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New York Yankees News: Chris Young Leaves To Sign With Rival

By Kenneth Teape

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New York Yankees News: The Yankees now have an open spot on their bench, as backup outfielder Chris Young has moved on and agreed to a mulit-year contract with the Boston Red Sox.

The New York Yankees are at the beginning of what is a very important offseason. After making a surprise run to the postseason and hosting the 2015 American League Wild Card Game against the Houston Astros, the Yankees have some work to do if they want to return.

They have been mentioned as a part of many MLB Hot Stove rumors, with outfielder Brett Gardner and closer Andrew Miller being the centerpiece of those talks. Gardner has been a part of those talks because of the acquisition of Aaron Hicks from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for catcher John Ryan Murphy. There were many people that believed that trade meant more things to come on the trade front for the Yankees; but now they may have to stay put.

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Hicks was expected to take over the role that Chris Young filled last season as the backup outfielder, with the possibility to take over for Gardner if he is moved. Well, now he will definitely be taking over the role that Young had at the very least because Young has decided to sign with the rival Boston Red Sox.

Young filled in as the Yankees backup outfielder last season, playing all three outfield spots during the season and filling in admirably as the Yankees seemed to be battling an injury on a weekly basis to their lineup. He was a main cog in their lineup against left-handed pitching, and for good reason.

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Young slashed a decent .252/.320/.453 on the season, but was a monster against left-handed pitching. In 153 at-bats against left-handed pitching, Young mashed his way to a slash line of .327/.397/.575, as 23 of his 50 hits were for extra bases. He struck out only 28 times while taking 18 walks in that period of time as well.

That was exponentially better than what he did against right-handed pitching. He slashed .182/.246/.339 in 163 at-bats against right-handed pitching with only 12 extra base hits and 45 strikeouts to only 12 walks.

Young will now bring that to Boston, where he fits in perfectly. With the Green Monster in left field, Young should have a ton of success with his new team. His pull, centerfield and opposite field wOBA numbers say that he should have no problem transitioning to his new team.

That alone was enough to bring Young in as the Red Sox, but it also gives them some maneuverability this offseason. They have already landed Craig Kimbrel from the San Diego Padres, as they look to reload and get back into the thick of things in the American League playoff picture.

Young gives them some insurance in case younger outfielders Rusney Castilloor Jackie Bradley Jr. struggle again and slots right into their fourth outfield spot. Or, the Red Sox could move one of them to upgrade another area of the team, putting Young into their lineup and looking for a player to platoon with him.

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The Red Sox are clearly going for it again this offseason to try and put 2015’s lousy campaign behind them. What will the Yankees do as a response to what the Red Sox are doing? We will have to wait and find out as the MLB Winter Meetings begin next week in Nashville, Tennessee.

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