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Voit sheds 13 pounds, vows better defense

Ah, Summer Camp. Spring Training II. For the second time this year, we’re able to see what baseball players have been doing over their break. Some players take it more seriously than others. Pablo Sandoval is trying to become a human bowling ball:

Luke Voit, on the other hand, dropped 13 pounds.

Luke Voit showing off his slimmer self. (Kathy Willens/AP)

Hopefully Voit being more nimble will help his infield defense.

Since Voit has come to New York, he has done nothing but hit. He has slashed .280/.384/.517, good for a 141 wRC+ with the Yankees. That is elite level production, especially when considering the Yankees got him for spare parts. If there is one complaint with Voit, it has been his infield defense. He seems to have good hands, but he is slow, and moving around field seems, well, clunky. His DRS the past few seasons seems to back that up: -8, and -12, which isn’t Andujar bad, but there is definitely room for improvement.

If Voit can turn himself into an average defensive first baseman, with his walk rate, the ability to hit the ball to all fields, and his power, he can seriously raise his profile in the American League. The Yankees are so stacked, they don’t need Voit to be an all-star, but if he makes a small improvement defensively, he may just get there.

You can watch his full interview below. He talks about Clarke Schmidt being nasty, cutting the weight, what it’s like to be teammates with Gerrit Cole, and his defense. Give it a watch.