Ramiro Pena Tabbed as Yanks’ Utility Infielder

NEW YORK (WCBS 880)  -- I honestly thought Spring Training would last forever this year. But finally the season is here. As fun as all the projection models are – from the CHONE to the MARCEL – we can finally stop talking about what we think will happen and start talking about what is happening. And that is refreshing change.

There will be no disappointment this year for Yankee fans. The pitching is solid, with plenty of dependable arms in the pen. (Keep your eyes on Jonathan Albaladejo. If he his healthy, he can emerge.) As the season progresses, we will also see a lot more of Nick Swisher. Although Xavier Nady won the job in rightfield, Swisher tops him in every offensive and defensive category worth mentioning. Nick’s time will come.
 
Of all the developments of the spring, I found the Yanks last roster move very interesting. As roster moves go, choosing which utility infielder fills out the 25-man roster is never an earth-shattering development. But Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi’s decision to choose Ramiro Pena over Angel Borrea is very telling.

If you look just at the offensive stats, you might think that the Yanks are making a mistake on Berroa. For the spring, Berroa hit .371/.381/.597 in 62 ABs. Pena hit .277/.329/.338 in 62 ABs. Berroa displayed much more pop and power.

But pop and power are not what the utility infielder’s position is about, especially, in this post-steroid era. The UI has to flash the leather, and in that Pena has excelled. Pena’s range is exceptional, his hands are soft, and he is quick enough to be used as a pinch-runner.

Berroa, conversely, showed an inept and clunky glove this spring. He has so little range, he makes Derek Jeter’s defense look solid. Berroa also came to camp with a reputation of being a slacker. There is no doubt in my mind that this is the right decision.

I can only laugh when I saw Rotoworld’s take on the matter:

Speculation has the Yankees picking Ramiro Pena as their utiltyman with Cody Ransom filling in for Alex Rodriguez. If they do, Berroa has every right to be absolutely furious. He's batting .379 with 10 extra-base hits in 58 at-bats, giving him about 300 points of OPS on either Ransom or Pena. It'd be a shame if he did all that for a team apparently didn't want him in the first place.

Granted, Rotoworld examines rosters from a fantasy point of view, but that’s not the context of the entry above. The author clearly never saw Pena pick it at shortstop. And the fact the Berroa may be “furious” is beside the point. He is simply the wrong man for the job. And as high as that .371 spring average may be, that .381 OBP in relation to it means he does not walk.

This move also says something about the Yanks commitment to younger players. Under the Torre era, it would be unthinkable that a 23-year-old who never played above AA would win out over a 31-year-old with experience as a starting major league shortstop. But that’s the beauty of the post-Torre era: Talent trumps experience.

Come Mid-May, of course, Pena will be sent down to Scranton to make way for A-Rod, and Cody Ransom will move back to the utility infielder’s role. Until that happens, however, it will be very interesting to see whether Joe Girardi uses Pena as a defensive replacement for Jeter. I don’t expect him to, that may be going too far at the moment, but it’s a fun thing to think about.

I suspect the Yankees won’t do anything to upset the captain until his contract runs out after the 2010 season, but by then, it will be imperative to move Jeter off shortstop. There is no shame in that, many Hall of Famers moved off shortstop at the end of their careers, Banks and Ripken to name two.  Jeter is not immune.