Yankees Sign Neil Walker, What Does It Mean For The Rest of the Infield?

I did not see the Yankees going after another infielder, I’ll tell ya that. It seems like the Yanks have 50 guys vying to be a starting infielder in The Bronx right now. As of now Gleyber Torres, Ronny Torreyes, Tyler Wade, Miguel Andujar, Neil Walker, Brandon Drury, Danny Espinosa, and Jace Peterson are all battling for two positions. I think it’s pretty clear Gleyber Torres is going to start the season in Scranton. There’s just no rush at all for the Yankees #1 prospect as he’s struggling a bit in Tampa. But more importantly keeping him off the Major League roster for 12 days gets the Yankees an additional year of team control (prime example: Kris Bryant). No brainer move as I’ve reiterated time after time.

What bringing in Neil Walker does is give the Yankees a super utility player who can play all four positions in the infield. What that means is a roster spot for Tyler Austin, Billy McKinney, or Adam Lind won’t have to be forced. There are only 25 spots and with how much talent is in this organization ready to play at the top level, it’s ideal to conserve where you can. I still think the move for Opening Day is Brandon Drury playing at second with Andujar at third. What having Walker on this roster means that worst case scenario, Andujar can get more time in the minors and the infield can be fully supported with vets if they feel he’s not ready. Walker posted an .801 OPS last season and with his lefty pop he can definitely make an impact on this team and bring a nice veteran presence to the roster.

I do wonder what this means for Ronny Torreyes. As of now he’s probably safe, but once Torres and Andujar are here I can’t see where he fits on the major league roster. Tyler Wade was having a great spring but a wrist injury suffered over the weekend could hamper things a bit. It just seems like there are better options for utility guys on this team once everyone is called up.

Also some sad news today as Ken Singleton announced this will be his last season as a Yankees analyst.

Ken has always been a fan favorite right up there with Cone and O’Neill. There’s nothing better than a good old fashioned “Look Out!” when a pitcher buzzes a hitter inside. Next season I’m already dreading having to listen to Michael Kay somehow talk more than he does right now. There’s only one thing left to do now….