Yankees’ DH Spot Is Empty, But Kyle Schwarber Is Not The Answer

The rejection of Shohei Ohtani has left the New York Yankees with two spots on their starting roster to fill. The fifth spot in the rotation was more likely to be the spot that was guaranteed to be filled by Ohtani. However, with the potential for Ohtani to be a two-way player, it was assumed that he would be filling in at DH for the majority of games that he was not pitching in. With the Japanese superstar not coming to the Bronx, the DH spot is now the only offensive position on the roster that has a vacancy. Similar to last offseason, Brian Cashman will likely look outside the organization to fill that position. The rumor is that Cashman might be looking at Kyle Schwarber to be the 2018 DH.

Last year, it was Matt Holliday who was signed to be the DH with Chase Headley taking over late in the season after the acquisition of Todd Frazier. Heading into this offseason, there are numerous different ways that the Yankees could go in order to fill in the DH spot. Whether it is signing a familiar face (Todd Frazier), signing a suitable backup at another position to allow a young and poor defensive player to feature more in the DH spot (Gary Sanchez), sign a new free agent, or trade for a player (Schwarber). Out of these options, Kyle Schwarber should not be the player that the Yankees choose. Brian Cashman, you already have chosen Aaron Boone as manager. Do not add on to the questionable decisions that you have made already in this offseason.

Kyle Schwarber Rumors Have Legs

If you think that it is random that there is a report by John Harper that the Yankees have interest in Kyle Schwarber, then prepared to be even more surprised when I tell you that this dates back to 2016. Back in 2016 when the Yankees were selling off players, the Yankees worked a deal to send Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Gleyber Torres. Reportedly, the Yankees pushed hard to receive Kyle Schwarber in that deal. At that point, Schwarber missed almost all of the 2016 regular season due to a leg injury that he suffered in the opening week of the season.

Rather than receive Schwarber, the Yankees ultimately wound up with Gleyber Torres, Adam Warren, Billy McKinney, and Rashad Crawford. That was a handsome return for the two-month (plus the postseason) services of Chapman. Instead of going to the Bronx, Schwarber managed to return to the Cubs in time for the World Series. There, Schwarber was one of the best offensive players for the Cubs. In the World Series, Schwarber batted .412 with an OBP of .500. He might have only had one extra-base hit, however, he was playing on one good leg.

Schwarber Has Declined

It might be a bit cruel to say that Schwarber has declined since he has only played in two MLB seasons so far. However, the gleam that used to shine off of the big left-handed hitter has definitely diminished. After a strong (but short) rookie campaign where he slugged 16 home runs in 69 games, Schwarber looked to be one of the cornerstones for the Chicago Cubs. That is why they did not give in and trade him to the Yankees for Chapman. However, his 2017 might make him an easier acquisition that he was last season.

In 2017, Kyle Schwarber performed poorly. He was even sent back down to Triple-A for 11 games in the middle of the season. Schwarber slashed .211/.315/.467 with 30 home runs and 150 strikeouts in 422 at-bats. The 30 home runs are nothing to sneeze at, even with the record-breaking home run season that happened in 2017. Schwarber’s clear upside is the fact that he has power. His downsides are everything else. Even though he would pencil in at DH, Schwarber’s defense is awful (-9 defensive runs saved). That made it difficult for the Cubs to throw him into the outfield.

Yankees Do Not Need A Left-Handed Chris Carter

Aaron Judge looks to be the future of the New York Yankees. He has great power, yet he strikes out at an alarming rate. However, he makes up for the strikeout rate with the ability to work counts, earn walks, get non-home run hits, and has plus defensive abilities. Kyle Schwarber in 2015 might have resembled Judge more so. However, there is a better comparison for Schwarber from a player who was on the Yankees in 2017: Chris Carter.

Carter was expected to serve as the platoon first baseman along with Greg Bird. However, Carter’s poor performance led the Yankees to cut him midseason even when first base was still an area of concern. As a Yankee, Carter batted .201/.284/.370 with eight home runs and 76 strikeouts in 184 at-bats. Schwarber would be an improvement over Carter, but not by much. In terms of strikeout rate (per plate appearances), Schwarber’s 30.9% beats out Carter’s 36.5%. However, it is slightly worse than Judge’s 30.7%.

The Price is Not Worth the Return

In Harper’s article, he theorizes that the Yankees would have to trade Dellin Betances and Chance Adams to the Cubs for the services of Kyle Schwarber. Honestly, I do not think that trade would be too unrealistic from the deal that would end up happening. However, Kyle Schwarber is not worth that. Home runs are nice and the ability to DH in Yankee Stadium will probably help boost Schwarber’s home run total, but he is not worth giving up a top-five prospect.

The game has shifted to appreciate the power of a hitter and accept a high strikeout rate. However, there has to be some form of balance there. Schwarber does not provide enough outside of power in order to justify trading away a prospect like Adams. His OBP is only .314, which is .103 points higher than his batting average, but that is not good enough in my eyes. Can he develop into a better hitter? Yes. Every minor league season that he has had, Schwarber has hit above .300. However, he has yet to transfer that to the MLB. Also, does anybody believe his non-home run hitting will improve in Yankee Stadium? I do not. Brian McCann was a career .277 hitter in with the Atlanta Braves. With the Yankees, he batted .235. The lure of the short porch does not help hitters become better.

Better Options

As mentioned, the Yankees have numerous routes that they can take with the DH spot. My personal favorite is to sign (or trade for) a catcher who can split time with Sanchez and allow him to DH more often. However, looking at the free agent market, there are better options for the Yankees. The lineup is a healthy mix of right and left-handed hitters (three right-handed, three left-handed, two switch), so the Yankees do not need a lefty to sign.

Taking a gander at the free agent hitters who could serve as a DH, there are at least four other options (not including Frazier) that would serve as better candidates than Kyle Schwarber. Plus, these players would not include losing a prospect the caliber of Chance Adams.

Carlos Santana

Carlos Santana would be the ideal candidate to fill in at DH for the next couple of seasons. Over the past two seasons, Santana has batted .259 with 67 home runs, 166 RBIs, 193 strikeouts, and a WAR of 6.4. He also offers flexibility outside of simply being a DH, having played both right field and first base last season. Santana used to be a catcher but I would highly doubt seeing him suit up for the Yankees. The issue with Santana is the price tag that he will come with. According to the MLB Trade Rumors Projections, they expected him to sign for three years and $45 million. That would likely keep the Yankees away since they are trying to stay under the luxury tax.

Logan Morrison

This name actually surprised me a bit when I looked further into his statistics. The man who insulted El Gary about his participation in the HR Derby last year had a solid season for the Tampa Bay Rays. Morrison slugged 38 home runs (only one in Yankee Stadium, though) to the tune of a .254 batting average and .353 OBP. Based on his 2017 numbers, Morrison is a better option than Schwarber to fill in at DH. He hit more home runs, with a better OBP and average, as well as offering a better glove (one defensive run saved). A cheaper option than Santana, Morrison is only projected to receive $36 million over three years. However, a certain rival of the Yankees might push hard to add the power to their lineup.

Mark Reynolds

Mark Reynolds had a solid season for the Colorado Rockies in 2017. He batted .267/.352/.487 with 30 home runs in 148 games. The 11-year veteran would be a Matt Holliday-esque signing for the Yankees. He would provide leadership to a young team as well as likely being signed to a one or two year deal. The only concern signing Reynolds would be if the power remained from Colorado. Out of his 30 home runs, only nine of them came away from Coors Field. Now, Yankee Stadium is not a pitcher-friendly park, but balls do not travel as well as they do out in Coors Field.

Mitch Moreland

Mitch Moreland could also be a one-year signing that could bring a steady hand at the DH spot in 2018. Would it be a waste to keep Moreland at DH even though he won the Gold Glove at first in 2016? Perhaps. That might prevent Moreland from signing with the Yankees since the organization is expecting Greg Bird to be the first baseman of the team going forward. In 2017, Moreland had an OPS of .769 while slugging 22 home runs. Out of the four options, Moreland offers the least in terms of power (never hitting more than 23 HRs in a season). However, the Yankees do not need the DH to necessarily be a power hitter. In 2017, the Yankees had four players hit more than 20 home runs.

Yankees Do Not Need Kyle Schwarber

That is the simple truth about this. While John Harper seems to think it would be a wise idea for the Yankees to acquire the young slugger, it is not a move the team needs to make. The Yankees already have plenty of power in their lineup with Judge, Sanchez, Didi Gregorius, Starlin Castro, and hopefully Bird (Brett Gardner had 21 home runs, but I do not expect that to be a trend). If all else fails, Chase Headley can be pushed into the DH spot whenever Gleyber Torres or Miguel Andujar are ready to start. Also, as I have argued, there are cheaper and better options than Schwarber for the DH spot. Why trade away a prospect for a DH? Unless that DH is Nelson Cruz, there is no reason to trade a top-five prospect for a player who will only bat.

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