New York Yankees: 7 Important Needs for the Second Half

2: Didi Gregorius Needs to Clean Up the Mental Mistakes

May 30, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; New York Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius (18) throws the baseball during the fourth inning against the Oakland Athletics at O.co Coliseum. The Yankees defeated the Athletics 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

When the Yankees traded for Didi they thought they knew what they were getting, a great fielding Shortstop, who was a work in progress at the plate. As expected his hitting has not been good (although he has been getting better through the season).  What is concerning is that the other parts of his game haven’t quite worked out as planned.

He has made 8 errors in the field, contributing to the Yankees 43 as a team (tied for 5th worst). 8 seems like a generous number and could easily be in double digits, if not for a few generous “hits”.  This is only scratching the surface of Didi’s struggles. Besides, the fielding errors, he has made a number of bone-headed base running mistakes, that seem inexcusable in a little league game, let alone the MLB.  The Yankees don’t need him to be Jeter, because nobody can be Jeter, but they need him to step up and get rid of the constant mistakes.

Next: 3: Defense Defense Defense