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Who’s next on first?

“Another one bites the dust, hey hey”…This just in: the Yankees have decided to have Tony Pena vacate his first base coaching box so that trainer Steve Donahue can set up a triage area instead. That’s the kind of weird thinking you get when being the Yankees first baseman is like being the drummer for Spinal Tap.

Mark Teixeira and Chris Parmelee were the latest casualties, with Rob Refsnyder the latest guinea pig occupying the first base bag. Maybe Nick Swisher is working with a voodoo doll, hoping to get a call up from Triple-A Scranton. (Not likely to happen.)

Before looking at options outside the organization, here’s a recap of who’s bitten the dust this season:
Greg Bird – he never even got out of the starting gate. Bird had injured his right shoulder early last season, but played through it. Team doctors didn’t recommend surgery at the time, but this time around they said it was time for Bird to get a torn labrum repaired in the shoulder. See you in 2017.

Apparently, Dustin Ackley felt jealous of Bird. In addition to playing right field (and one game at second base), Ackley appeared in 13 games at first base.  His Memorial Day weekend was definitely a memorable one. Diving back to first base on a pick-off attempt, Ackley injured his shoulder. Five days later, on June 3, Ackley underwent season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum. Deja vu all over again, except you may not see Ackley in a Yankees uniform again.

Mark Teixeira has experienced his share of injuries in his eight years in pinstripes. The latest issue was torn cartilage in his right knee, which came shortly after Teixeira missed four games with neck spasms. Tex was placed on the 15-day DL, but has some decisions to make down the road. For now, he’ll try to rehab the injury and hopefully miss a month. Surgery would result in a 4-6 month DL stint, which means his season would be done. The latest injury even had him considering retirement.

Chris Parmelee, come on down. You’re the next contestant to play first base…but not for long. Parmalee was brought up after Tex went down and provided some instant success. Parmalee became the only Yankee, other than Roger Maris, to hit two home runs in his first Yankees’ start. In his second start, he badly injured his right hamstring and will be out for a month.
So now the Yankees are down to Refsnyder, who made his first base debut on the night Teixeira was injured. The Yankees like Refsnyder’s bat, but he doesn’t field any position particularly well and one would think the Yankees don’t want him to have to do on-the-job training at a new position. Internal options are limited.

Tyler Austin was a big-time outfield prospect a few years ago before his value dropped. He played 43 games at Double-A Trenton this season before a recent promotion to Scranton. His slash line for the Trenton Thunder was nothing special – .260/.367/.395, but he has gotten off to a hot start at Triple-A. Austin has a pair of home runs and six doubles in seven games. He’s also had 83 career starts at first base in the minor leagues. On the downside, he’s not on the 40-man roster.

To those still crying for a return of Swisher, in 42 games at Scranton he’s compiled a .605 OPS. There’s a reason he’s not on a Major League roster. With all of the above in mind, here’s a look at who the Yankees could pursue for a more long-term solution:

Danny Valencia, Oakland A’s: Valencia struggled for playing time in the first five seasons of his career and was shuttled from team to team (five in all). But he had a breakout season, at age 30, last year, with 18 HR and 66 RBI in 105 games. Most of that damage was done after Oakland plucked him off waivers from Toronto in early September. Valencia’s rise has continued this season, with a batting average over .340  for much of the season and a career high OPS (.962) entering this weekend.

With the ability to play both corners and the outfield, Valencia would give the Yankees more versatility as well. Joe Girardi could play him the majority of time at first base and have him spell Chase Headley on occasion at third base. He’s also an offensive upgrade over Aaron Hicks. The remainder of Valencia’s $3.15MM salary could be picked up by the Yankees and they would have him under control for next season as well. The biggest obstacle will be what Billy Beane wants in return.

Brandon Moss, St. Louis Cardinals: Unlike the right-handed hitter Valencia, Moss would bring power from the left side of the plate. Moss hit 30, 25, and 19 home runs the last three seasons. This year, he has hit 14 and driven in 32 runs in 173 plate appearances. He’s compiled a .337 on-base percentage and slugged to the tune of .579. Moss can play outfield and first base, and at the very least could platoon with Refsnyder at first base for the Yankees.

The Cardinals entered the weekend a distant nine games back of the NL Centra- leading Chicago Cubs, and are currently owners of the number two Wild Card in the NL.  Like everyone else, the Cardinals could use some pitching.
Other than Valencia and Moss, there aren’t many players that would be available nearly two months before the non-waiver trade deadline.  Jay Bruce was on my radar a couple of weeks ago and he could still be a possibility, though he doesn’t have much experience at first base.  There are clearly players to avoid, Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard to name just two, and there are players that are still under their team’s inexpensive control for a few years and not likely to be dealt. Adam Duvall would be a name that immediately comes to mind.

So, for now, it’s Refsnyder, some McCann and Romine, and we’ll see what happens.

 

UPDATE: 6/12, 5 pm EDT – “We’ll see what happens” had a fast response. The Yankees have reportedly signed former New York Mets first baseman Ike Davis to a Major League deal. Davis, the son of former Yankees’ pitcher Ron Davis,  was released early in the day Sunday by the Texas Rangers. In addition to the Mets, Davis played for Pittsburgh and Oakland. For more on the move, click here to read about it on Bronx Pinstripes.