The Question In Center

Reports out of the New York meetings say that, considering the thin free agent market and the team's unwillingness to part with young players in the trade market, the Yankees might be looking at Bubba Crosby in center for 2006. While this news may result in frenzied panic calls to your local sports radio show, at least it shows that the Yankees top brass are considering a very important question: Do we actually need to add something in centerfield? As strange as it might sound, the answer is No. Well, I guess it's more like Not really.

The Yankees offense ranked 2nd overall in the majors in 2005 - with 886 runs scored (or 905 runs created according to the sabermetric formula), a close second to Boston (910 RS, 914 RC). The Yankees are an offensive powerhouse, we already knew this. The thing to consider here is the extent to which the centerfield position contributed to that offense - that is How important is center, offensively, to the Yankees? The answer - Not at all. The Yanks ranked dead last in MLB in terms of production out of the centerfield position with just under 60 runs created, also ranking 28th in AVG, 29th in OBP, and 30th in SLG. Position-by-position, those 60 RC ranked last in offensive production for the Yankees (14 shy of the 74 put up by Posada & Flaherty). Centerfield was already the worst offensive position on the team. The point is this: If the Yankees can be the 2nd best offense in baseball without getting any real help from center, it doesn't matter who they put there next year, so long as they are solid defensively. There's no point in going after pricey trades for Torii Hunter or Vernon Wells and there's certainly no point in chasing Johnny Damon.

So who should the Yankees pursue? Bubba will be serviceable in center - but to rely on him alone would be idiotic. The perfect available player for the Yanks is Corey Patterson. His struggles in Chicago last year were a result of his offensive inabilities, but he does have potential, and he is very good defensively. It's currently unclear what the Cubs want to do with Patterson, but it's likely he'll be available as they try to push their star CF prospect, Felix Pie, onto the 2006 roster. Another good choice is the man responsible for the biggest stolen base in recent memory: Yankee nemesis Dave Roberts (currently arbitration eligible with the Padres). He'll come cheap since he's not much offensively, but has good range and speed. Or, the Yankees could move Matsui to center - an upgrade over Bernie, but downgrade from Bubba - and pursue a mid-level corner OF to play left. They won't need much more than that.

The only snag in this scenario is that perhaps the Yankees' offense regresses from its 2005 form, and thus, adding something to center would be useful. Maybe Giambi falters after his comeback year, maybe age catches up to Sheff and Jorge. Maybe. But the Yankees don't need to add to centerfield to keep the offense healthy. With the money/trades saved by not pursuing a top centerfielder, the Yankees will have the extra resources to build the bullpen and anchor a staff that figures to be better in 2006 than 2005, and build the bench - upgrading over Flaherty, Tino, and Sierra. Doing so should help check the regression the Yankees are sure to see in their older players.

With Cashman on board and taking charge, I'm sure this is an option that is gaining strength in those meetings - he's not Steinbrenner, he's not enamored with big names and big moves. Besides, this isn't the type of player market where you'd want to make big moves, and as far as center is concerned, that's not something the Yankees need to do.