Luke Voit Delivers the Wow for Depleted Yankees
Oh, that Luke …
… is Luke Voit. The big first baseman. Home-run hitter. And the man making Yankee fans forget …
Greg who?
Greg Bird. Oh. Him.
Yawn.
Injured again? Too bad.
So, asking Luke Voit what have you done so far is too easy a question.
In 116 plate appearances, as of the Yankees 26th game, the big man swatted eight home runs, drove in 22 runs, and was hitting .276 with a .927 OPS. And we’re still in April. Ten days ago he was hitting below .200. Quite an improvement.
Is it any wonder Voit has impressed Yankees fans so far? Fans who might have been wondering if he was for real.
Among Yankees fans, he has created quite a clamor. The chant of Lew-k is heard almost every time he steps into the batter’s box, even on the road. Luke and home-run hitter, quite the combination.
The Trade
He’s made Brian Cashman look like a genius and graffitied the cache of Mike Girsch, the St. Louis Cardinals General Manager.
The trade, consummated July 29 last year, was just another deal at the time. None of the players involved were household names. Chasen Shreve and Giovanny Gallegos, the two pitchers the Yankees sent to St. Louis were on and not on the Yankees 25-man roster when they were exchanged for Voit and future considerations.
What could those future considerations possibly be? Given Luke Voit’s mediocre minor league stats as a home-run hitter, as per FanGraphs, it’s easy to understand why the Cardinals decided to use him as a chip for a left-handed relief pitcher who had performed adequately for the Yankees the prior two seasons. Did the Yankees think they had overpaid for Voit’s potential, despite what analytics might have promised? Were they really acquiring the home-run hitter they thought they were, or hoped they were? An interesting possibility.
But now, Chasen Shreve toils for the Class AAA Memphis Redbirds since St. Louis designated him for assignment after an inefficient spring training cameo. Giovanny Gallegos, on the other hand, began the 2019 season with Memphis before being recalled to St. Louis in early April to work out of their bullpen.
In The Meantime …
Luke Voit has continued to smash home runs and hit to all fields, so he is not bedeviled by shifts in the infield. In the process, playing for an injury-ravaged team, he has assumed a major role. And unlike other young players (players such as Kevin Maas, Shane Spencer, and Dan Pasqua) who arrived on the Yankees over the years and unexpectedly began playing brief cameos as home-run hitters, crushing one fastball after another over the fences until they couldn’t anymore, Voit has lived up to expectations so far. And unless matters drastically change, unlike those other players, Voit is not a ne’er-do-well and should not see the minor leagues anytime soon. Of course, he could be traded, but so can any player given the right offer.
If and when Voit hits his ceiling, if he’s not in his prime (he was 28 this past February), but in his 30s—a death knell for any player in the current employment climate of baseball—then the Yankees need to do nothing other than release him from his contract or designate him for assignment and let some other team decide his fate.
FanGraphs analysis of Voit is that, his 2018 skills were legitimately strong and suggest his performance was more real than fake. But, they also add, the second highest barrel rate of [2018] … makes him a real mystery for 2019.
As for the Yankees, their investment in Voit is as minimal as can be. Two marginal pitchers who were not in their long-range plans. That they were even able to secure Voit for the two marginal talents begs credulity. But it happened. So, whatever they get out of Voit is a bargain.
Voit, Greg Bird, and Value
Luke Voit has already helped the Yankees minimize the annual Greg Bird injury that seems to strike every year like clockwork. Because Voit is producing, if the Yankees decide to cut Bird and his $1.2 million salary loose, they’ll barely miss his potential impact and, avoid paying Bird his first arbitration raise in 2020, which could be $3 or $4 million. Not that those numbers are stratospheric, but Voit may help push Bird off the 40-man roster. Why pay not only for what you don’t need but for what you don’t receive?
In contrast, Voit won’t cost the Yankees any real money until his first arbitration in 2021. This season, his age-28 season, he earns only $573,200. And free agency will not be an issue until the 2025 season when he will be 34 years old.
So, he may never receive a big contract, no matter how many home runs he hits, because he did not reach the major leagues until age 26. His lifetime earnings could approach $20 or $30 million if he is fortunate and performs well, but $100 million is unlikely because he will be 34 when he would be offered his first free agent contract.
So the Yankees get two more inexpensive seasons before making a decision on Voit. And then, if he has become the player they hope, offering him a real major league contract should not be an issue. Length and amount can be negotiated, or he can be traded to a team that values his power and defense.
It’s Not Your Grandfather’s Baseball Game Anymore
The other side of the equation is Luke Voit is a home-run hitter in an era of home-run hitting. Christian Yelich has already matched the most home runs in the month of April, in baseball history: 14. And it’s possible he could be joined by one or two others before the month ends.
The first two to reach 14 home runs in the month of April should be Hall of Famers, though steroid accusations against Alex Rodriguez will likely keep him out. Albert Pujols smacked 14 home runs in his first 24 games in April of 2006. Alex Rodriguez followed suit in April of 2007 swatting 14 home runs in his first 18 games to begin the season.
This April, Christian Yelich has belted 14 long balls in his first 26 games, while Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers has swatted 13 homers in 28 games. Also on the top of this 2019 list is Eddie Rosario of the Minnesota Twins who has popped 11 home runs in Minnesota’s first 24 games. Additionally, three players have already hit 10 home runs this April, and six others have hit nine. Luke Voit is one of five players with eight home runs.
There are still three days left in April and 39 games to be played. A lot of home runs still waiting to be hit. And more than two players in one season with more than 14 or more home runs is a real possibility.
So, no, this not your grandfather’s game anymore. Not that some teams don’t play base-to-base baseball because they have no recourse, but the best teams have the talent to play the game the way Earl Weaver wanted to play it when not as many home runs were hit. Sit back and wait for the three-run homer. And on the better teams in baseball today, there are four or five powerful bats in the lineup to do just that. Itching to do just that.
