MLB: The future in pinstripes

Yankee fans, enjoy it while it lasts! The 2001 Yankees mark the end of era, as many of the most popular players currently wearing the pinstripes will be retired or playing elsewhere in 2002. Looking ahead to the Yankees’ position players next year, fans can expect to see a lot of new faces, many of whom will spend 2001 season playing for the Columbus Clippers, the team’s AAA affiliate.

Here’s a preview of the potential 2002 opening day roster:

Starting Lineup

Catcher: Jorge Posada. He’ll be eligible for free agency after 2002, and, as they did with Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, the Yanks hope to have him locked up to a long-term extension before that ever happens.

First Base: Nick Johnson. The Yankees’ top prospect for the past three years, Johnson possesses exceptional plate discipline, leading the minor leagues with a .520 OBP at AA Norwich in 1999, the third time he topped his league in OBP. With Tino Martinez’s contract expiring at the end of 2001 and Johnson slated to get a full year of AAA seasoning this year, look for Johnson to take over at 1B next season, providing the Yankees with both an increase in offensive production and a significant salary savings over Martinez.

Second Base: D’Angelo Jimenez/Alfonso Soriano. Whether or not the rumored two-year $18 million handshake extension with Chuck Knoblauch takes place will affect who plays 2B in 2002. If the Yanks do re-sign Knoblauch, they could move Soriano to RF in place of Paul O’Neill, who is expected to retire after this season, while handing the 2B job to Jimenez, a better defensive infielder and a more polished hitter than Soriano.

Shortstop: Derek Jeter. 2002 will be year seven of the Jeter dynasty. The Boss has already starting planning for Derek Jeter Day, even though it’s still 12-15 years away.

Third Base: Drew Henson/D’Angelo Jimenez. The Yanks plan for Henson to spend this year at Columbus and then take over at 3B in 2002 for Scott Brosius, whose contract expires at the end of this season. If Henson needs a little more seasoning at the start of 2002, Jimenez could assume the 3B duties until the former Michigan QB is ready to man the hot corner in the Bronx.

Left Field: Chuck Knoblauch/Alfonso Soriano. If the left field experiment works out and his alleged two-year extension comes to fruition, Knoblauch will play here in 2002. If not, Soriano could be moved from 2B back to LF to make room for Jimenez, who likely would also assume Knobluch’s leadoff duties in 2002 should he not return.

Center Field: Bernie Williams. Year four of the seven-year contract he signed after the 1998 season. Don’t expect any Yankee to wear #51 again.

Right Field: Alfonso Soriano/Free Agent Acquisition. The departures of Martinez, Brosius, and O’Neill will save the Yankees over $15 million in 2002. Part of that will go towards signing Posada to a long-term contract, re-signing Orlando Hernandez, eligible for arbitration, though not free agency after 2001, and any extension for Knoblauch, but the team should still have plenty leftover to go out and sign a free agent slugger to play right field, given the Bombers’ acumen at structuring long-term contracts to give them maximum payroll flexibility. If the Yankees don’t acquire a big time bopper to replace O’Neill and they hold onto Knobluach, Soriano could switch positions yet again and play RF in 2002.

Designated Hitter: David Justice, Shane Spencer. The Yanks will avoid playing Justice in the outfield much, both this year and next, in order to reduce the risk of injury and keep his bat in the lineup as often as possible. On days when Manager Joe Torre might want to give Justice a breather, Spencer would be a fine option, especially against lefties.

Bench

Catcher: Joe Oliver/Veteran Backup. This is the one position the Yanks would be least likely to entrust to a youngster, although that shouldn’t be an issue in 2002 because the team does not have anyone in the system who projects to be ready for big leagues by then. If Joe Oliver performs admirably in this role in 2001, look for the team to retain him. If not, expect the Bombers to go out and get a veteran backstop who will understand and accept a backup role. However, the Yanks would be wise to try to find someone with a little pop in his bat, so that he could step in and not hurt the team too much should Posada suffer an injury. Posada’s near perfect health in 2000 allowed the team to hide backup Chris Turner’s anemic bat; any injury to Posada next year won’t afford them that luxury.

Infielders: Eric Almonte (SS/2B), Scott Seabol (1B/3B). Both players will spend 2001 at AAA Columbus. Almonte, signed out of the Dominican Republic in 1996, rose up the team’s prospect list thanks to a good 2000 season playing SS for AA Norwich and a fine Arizona Fall League (AFL) campaign at 2B. He could wind up backing up both positions in 2002, if the team decides that Luis Sojo is finished or that they need more offense out of their reserves. Seabol, an 88th round draft choice out of West Virginia, lacks the power and plate discipline needed to play either corner infield position effectively on a regular basis, though he hits a ton of doubles and could provide a solid bat off of the bench. Drafted as a third baseman, he is blocked both this season and in the future by Henson and has been playing a lot of 1B this spring, though Johnson will occupy this spot for the Clippers in 2001. As such, Seabol could find himself in the OF and might end up in the Bronx next year, backing up all four corner positions, provided his bat holds up (88th round picks never stop having to prove themselves) and he shows that he can play the OF.

Outfielders: Donzell McDonald, Shane Spencer. McDonald, a switch-hitting center fielder who tore up the AFL this past year, will spend 2001 at AAA Columbus following a 2000 campaign that was cut short due to injury. While he lacks power, McDonald, a good defensive outfielder, has displayed a fine batting eye and tremendous speed throughout his minor league career. Those attributes make McDonald well suited for a backup outfielder/pinch runner role, especially since he will make the major league minimum salary in 2002. Although some in the Yankee hierarchy, particularly Vice President of Major League Scouting Gene Michael, predict that Spencer will become a fine major league regular, he’s never hit like one since tearing up the American League in September 1998. Still, his platoon differential should earn him starts against lefties, both in the outfield and at DH, as noted above. Spencer can also back up both corner outfield spots since he’s a good enough hitter, not to mention an underrated defender, that he won’t hurt the team very much if he needs to fill in for an injured starter for a week or two during the season.

Remember that all of these predictions could change dramatically if the Yankees trade away some of their minor league talent over the summer in order to obtain immediate help at the big league level. While, individually, each predictions is realistic, the Yanks would end up as a very young team should they all come true. Over the years, the team has shown some reluctance to commit so much responsibility to players with little major league experience, so it’s reasonable to expect that they might look for a veteran or two to fill bench roles while letting players like Almonte and Seabol play full time at AAA to gain experience as well as enhance their trade value.

With the potential loss of so many prospects to the major league roster next season--and this article only covers position players--the Yankees are fortunate to have the opportunity to replenish their farm system in this June’s draft, when they will own five of the first 63 picks. Together with 2000 draftees Danny Borrell, Matt Smith, Andy Beal, and Mitch Jones, plus Taiwanese import Chien-Ming Wang--all of whom shined a class A Staten Island last summer--this crop of youngsters could be the names mentioned in this same article several years down the road.