Chris Gittens Continues To Rake
Yankees’ Chris Gittens has had a tremendous start to his year so far in the minor leagues. Gittens has a 1.098 OPS in 14 games this season for the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Railriders, the Yankees Triple-A affiliate.
A 12th-round pick in 2014, Gittens had never played past Double-A. Now, his hot start has even drawn interest from Yankees head coach Aaron Boone. With the Yankees current woes on offense, we could see Gittens in the Bronx very soon.
The Current State of Yankees’ First Basemen
The Yankees have not seen production from the first base position all year. The main reason being their starter, Luke Voit, has not been on the field much due to injury. Voit had knee surgery in the offseason and recently was diagnosed with a Grade 2 right oblique strain. The same injury that shelved Aaron Judge for months in 2019; it may be a while until Voit is back.
Aside from Voit, their other first basemen Mike Ford is hitting .154 this year with a pair of home runs. He’s given them little to no production, which is another reason as to why Gittens coming up cannot hurt the Yankees at all. 2B D.J LeMahieu has also seen time at first base, along with OF Miguel Andújar.
It seems Gittens coming up makes too much sense for the Yankees. Voit will not be returning soon, Mike Ford cannot hit. D.J. LeMahieu is also one of the best defensive second basemen in the game, keeping him at first only hurts the Yankees’ defense. Miguel Andújar was pulled 15 times in 2018 for his defense, I don’t think anyone trusts him at first base, not even Aaron Boone.
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Getting Chris Gittens To The Bronx
Gittens was not originally on the Yankees 40-man roster to start the season, therefore a corresponding move has to be made for him before he can join the Yankees.
However, the Yankees recently found out OF Aaron Hicks’ season is in jeopardy and Corey Kluber has a shoulder strain. The Yankees can transfer either Hicks or Kluber to the 60-day Injured List, which would allow them to then call up Gittens.
Nevertheless, the Yankees offense clearly needs help. The first basemen position also needs help, and calling up Gittens could potentially help solve both problems. Gittens has certainly earned his shot, and I believe he will be in the Bronx sooner rather than later.
