This New York Yankees Party Plays Without A DJ

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has not gotten his bosses a World Series ring since 2009. This is the franchise that holds the Major League record for the trophy with 27 of them. So, the pressure may be building. This offseason Cashman overhauled his infield and got a few healthy players back. Now, some are questioning if Cashman is really finished tinkering.

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As the infield stands right now, free agent signee Anthony Rizzo will play first. Gleyber Torres will play second. Isaiah Kiner-Falefa will play shortstop and Josh Donaldson will play third. That leaves former National & American League Batting champion, All-Star and three-time Gold Glover, DJ LeMahieu out of the line-up. Really?

Above is the Opening Day line-up for the Pinstripes, as projected by the Talkin' Yankees guys featured on YES Network, @Jomboy and @Talkinjake. Let's break it down.

First, where should LeMahieu play? Well, Aaron Boone says that he is going to bounce around the infield. The most logical spot is second-base. Are you really going to displace a budding young, potential superstar in Gleyber Torres? Torres went through the torture of trying to be an everyday shortstop in the big leagues and that experiment failed miserably. Cashman and Boone have to leave Torres in one position to see if he can settle into his potential.

Does a player like LeMahieu really want to float around and play third one day, second the next and first the next? Are you really going to take Josh Donaldson, Anthony Rizzo and Glayber Torres out of the line-up once every four days during a pennant race? That's why Brian Cashman may not be done.

LeMahieu, 33, makes $12 and is on a team friendly contract for the next 5 seasons. He will be 38 when the contract ends. LeMahieu is a true professional and at that price, barring major injury, will provide any team with a quality veteran infielder that can play a lot of positions and hit like a machine.

On the other hand, could the 25 year-old Gleyber Torres be the one that the Bronx Bombers' GM dangles in front of teams for say, a starting catcher? Tyler Stephenson is slated to be a star for the Cincinnati Reds behind the plate. He'd surely look good in pinstripes. Either way, I get the feeling that Brian Cashman is not done yet with the 2022 New York Yankees and it will be a fun couple of weeks until Opening Day.