these kids dot the middle of the diamond,” Tiki said.
Of course, there’s also the specter of would/could the Yankees deal Josh Donaldson to Colorado to save a lot more salary, even if they have to retain a little of it (Colorado is over $150 million in payroll, so they may also not want to take on that much).
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Barber also said IKF would be a ‘perfect bridge’ for the Dodgers for a year at short, and it’s an interesting thought to turn over the middle infield to the kids, saving roughly $14.5 million this year ($15.95 million of salary for IKF/Torres minus the MLB minimums for Peraza/Volpe) and setting the future in motion.
Perhaps, as they look to match up, the Dodgers have quite a bit of what the Yankees might want (upper-level pitching depth), and Colorado could, say, solve the Yankees’ desire for a left-handed hitting upgrade in left field, at least for one year, with Charlie Blackmon?
Regardless of what does or doesn’t happen - and BT doesn't believe both IKF and Torres would go in the same time frame - there was one facet of this whole situation that left BT almost speechless.
“I don't think I've ever heard another general manager invoked the name like so directly of another general manager like, ‘hey, I gotta make a call, maybe we’ll make a trade,’” BT said incredulously. I mean, talk about being forthright and transparent!”
Follow WFAN's midday team on Twitter: @TikiandTierney, @TikiBarber, @BrandonTierney, and @TheHoffWFAN
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