How will Cameron Maybin impact Yankees injury-riddled outfield?
The New York Yankees have put another outfielder on the injured list, so can new acquisition Cameron Maybin make an impact?
With Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks and Jacoby Ellsbury already out, the New York Yankees put Clint Frazier on the injured list with a left ankle sprain. They’ve made a quick move to add a healthy outfielder, with Jack Curry of YES Network first to report the Yankees have acquired Cameron Maybin from the Cleveland Indians.
Maybin spent spring training with the San Francisco Giants, but a bad showing and a DUI arrest led to him being cut in late March. He landed with the Indians on a minor league deal, and has opened the season with their Triple-A affiliate, posting a .216/.388/.275 slash-line with five RBI over 67 plate appearances.
But the 32-year old Maybin has plenty of major league experience. Over the past 12 seasons he has appeared in over 1,000 games (1,039) with a .254/.322/.368 career slash-line, 498 runs scored, 315 RBI and 174 stolen bases. He split the 2018 campaign between the Seattle Mariners and Miami Marlins, with a .249/.326/.336 slash mark, four home runs and 10 stolen bases over 384 plate appearances (129 games).
Maybin can play all three outfield spots, and last year he was in the 84th percentile in average sprint speed. He’s still somewhat above average defensively too, accounting for 6 Defensive Runs Saved in 2018 with positive numbers across the board related to UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating).
Judge, Stanton and Ellsbury in particular are in line to be out for awhile longer, so Maybin should land on the Yankees’ major league roster immediately. Once Frazier returns from his injury that may change, but Maybin will probably at least be kept around down at Triple-A for some organizational depth.
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Maybin never became the star he was once forecasted to become, as a top-10 prospect in all of baseball three years running (2007-2009) by both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus. But as the Yankees seek experience, and ideally health to go with it, Maybin could turn out to be a nice fill-in.