Predicting the Yankees Opening Day lineup in 3 parts

7. Batting seventh for the Yankees and playing CF Harrison Bader

Most Yankees fans hated the Harrison Bader trade. Jordan Montgomery was a stable presence in the Yankees rotation and Bader wasn’t even healthy when they acquired him. I think most of them are fine with it now, after watching Bader try and will the Yankees to a pennant. Now the Yankees did get swept by Houston, but not because of Bader. He had six hits in 15 at-bats against the Astros including two home runs. This came after he had four hits in 15 at-bats in the ALDS against Cleveland with three home runs!

Bader was as hot as he’s ever been, and has given Yankee fans a lot of hope for his future. I expect Bader to be a good player for them, but he’s not the player he was in the postseason. His best ability is his defense in center field, that’ll never change. If he can give them a league-average bat I think the Yankees would be thrilled considering he had an 87 OPS+ last season for St. Louis and the Yanks.

8. Batting eighth for the Yankees and playing SS Oswald Peraza

Oswald Peraza should win the shortstop job coming out of Spring Training. We’ve seen what IKF is at shortstop and don’t like it at all. His bat is decent but lacks power, and his glove is extremely underwhelming. Peraza’s bat is nothing but a question mark at this point, but the Yankees know they’d get really good defense from the rookie.

In the 57 plate appearances he did have in the regular season, Peraza slashed .306/.404/.429 with a home run. He was getting on base a ton but in a very small sample. It’ll be interesting to see what he does with more playing time.

9. Batting ninth for the Yankees and playing C Jose Trevino

Jose Trevino was an all-star in his first season with the Yankees after displaying his elite defense and hitting a tick above league average. His defense remained elite all season long, but his bat really slowed down in the second half and especially in the postseason. He had just one hit, a single, in 22 at-bats in the playoffs.

Not much should be expected out of a guy who hasn’t really hit much at all in his career, the Yankees really just expect him to be the Gold Glove catcher he was this past season. I think they’d be pretty satisfied with another 90 OPS+ season offensively.