Yesterday, I wrote about how the New York Yankees should send IF/OF Kevin Russo down to the minors when catcher Jorge Posada was ready to be activated off the disabled list.
However, that’s not what happened. Instead, the Yankees demoted 1B/DH Juan Miranda on Wednesday, and the reason is because Posada is more of a designated hitter than ever before.
See, I knew Posada was going to come back as a DH and not a catcher, but I thought that was only going to be through the weekend. Instead, this sounds like something that could happen for a couple of weeks. Even after Posada returns to catching, it is likely that we’re to see Francisco Cervelli catching his fair share, too.
So with Posada expected to be the every day DH, there is no real need for Miranda. Marcus Thames is the bat off the bench, and Russo is the back-up first baseman. Also, Chad Moeller is going to be a back-up catcher for longer than first thought.
“I know that I can catch and I know that I can be out there,” Posada said . “But a lot of circumstances have come up. I’m going to have to be smart about it. If I’m in the lineup, I’m happy. I would like to catch here and there sometimes, but I understand what the future holds.”
Continued Posada : “Two or three weeks from now, I’m probably going to be 100 percent.”
The Yankees say that they want him to be their every day catcher as soon as he’s ready, but in reality there is no rush.
With Nick Johnson out until July or August, the Yankees do need a DH, so keeping Posada in that role makes sense.
Cervelli has also done a great job as the every day catcher in his absence, so why not let him keep playing?
That’s not to say that Posada won’t catch. He will. But the days of him being this team’s primary catcher are over. So at least until Johnson returns, Cervelli won’t be riding pine.
Even beyond this season Posada won’t necessarily be the primary catcher. Between Posada’s four injuries in the last two years and Johnson’s own injuries, the Yankees aren’t likely to resign the impending free agent. Instead, they’ll likely use Posada as the full time DH and split time behind the plate between Cervelli, and top prospect Jesus Montero .
It’s too early to tell right now, but it seems like Posada the catcher is destined to become Posada, the catcher/DH.
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