The Yankees have had a void in left field all season long. You’d think that a prime time to fill that void would’ve been before the trade deadline. General manager Brian Cashman didn’t do that. According to SNY’s Andy Martino, the eventual promotion of top prospect Everson Pereira is apparently part of the reason why:
Everson Pereira is expected with the Yankees before long. Here's a brief explanation of why his defensive tools make him a solid option for left field, and how that impacted the recent trade deadline:https://t.co/kfgwRCrDFw
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) August 8, 2023
Pereira is currently ranked as the Yankees’ fourth-best prospect, according to MLB.com. The Athletic ranks him among the top 60 prospects across baseball.
He began the year with fellow top prospect, Jasson Dominguez, at Double-A Somerset. That was where he ended his 2022 campaign, as well. Pereira earned a midseason promotion to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after quickly showing he mastered the competition.
In just 75 total games in Double-A (308 plate appearances), the 22-year-old slashed .288/.354/.529. This included 33 extra-base hits (14 doubles, four triples, 15 home runs), 45 RBI, and 44 runs scored. His performance in Triple-A has been equally as eye-popping. Through just 185 trips to the plate (46 games), Pereira is slashing .330/.375/.553 with 12 extra-base hits (six doubles, one triple, five homers), 25 RBI, and 20 runs scored.
The young outfielder is apparently on the brink of getting promoted to the big leagues. While the Yankees beat the White Sox 7-1 on Tuesday night, it’s not like they still couldn’t use a little jolt of youthful energy into their lineup. New York left fielders have combined to post an 88 wRC+, a .682 OPS, and -0.5 fWAR this season.
The Bombers enter Wednesday’s finale against Chicago with a 59-55 record. That has them 11.5 games out of first place in the AL East, but that’s not the focus right now. New York’s focus is on the 4.5 games that need to be made up to capture the final AL Wild Card spot.
It’s also August 9th. There’s plenty of time to make up that ground and return to the postseason. However, let’s not wait too much longer before Pereira gets the call. That is, as long as the Yankees actually want him to try and make a big-league impact this season.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
