To the surprise of many in the baseball world, especially in New York, the Yankees made a trade yesterday to bring the speedy veteran, Ichiro Suzuki, to the club. Just hours before the team was about to square off with the Seattle Mariners, it was announced that Suzuki would be suiting up for the game as expected, but instead he’d be wearing the opposing teams uniform. The deal sent two Yankee minor league pitchers to Seattle for Suzuki and an undisclosed amount of cash.
Not much talk surfaced about this or any other potential trades for the Yankees, but if fans had to guess, many would’ve assumed the primary target in any trade, would’ve been for a high-caliber pitcher to add to the rotation. But instead, the team decided to go a different route and make a new addition to their outfield which couldn’t have come at a better time. Left fielder, Brett Gardner, suffered an elbow injury early in the season. After numerous failed attempts to battle back from it, it was announced that he requires surgery to repair the elbow, which may keep him off the field for the remainder of the season.
The Yankee lineup is filled with plenty of power, but the one thing it’s been missing, especially this season with the loss of Gardner, has been speed on the bases. Besides the injured left-fielder, the only player with a legitimate set of wheels is Curtis Granderson, and surprisingly his six stolen bases in 2012 are less than three other Yankees have tallied–Derek Jeter (7), Alex Rodriguez (11), and Dewayne Wise (7). The team as a whole is slacking in this department and is ranked 24th in the MLB with just 52 stolen bases on the year.
It’s an aspect of the game that gets overlooked and one that the Yankees have gone without in their offense. The addition of Suzuki may turn this around and provide his new team with a new-found versatility on the offensive side of things. This season, he’s ranked 22nd in the MLB with 16 stolen bags. His hustle also lands him at number seven in triples with five so far.
Although Suzuki is an 11-year veteran, this an opportunity for him to rejuvenate not only his own career, but bring a spark to New York. His track record is a proven one with his 439 career stolen bases, along with a lifetime .322 batting average and .366 on-base percentage. Not to mention his ten all-star appearances, ten golden gloves, three silver slugger awards, and one MVP title, Suzuki still has a lot left to offer the Yankees.
There’s a variety of skills that Suzuki will bring to the Yankees including great agility at the plate as well as in the outfield, all of which were immediately on display in his first appearance with the Yankees. In his first at-bat, he singled and followed it up by stealing second. It was an exceptional way to start the next chapter in his professional baseball career, and all hopes are that this continues and revives his career as well as make the Yankees offense a more functional unit.
