Fansided

Yankees need to drop Brett Gardner in the order

By Rucker Haringey

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 24: Brett Gardner #11 of the New York Yankees bats in an MLB baseball game against the Minnesota Twins on April 24, 2018 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. Yankees won 8-3. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 24: Brett Gardner #11 of the New York Yankees bats in an MLB baseball game against the Minnesota Twins on April 24, 2018 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. Yankees won 8-3. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images) /
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Brett Gardner is hurting the Yankees, but Aaron Boone can easily fix the problem. 

The Yankees are playing excellent baseball at the moment, but that doesn’t mean they’re clicking on all cylinders. The leadoff spot continues to be a major weakness in Aaron Boone’s lineup. It’s time for Brett Gardner to move further down the order.

The idea of using Gardner as a leadoff hitter is rock solid. The Yankees outfielder has good speed and likes to take a lot of pitches. His ability to work opposing pitchers gives his teammates a great opportunity to see just what the opposing hurler has before they come to the plate.

Unfortunately, those two things aren’t enough to keep Gardner in the leadoff spot. The Yankees also need him to hit. He clearly hasn’t done that this season. His .210 average is only ahead of catcher Gary Sanchez in terms of Boone’s current starting lineup. It’s not as if Gardner is mashing the ball when he does make contact either. He’s started the season slowly with only one home run to date.

There are two potential explanations for Gardner’s struggles. The first, and more optimistic explanation is that Gardner has simply started the season in a slump. 26 games may feel like an eternity but it’s still a relatively small sample size. There’s certainly a significant chance that Gardner will get hot and his offensive numbers will progress to somewhere near his career mean.

The more pessimistic explanation is that Gardner’s age is starting to diminish his skills. The former College of Charleston star will turn 35 this season. Quite a few outfielders who depend on speed have started to see their career head south as they enter their mid-30s. The Yankees have to acknowledge the possibility that Gardner simply isn’t that good anymore.

The real question isn’t whether or not Garner should move out of the leadoff spot. Instead, the more interesting query is which Yankee should replace him. It’s the lack of an obvious choice that’s probably kept Boone from pulling the trigger on a switch.

The long-term answer is to move young shortstop Gleyber Torres to the top of the order. The precocious youngster will never be the base stealer that Gardner was in his prime, but this isn’t a team that’s going to play a lot of small ball for the foreseeable future. The Yankees need their leadoff man to get on base to set the plate for the power hitters behind him. That’s a role where Torres can thrive.

Torres is already producing more than Gardner during his brief time in the Majors this year. After a rough start to the campaign he’s raised his average all the way to .323. Admittedly, nine games is a small sample size but there’s no reason to believe his performance will regress over the long haul.

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Boone may decide to leave Gardner in the top spot to keep the pressure off Torres for the time being, but at some point this season he will feel the need to make the switch. The sooner he does, the better off the Yankees offense will be.

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