​Good afternoon everyone. It’s time to dive back into the mailbag and tackle some of your questions. Remember to send in your questions for our weekly call by emailing pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.
Long Time, First Time asks: As his first extended stint on the show comes to a close, what are your impressions of Spencer Jones? The obvious concern with Jones is the high strikeout rate he carries from the minors, which indeed showed up more prominently in the majors—he struck out an astonishing 41.5 percent of the time. Yet he did manage to carve out moments of contribution. A .687 OPS isn’t going to dazzle anyone, but it’s far from the worst production the Yankees were getting during his time with the team. His playing time was inconsistent because the team didn’t give him starts against lefties, which sidelined him for most of the Boston series and other stretches. Defensively in the outfield, he was mostly solid—better than Domínguez and notably better than deploying José Caballero there. Between those two options, the organization appears to see a better chance for improvement with Jones getting regular reps in Triple-A, so for the moment they’ll ride with Domínguez in right field. Jones didn’t do enough during his call‑ups for me to strongly oppose that view, but we’ll see whether Jones can string together a couple of hot weeks at Scranton to push the issue.
Cisforcookie asks: Let’s say the Snakes are six games out of the wild card at the break (roughly 3.5 right now with several teams ahead). What would it take for them to part with Moreno, who has 2.3 years left on his contract? Since Judge isn’t getting younger, whatever the Yankees ask for (aside from Cam) shouldn’t be off the table, right? I’m not sure I’m fully on board with going all-in for Gabriel Moreno just yet. The team should certainly pursue an upgrade at catcher, as Austin Wells’ recent homer aside, I don’t have much faith in his bat for the rest of the season, and the options behind him aren’t particularly appealing. However, the future of the catcher position doesn’t need to be solved right this second; it’s more about having coverage going into the stretch run and the postseason. So if it’s more feasible for the Yankees to pursue a short-term rental in Minnesota’s Ryan Jeffers and use other moves to bolster the roster rather than committing heavily to Moreno, I’d prefer that approach. Jeffers has posted 1.7 fWAR in just 37 games this season, anchored by an outstanding 165 wRC+. While he may not reach the absolute peak of his offensive output from his best season, his track record gives me reason to believe he can sustain solid production. Moreno has accumulated 2.1 fWAR in 66 games and has consistently posted above-average hitting while delivering his best performances when it matters most, making him a valuable asset as well.