As we get ready to start the "2nd half", I think it's fair to take a look at the Gregorius trade/experiment - He was acquired by giving up Shane Greene. Gregorius , 22 yrs old and is in the process of playing his first FULL season as a starting SS coming directly after Jeter's retirement. Maybe just a little added pressure? Nah. Since struggling mightily for the first two months of the season - he has batted .258 in June - .257 in July for a combined .257.8 for the two months so far. This isn't ST, this isn't April or May...this a sizable sample at the All Star break. Shane Greene on the other hand is currently pitching to the tune of 6.32 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. Didi Seems to be coming along nicely with the bat and has stabilized himself better on defense. Has made errors- but has also prevented quite a few baserunners with nice plays on defense which he made look rather easy. Plenty of games left but for now, the kid is doing "OKAY" for a 22 yr old playing his first full season as a starting SS on the big stage ◀ significant factor. Maybe some of "us" can pretend Cashman didn't make the trade so we may possibly get a better more clearer perspective on this trade.
He's 25 not 22 but did pickup his game. He's not overwhelming by any means especially with the offensive troubles at second base. That being said it has helped the team by having Didi settle in a bit. Second half keys or things to hope for. The kid getting time at second adds some offensive. Besides the odd homer total Drew has for not hitting worth shit the rest of the time. Also, Headley while not terrible needs to up his production. Need to see some power out of him.
The little I have seen of DD, I think the yanks made a good decision, if he maintains his poise, he will be a difference maker down the line, you cannot win without a strong up. The middle, defense defense defense!!!!!
Oops, excuse me...yep he turned 25 yrs old in Feb but still doesn't have alot of mileage on his wheels - still not quite ready for Social Security, lol, and still young enough to give 6-7 prime seasons if the Yanks are that fortunate. I still happen to think as he matures and learns the league/pitchers, as a LH 6' 2", 200 pounder who doesn't get cheated on his swings, it's reasonable to expect down the road a "few" more HRs playing his games at YS. He and Refsnyder are the two young players I'm looking forward to seeing. how they do in the 2nd half. We'll see how it goes. I wish them luck. They could turn into possibly, perhaps a heck of a young tandem at SS and 2b.
Gregorius IMO will NEVER be a big offensive player. By big for him I'm saying 15/60-70/280. I think at the most he may cap out at around 10/50/250 with a low OBP, TOPS! and play a solid SS. I could live with that until a better option comes along. To his credit for what it is he has been improving over the last two months. Though currently stuck in a 4 for 25 slump since he hit his high water mark of 246 his number have pretty much gone up every month. April = 0/4/206 with 2 XBH May = 2/7/232 with 5 XBH June = 2/5/258 with 6 XBH July = 0/3/257 with 3 XBH To date he's at 4/19/238 with only 16 XBH. Not a whole lot of production. I'd like to see more............................................much more.
Yep, I'm not exactly expecting stellar offensive numbers from Gregorius but I'll venture to guess the Yanks have won a previous WS or two with a SS (prior to Jeter) who didn't have fancy offensive numbers. Get GOOD steady SP, a good bullpen, a couple of batters who can hit the long ball and drive in runs and Gregorius may very well become a nice complimentary player. Gregorius wasn't brought here to be a savior.
...^^^ this. ...DiDi is an average SS...not good, not bad. But I don't think he's the long term answer.
Looks like the Derek Jeter syndrome has already affected Yankee fans. If Billy Beanebag had traded Shane (6.32 ERA, 1.44 WHIP) Greene for Gregorius (.258 over JUNE to all star break)......we may have been hearing a different tune.
Couple more things on DiDi regarding his defense. We know he's had his struggles especially earlier in the season but he's currently tied with three other A.L. SS for 5th in least amount of errors (9) amoung qualifiers and one behind Iglesias (8) for 4th best. Not too bad. My biggest disappointment/surprise so far is his inability to steal a few more bases and his R/F numbers are a bit below league avg although his fielding %' is better than league average for SS..... but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for now as he continues to grow into an everyday SS. We'll see how it goes.
