The 2024 Alternative-Degree Killers: Second Base

As we speak, we flip our consideration to the second base Killers. Whereas nonetheless specializing in groups that meet the unfastened definition of contenders (a .500 file or Playoff Odds of a minimum of 9.5%), and which have gotten about 0.6 WAR or much less out of a place to this point — which prorates to 1.0 WAR over a full season — I’ve additionally included our Depth Charts’ rest-of-season WAR projections into the equation for an extra perspective. Typically which will recommend that the workforce will clear the bar by a big margin; as you’ll be able to see by the desk beneath, 4 of the six groups listed right here undertaking to obtain greater than a win from their present forged of second base choices. Even so, I’ve included them right here as a result of the workforce’s efficiency at that spot is value a glance, and the incumbent might now not look like the most suitable choice.

Significantly in gentle of these projections, I don’t count on each workforce to exit and observe down an improve earlier than the July 30 deadline, although I’ll word that a number of the gamers cited inside for his or her poor efficiency are themselves change-of-scenery candidates; one workforce’s drawback could also be one other workforce’s resolution, albeit not essentially a super one. Both approach, I’m much less involved with these options – a lot of which have extra transferring elements concerned than a single commerce — than I’m with the issues. Except in any other case indicated, all statistics are by means of Sunday.

Pink Sox

Acquired within the Chris Sale commerce, 23-year-old Vaughn Grissom appeared on observe to function Boston’s common second baseman, however he battled hamstring soreness early in spring coaching, then suffered a groin pressure that sidelined him at some stage in the Grapefruit League season. He didn’t make his season debut till Could 2, and performed simply 23 video games — with a .148/.207/.160 (1 wRC+) slash line — earlier than being knocked out once more, this time by a proper hamstring pressure.

In his absence inside an infield that’s additionally been destabilized by the accidents to Trevor Story and Triston Casas, Enmanuel Valdez and David Hamilton have executed a lot of the work, with the latter additionally within the shortstop combine with Ceddanne Rafaela. Hamilton has hit a good .273/.327/.414 (105 wRC+), however Valdez simply .226/.282/.402 (85 wRC+). The Pink Sox are hopeful that Grisson might help them sooner or later, however there’s no timetable for him to start out a rehab task. Significantly given the workforce’s defensive woes up the center — their shortstops have mixed for -10 FRV and -9 DRS, their second baseman -6 FRV and -3 DRS — they might actually use a reliable addition, however they’re reportedly targeted on buying a beginning pitcher and a right-handed energy bat. The guess right here is that they’ll roll with a Hamilton-Rafaela center infield, at finest making a lower-impact depth addition whereas ready for Grissom to supply them another.

Cardinals

Nolan Gorman loved a pleasant breakout final 12 months, clubbing 27 homers and posting a 118 wRC+ in his age-23 season, however like Paul Goldschmidt, Lars Nootbaar, and Jordan Walker, he was among the many many Cardinals who struggled on the outset of this season. He hit simply .196/.261/.363 by means of the tip of April, chasing 34% of pitches exterior the zone, placing out 34.2% of the time, and averaging simply 85.5 mph when he made contact. He’s been considerably higher since then, hitting .212/.288/.438 (104 wRC+) with a median exit velo of 89.5 mph, and he’s began July significantly scorching, however he now owns the majors’ highest strikeout price amongst regulars (37.5%) to go together with a .279 on-base share, and his protection, effectively, it’s by no means been his robust swimsuit.

The Cardinals do have options in-house, in that Brendan Donovan and Tommy Edman can each play second, however the former is already holding down left discipline, whereas the latter is about to start a rehab task after lacking your complete season to this point as a consequence of irritation in his surgically repaired proper wrist, then spraining an ankle. The workforce does even have César Prieto, a lefty-swinging 25-year-old infielder who was acquired from the Orioles in final 12 months’s Jack Flaherty commerce; he’s a 40-FV prospect who ranked fifteenth on the Cardinals’ checklist and is hitting .308/.355/.500 at Triple-A Memphis, however his chase price there (44.8%) is off the charts, and that’s earlier than dealing with main league pitching. Provided that Edman received a Gold Glove at second base in 2021 and performed 51 video games there final 12 months whereas additionally seeing time in heart discipline, the most probably state of affairs for a change — if the Cardinals do make one, which isn’t a assure — is an outfield reshuffle that brings a kind of aforementioned two into the infield, with Gorman both despatched to Triple-A à la Walker or used as a potential commerce chip, albeit a very expensive one given his 4 remaining years of membership management.

Orioles

Primary general prospect Jackson Holliday appeared on observe to interrupt into the majors on the keystone, however the Orioles surprisingly despatched him right down to Triple-A Norfolk regardless of a powerful spring, as a substitute opening the season with Jordan Westburg and Jorge Mateo sharing the place. On April 10, Holliday was recalled, however he went simply 2-for-34 with 18 strikeouts earlier than being demoted two weeks later. He’s hit .273/.442/.471 (144 wRC+) at Norfolk however has been restricted to DH responsibility since coming back from a mid-June bout of elbow irritation.

With Holliday out of the image, the 25-year-old Westburg has hit .271/.318/.496 (129 wRC+) whereas splitting his time between second (with Mateo) and third (with Ramón Urías); for no matter cause, he’s managed only a 100 wRC+ whereas enjoying second, and his protection there was shaky to say the least (-6 DRS, -4 FRV, -2.9 UZR in 284.2 innings). Mateo hasn’t hit a lot (.234/.273/.413, 92 wRC+) however has swiped 13 luggage and performed regular protection. With 24-year-old prospect Connor Norby — who performed second base 4 occasions throughout a quick cup of espresso in early June — additionally within the combine, and with the Orioles needing pitching, pitching, and extra pitching in the event that they’re to retain their slim division lead, it’s tough to see the workforce going exterior the group to spruce up second base. Extra seemingly, they provide Holliday one other look when his elbow is prepared. With sufficient heat our bodies to get by, Mateo might expendable, a helpful stopgap/utility participant for one more workforce given his velocity and flexibility.

Mariners

Acquired from the Twins in trade for 4 gamers in late January, Jorge Polanco seems to have left his bat in Minnesota. Like so many different Mariners, the 31-year-old second baseman has struggled mightily on the plate, hitting simply .197/.285/.282 to this point; his 69 wRC+ represents a 49-point drop-off from final 12 months. He’s really been even worse these days, managing only a 45 wRC+ in 15 video games since coming back from a four-week absence as a consequence of a strained proper hamstring. He’s related for simply eight extra-base hits general; his 6.7% barrel price is lower than half of final season’s 13.8%, and his strikeout price has spiked to 32.6%, representing his third straight season of setting a brand new profession excessive. His efficiency towards four-seam fastballs has collapsed, from .291 AVG/.620 SLG to .171 AVG/.243 SLG, together with his exit velocity towards the pitch falling by three ticks and his whiff price rising 5 share factors, to 21.4%. Defensively, he’s beneath common in all three main metrics.

When Polanco went down, utilityman Dylan Moore and rookie Ryan Bliss did the majority of the work. Each have simply outhit Polanco, with the 31-year-old Moore batting .211/.313/.404 (107 wRC+) and seeing time at shortstop, third base, in left discipline, and even at first base (the place Ty France made the Killers checklist). The 24-year-old Bliss, chosen within the second spherical out of Auburn by the Diamondbacks in 2021, got here to the Mariners in final 12 months’s Paul Sewald commerce. He’s a 5-foot-6, 165-pound dynamo who “makes impressively laborious contact for a hitter his dimension, and he does so in what seems to be a brief mechanical distance,” as Eric Longenhagen wrote whereas rating him thirteenth as a 40-FV prospect on the Mariners’ checklist simply final week. Bliss has hit .247/.382/.445 (108 WRC+) at Triple-A Tacoma and .224/.297/.362 (92 wRC+) in 66 PA to this point for the Mariners, albeit with a 30.3% strikeout price.

Given the extremity of Polanco’s collapse, it is smart for the Mariners to take a better have a look at each options, although a much bigger bat will surely be welcome in a lineup that’s second-to-last within the American League in scoring. If president of baseball ops Jerry Dipoto is aggressive, an improve may very well be alongside the traces of Rays’ Brandon Lowe (who has two reasonably priced membership choices remaining), the Reds’ Jonathan India, or the Marlins’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. (each of whom have two years of management remaining).

Mets

I touched upon this one the opposite day in my roundup of the worst defenses on contenders. Jeff McNeil has had some excellent seasons for the Mets, making two All-Star groups and profitable a batting title, however he’s now 32 years previous and has slipped from a 141 wRC+ in 2022 to 100 final 12 months to 73 (.216/.276/.314) this 12 months. With the banning of the shift, he’s pulling the ball with larger frequency, however the tradeoff hasn’t been worthwhile as a result of he will get underneath so many balls; his wRC+ to his pull aspect has dropped from 205 in 2022 to 128 final 12 months and 112 this 12 months, which isn’t useful when the key league common is 174. His 1.6% barrel price lands him within the first percentile — he just lately went six weeks between barrels — and his 30.2% hard-hit price is within the thirteenth percentile. Defensively, he has -3 FRV and -2 DRS in 81 video games at second base. His offensive issues are much more obvious when he’s utilized in an outfield nook.

On Could 31, the Mets recalled 34-year-old Jose Iglesias, a former All-Star (2015) who performed for half a dozen groups from 2018–22 however was out of the majors final season. By no means a participant for whom offense was a calling card, he’s nonetheless hit .380/.417/.582 (184 wRC+), a slash line so scorching that it’s nearly comical given his glove-first repute. His common exit velocity is simply 86.9 mph, however his 40.3% candy spot would place someplace across the ninetieth percentile if he had sufficient batted ball occasions to qualify. His three homers in 79 PA matches the entire he hit in 467 PA with the Rockies in 2022. Although the small-sample defensive metrics are within the purple, the Mets are 21-9 with him within the lineup, which these days has been extra usually than McNeil — he’s began 9 of the workforce’s previous 16 video games at second and two at third base. What’s extra, he’s acquired one other sort of hit single in “OMG,” a pop music that he’s going to carry out on the House Run Derby on Monday evening.

Logically talking, there’s no approach this could proceed. Then once more, Iglesias is clearly dwelling a charmed life, and even his profession .281/.321/.386 (89 wRC+) line is stronger than McNeil’s bat this 12 months. With McNeil underneath contract for 2 extra seasons, it appears unlikely the Mets will make a wholesale change, but when they’re searching for a solution to lower payroll, they might eat a few of his remaining wage and ship him elsewhere for a change of surroundings.

Yankees

The workforce in Queens hardly has a monopoly on the underperforming second basemen inside the New York metropolitan space. Gleyber Torres has been one thing of an enigma ever since he bopped 38 homers in 2019, his age-22 season; he’s had good seasons, however his 2021 was mediocre (9 HR, 96 wRC+, 1.4 WAR), and he’s had sufficient ups and downs that the Yankees by no means bothered to lock him up with a long-term extension. Now he’s in his stroll 12 months, and that call seems justifiable given his .230/.307/.347 (90 wRC+) slash line and 0.6 WAR. He dug himself a very deep gap in April (.220/.295/.254, 64 wRC+) and didn’t hit his first homer till Could 2. Although he’s managed a 103 wRC+ for the reason that begin of Could, his 6.3% barrel price is his lowest since 2020, and his 34.9% hard-hit price is a profession low. In the meantime, his 22.6% strikeout price matches his highest mark since his 2018 rookie marketing campaign, and his -4 DRS and -3.4 UZR stick out like a sore thumb on a workforce whose protection has been one of many majors’ finest.

For all of that, Torres has began 91 of the Yankees’ 98 video games, partially as a consequence of accidents elsewhere inside the infield. DJ LeMahieu, who performed 9 video games there final 12 months and 41 in 2022, didn’t make his season debut till Could 28 as a consequence of a nondisplaced fracture in his proper foot. Jon Berti, who performed 15 video games there final 12 months for the Marlins, has performed simply 16 video games between stints on the IL for groin and calf strains. Oswald Peraza suffered a subscapularis pressure in his proper shoulder in March and was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre as soon as he rehabbed; his .210/.325/.251 (59 wRC+) in 44 video games isn’t precisely making a case for the 24-year-old former top-50 prospect’s return. Oswaldo Cabrera, who has performed seven video games on the place, has been overexposed whereas getting the majority of the third base responsibility, hitting .238/.288/.341 (80 wRC+) in 234 PA. Jahmai Jones, the one different Yankee to play second, has hit a good .263/.333/.421 (117 wRC+), albeit in simply 43 PA whereas placing out 32.6% of the time; on condition that he performed extra second base than outfield with the Triple-A associates of the Dodgers and Brewers, it’s unclear what he’s doing on the roster if supervisor Aaron Boone received’t give him extra of a gap.

Given the Yankees’ lack of productive hitters moreover Aaron Choose and Juan Soto — Ben Rice is the one non-injured common with a wRC+ of 100 or higher, although Austin Wells is shut (98 wRC+) — this can be a spot the place the Yankees might actually use a bat. A month in the past, The Athletic’s Jim Bowden reported that the workforce was concentrating on Gorman, India, and the Twins’ Edouard Julien, all of whom have their warts, however with pitching, first base (the place Anthony Rizzo is injured and Rice fairly inexperienced), and third base additionally considerations, the Yankees might attempt to intestine it out with Torres and hope that he figures out the place his energy went.