Lyle Overbay was cut by the Red Sox with less than a week remaining in spring training. Unsure of his baseball future, the 36-year-old veteran was beginning to come to grips with the fact that his career might be over. After their team was decimated by injuries, the Yankees came calling.
Overbay signed with the Yanks and was given the opportunity to “tryout” for the team. With not many options left, the team decided to head north with him as their first baseman; they made the right choice. Through 50 games, Overbay is hitting .251 with eight homers, 29 RBI (nine of which have pushed across the go-ahead run) and has accumulated numerous clutch hits . However, the clock may be nearing midnight on his Yankee career, and Overbay finds himself in the same position he was in back in March: what’s next?
Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis are scheduled to come back tomorrow night, which could possibly push Overbay out the door in the near future. Teix will move back to first full-time, while Youk will move to third and give Teixeira a day off when need be; yesterday Cashman said that Adams is “pretty safe” in remaining on the team, and would likely come off the bench. Because Overbay plays only one position, the only use for him would come as a DH against righties – but the Yankees already have that in Travis Hafner.
Overbay very well might stay around as an insurance policy on Teixeira’s wrist, but only for a little. After all, Jose Bautista had a similar injury last season and was shutdown for the year after a few at-bats when he came off the DL. However, Overbay knows that baseball is a business and that no one owes him anything. He said he’d be fine with sitting on the bench, even if it meant just an at-bat or two a month – he just wants to win.
As the injured Yankees begin to come back, the dugout might get too crowded to keep Overbay around.
