The New York Yankees have reportedly checked in on the reigning NL home run co-leader Chris Carter — a man who could bring some power to the table.
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick is reporting that the New York Yankees may not be finished yet and are talking to the reigning National League home run leader, Chris Carter.
In 160 games a year ago, Carter slashed .222/.321/.499, maintained a .821 OPS and was tied with Nolan Arenado for the most home runs (41) in the National League.
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Since 2013, Carter has the sixth-most home runs (131) in major league baseball behind Mike Trout, David Ortiz, Edwin Encarnacion, Nelson Cruz and Chris Davis.
It’s also fair to note that he has the second most strikeouts (751) in that same time frame, but Carter could nevertheless provide depth at first base and designated hitter.
That all depends on the asking price, as the Yankees have Greg Bird returning from injury and expected to be the everyday first baseman. Cashman signed Matt Holliday to be the DH with the “depth” position covered up by 25-year old Tyler Austin.
While there’s no apparent room, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale is reporting that Carter has several offers of $2.5-$3.5 million on the table, but is looking for something higher given the fact that he smashed 41 home runs in 2016.
New York is already over and completely aware of the luxury tax, as the arbitration case with Dellin Betances makes that evident, but perhaps $5 million to see what 41 home runs could translate to in the sandbox of Yankee Stadium may not be such a bad idea.
Last season, Carlos Beltran (who was traded in July) led the team with 22 home runs and the team, as a whole, failed to reach the 200 home run mark.
Over the last 17 seasons, the “Bombers” have hit over 200 total home runs in 13 seasons. In all 13 of those seasons, they clinched playoff berths while in the four sub-200 home run seasons (including 2016), they did not.
Yes, they have Holliday Gary Sanchez, Didi Gregorius and Starlin Castro coming off 20 home run seasons but overall, there isn’t a lot of established power on this year’s roster.
Carter can change that, but that all depends on how much money he thinks he’s worth.
The term is "bandbox" not sandbox.