The Yankees are playing great baseball at the moment, but Aaron Boone’s roster could still be strengthened by making two minor tweaks.
Aaron Boone deserves a ton of credit for keeping the Yankees clubhouse calm after the team’s ugly start. Now, New York is playing terrific baseball and is looking like the World Series contender they were billed to be in the offseason. That doesn’t mean Boone’s roster is perfectly optimized for success.
No drastic changes are required, but Brian Cashman and his front office can do some work around the edges to give the active roster more juice. In particular, sending one veteran down and calling one prospect up could give the Yankees a solid talent upgrade. This piece starts by identifying one player who has no real future in pinstripes.
3. Mike Ford needs to go down
Ford plays the game with a high degree of effort, but he’s just not good enough to be a major league regular for a team with title aspirations. His two home runs on the season don’t make up for the ugly reality that he’s hitting a dismal .103 through Wednesday’s action.
Ford will probably stay in the Bronx to hold down the first base position until Luke Voit is ready to come back to the majors after his rehab assignment. The Yankees would be well-served to accelerate his departure by sending him down immediately. DJ LeMahieu can easily hold down first base for a few games until Voit returns. The fact that Tyler Wade could probably give New York more with the bat than Ford is at the moment is all New York fans need to know about the hefty lefty’s future in pinstripes.