Since he came to the Yankees late in 2008, most of us have had a soft spot for . We thought the trade was a steal (we were right) and many of us wanted Swisher to win the starting right field job over . Nady got the job because he was the incumbent, but was soon injured. Swisher stepped into the starting job and hasn’t looked back since. At the end of this year, he has a club option. It’s very affordable at $10.25M, but when Swisher started the year of so poorly, some (not I) wondered if the Yanks would indeed pick up that option. I don’t see any reason why they shouldn’t.
(Numbers current as of before game time last night)
On April 30, Swisher’s line sat at .226/.340/.286/.626. Since then, he has hit .280/.394/.471 in 381 plate appearances to bring his season line to .269/.382/.432/.814. His wOBA is at .358, which is actually just over his career .357 mark. And, just for fun, that .382 OBP heading into yesterday’s game was higher than ‘s 2011 SLG, which sat at .381 coming into Wednesday. By wRC+, Swish checks in at 124 in 2011, which is the third highest mark of his career (133 in 2010, 125 in 2009).
Swisher is also getting it done in the field. He leads all AL right fielders in raw UZR and is second to in Defensive Runs Saved. For whatever reason, there is still this idea floating around that Nick Swisher is a bad right fielder and that’s just, well, wrong. The numbers like him a lot and so does the eye test. Swisher may not make a ton of flashy plays, and he may make some straight up herp-a-derp mistakes out there, but generally, he gets the job done.
All of this is to say that, yes, the Yankees need to pick up Swisher’s option. I felt the same way at the beginning of the year for a few reasons. First, I thought he would rebound. Second, I noted the sub-par class of outfield free agents:
LAA *
WAS
NYM
SEA
SF
BOS
OAK
MIN
SEA
TB
OAK
BOS
KC *
CHC
CIN
OAK
BAL
Carlos Guillen DET
NYM
NYM
PHI
OAK
NYY
CLE
MIN
SD
OAK
ATL *
HOU
WAS
DET
CWS
Juan Rivera TOR
Cody Ross SF
CLE *
WAS
Nick Swisher NYY *
LAD
OAK
At the beginning of the year, it was just as much about there not being a viable alternative to Swisher. Now, once again, it’s all about Swisher’s performance. He has left no reasonable doubt. I expect Nick Swisher back with the Yankees in 2012.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
I think Swisher’s (perceived) problem in the field is that when he misses, he misses *ugly,* and even some of his great plays seem totally out of control. He doesn’t have the smoothness of Gardner or Granderson, so when he makes a running catch with his arms windmilling and everything it *appears* to be lucky.
Totally agree with this. The truth is that he has excellent range for a RF, but he looks a bit awkward. The one real negative about his defense is that his arm is not too good.
dump him and trade for ethier or kemp
Almost wish the Yankee would back off their extension stance and try to lock Swisher up to a 2 or 3 year extension. His skill set is likely to age well, and I’d have to no problem with a 2 or 3 year deal. Say if Swisher were a free agent after this season, what do you think he’d get? 3, 4 years, 12 million a year? Just wondering.
he is five for fifty three with two out and runners in scoring position,, also has been terrible the last two years in the playoffs..
Cool sample sizes, bro.
Swisher is just flat out getting the job done! He will be a Yankee in 2012.
If any of you “fans” can’t live with that, become Red-Sox fans!
Nady got the job over Swisher because he was a better ballplayer period!
Irrespective of Nick’s hitting and fielding, which is quite acceptable, nobody is mentioning the ‘clubhouse effect’ he has. How about creating some kind of device that measures a players value ‘beyond the numbers’. It’s easy to see when a team ‘feels good about itself’. The SF Giants didn’t have the best lineup, but probably had the best chemistry last year. The Yankees and Red Sox generally fall into that category.
Just ask the players who they want on their team. That’s worth a great deal of money…that is if you want to win.
Yankees forever
Swisher has not got the job done in the playoffs. The Yankee goal has always been to win the world series and they have shown in the past that players who don’t perform on the so-called “big stage” are usually gone the next season when in their last year of their contract that would be “Swisherlicous ” and Hopefully John Sterling and his annoying and nagging voice “compadre” Waldman will get let go too.
Angelo, Well then they should’ve got rid of A Rod the way he underperformed in some post season play. You can whip your numbers any way you want to fit your belief but I read so much on here that is brain deadish. I’m not trying to be a wise guy, I’m a 60 year Bombers fan that has attended over 800 games and 6 world series starting with Koufax and Drysdale era. But for weeks I read post after post about how worthless Gardy and Jeter is and they should be benched and traded. I am more concerned now about the rotation and if Hughes can return to form or not? I’ve given up on AJ a long time ago. And don’t ya just know, when they do gwt rid of him he’ll probably become an ace on another team. Not everyone can can handle the New York Atmosphere and pressure. Ie Berkman. Go Yanks!
[...] results="10"]my ex factor[/affmage] [affmage source="clickbank" results="20"]my ex factor[/affmage] The "Ex" Factor. What do you think? My boyfriend thinks it's great to be in contact w…friends. namely, her first love (boring) anyway, when they talk, they begin to reflect on the [...]