Yankees Urged to Axe Infielder

The New York Yankees have fallen from grace. Their once-mighty lead of the AL East, which at one point saw them five games above the Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays has crumbled, and they're now 3.5 games behind Toronto. It's clear New York needs to make a change to come back from the All-Star break strong.

Yardbarker writer Jacob Mountz suggested the Pinstripes should axe third baseman Oswald Peraza as part of the solution to their problem.

"This year, Peraza is hitting a mere .154 with three home runs in 130 at-bats. Beyond that, there isn’t much more that needs to be said," Mountz wrote.

"Once a top prospect, Peraza hasn’t been able to hold his own on the major league level. Out of minor-league options coming into the season, Peraza was squeezed onto the Opening Day roster as a backup infielder. With Oswaldo Cabrera on the shelf, Peraza has become more of a regular, primarily at third, which only serves to highlight the Yankees’ lack of depth and blatant inaction. His .487 OPS is the third lowest among all third basemen with at least 100 at-bats, ahead of only Jonah Bride (.436) and Josh Rojas (.472)."

It's clear the Yankees have been facing some question marks in the infield. Jazz Chisholm Jr., who has played second base most of his career, was pushed to third, with DJ LeMahieu at second and Paul Goldschmidt at first. While Goldschmidt took reps at second earlier in the season, he's only ever played first in a long career, and likely wouldn't excel at another base. Chisholm told press he was comfortable with any infield position, but has struggled making the change, and the Yankees recently announced he is going back to second base.

That leaves third, and it's clear that Peraza is not the answer. Utility man Oswaldo Cabrera is out, and possibly for the season, with a brutal ankle fracture suffered back in May and LeMahieu is unlikely to be better at third than he is at second. It seems the Yankees will need to turn to the trade market, and fast, for a solution.

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