There may be a reason why the New York Yankees didn’t acquire an outfielder at the trade deadline; they plan to address the position from within.
According to SNY’s Andy Martino, the Yankees plan to call up outfielder Everson Pereira to the majors.
There’s nothing official yet regarding the call-up, as it could come this month or September. Regardless, the Yankees hope Pereira can fill a left field-sized void.
In 70 games across Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pereira is slashing .309/.371/.555 for a .926 OPS. He has 15 home runs, 56 RBI, and a 141 wRC+ on the year.
In just 24 games with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, Pereira has a line of .340/.385/.570 with five homers and 25 RBI. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting .429; considering the Yankees’ recent issue of stranding baserunners, adding Pereira to the lineup could address this.
The biggest concern with Pereira is his plate discipline; he tends to strike out a lot, but doesn’t draw too many walks. In Triple-A, he’s only walked four times, and has struck out 29 times.
However, he makes up for this with excellent raw power, and despite all the strikeouts, he tends to swing at pitches in the strike zone. His chase rate is lower compared to other aggressive hitters, meaning that's where he really needs to improve is reducing his swings and misses. With hitting coach Sean Casey emphasizing putting the ball in play, perhaps Pereira can improve in this regard once he’s called up.
The Yankees benefited greatly from Oswaldo Cabrera’s call-up last year, as they were able to right the ship after a brutal August slump and win the division. This time, the Yankees are on the outside looking in, so they hope that Pereira can provide the spark they need to go on a run and return to playoff contention.
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