I don’t know if it’s my newfound rooting interest in him or the Yankees calling up every recently retired corner infielder like a desperate dude who needs a date to his 10-year high school reunion that’s influencing this, but it certainly seems to me like there’s been a red carpet of opportunity rolled out for Ronnier Mustelier in the wake of Mark Teixeira‘s injury. He’s gotten a lot more playing time at the hot corner in the six days since Teix’s strained tendon was diagnosed, and had Cash himself confirm that the Yankees were looking at him as a potential option at third. If you’re on the wrong side of the roster-making fringe as Mustelier was, hearing the GM say your name is like music to your ears.
Mustelier has played in every game since Teix’s injury, something he couldn’t say prior, and he’s had a few starts at third base. He hasn’t dazzled in the six games he’s played, going just 2-12 at the plate with one run scored and RBI apiece, but he has sprinkled in little dashes of what he brings to the table offensively with a triple, a BB, and a stolen base. And while he hasn’t had the chance to make a lot of plays at third base, he’s looked competent and drawn some positive reviews from folks who’ve watched him. With the situation the Yankees are facing to start the season, he’s the perfect type of player to roll the dice on.
The Yankees need flexibility, right-handedness, and power out of their bench this season. Mustelier offers all three of those things, at least he has in his two years in the Minors, and he is 6-20 overall this spring with a pair of XBH and a pair of walks. His presence at third base would allow the Yankees to move Kevin Youkilis to third, which is still their best internal option for replacing Teix, and give them another righty OF bat to stick in the corners as needed when Teix comes back.
Mustelier isn’t going to be Gold Glove-caliber in the outfield or at third, but the Yankees aren’t expecting any of the contenders for those bench positions to be anyway. And as far as offensive output potential goes, most projections rate him higher than some of this competition. ZiPS pegs Mustelier for a .264/.309/.413 slash (.313 wOBA) with 11 HR in 412 PA, noticeably better than the .247/.302/.374 slash it projects for Matt Diaz. I don’t think the Yankees would be psyched to have to get 400+ PA from either of those guys, but they’re going to need some and Mustelier looks like the better candidate, both on paper and on the field, to do more with his than someone like Diaz or Jayson Nix.
It’s been a while since the Yankees have had the proverbial “out of nowhere” position player come up and make a little noise in the show, maybe as far back as Shane Spencer. I’m not saying Mustelier can be a repeat of Spencer, but he does have the skill set to fill a lot of the voids on the Yankee roster right now and they seem committed to giving him a real shot.
(Photo courtesy of the AP)
I've been advocating for Mustelier to get a chance in the Big Leagues for a while – I really hope it happens. At this point, what's the worst that can happen?
I agree. His flexibility and his hit tool make him a great fit; and his personal story is inspiring
Shelley Duncan came out of nowhere
Good call. I forgot about him.
Also, it's really fun to say his name like a pirate: Ronnnnierrrrrrr Mustelierrrrrr.
Sorry, sometimes I need to be 11 years old.
I'm not trying to be a pain, I actually just think it's even more fun to imagine the late great Bob Sheppard over-enunciating every syllable:
Ronnier… Moose-telly-yehhh…
Actually, Prof, the last syllable of his first and last names rhyme more closely with Kanye than with the letter R.
Who says the pirate has to pronounce it correctly? He just has to talk like a pirate!
I hope he gets the chance too. His bat makes a big noise when it hits the ball. None of the other candidates can do that.
Speaking of being eleven again, and as a person who played and loved Strat-o-Matic well into adulthood, I love it when a writer says that a team is about to "roll the dice" on a player.
Yeah, you just hope it's not going to be a 2-12 "Line out into as many outs as possible"!
There is no negative angle to this. Taking the situation of our roster as it is – to wit, broken – an in-house, youthful replacement is fresh, or at least comparatively palatable to all concerned parties. The likely most unenthusiastic group – front office and those concerned with ticket sales – should be able to restfully make this move; realistically speaking, Derrek Lee will sell no more tickets than Mustellier and would likely be less productive in baseball terms. Moreover, fiscal concerns and an eye toward operating on an austerity budget have led the Yankees towards pursuing end-of-career fellows, but does it not make more sense to promote from within if this aim is truly THE aim? Salary-wise this is no question, especially as a fill-in gig, and revenue wise it should not prove to be such a loss and, perhaps, may be a slight boost.
He is not a kid, he will turn 29 this year. There's not much more maturing for him to do in the minors.
Bring him up. There's no point in wanting to save his option-years or delaying his arbitration and free-agency. And if he is the odd man out when the other corner outfield kids mature he could easily be traded.
You got to find out sooner or later if he can cut in the show and this oportunity seem perfect for that.
Good call this guy is a perfect fit for the Yankees. Should be starting at third when season starts. then used as a replacement for Youk, Tex and Gardner when the need occurs. Since he is 28 and play a lot of baseball for Cuba he will not be effected as much as a normal rookie, sitting on the bench.
It seems that the up-side/ceiling for Mustelier isn't remarkably high, that the Yankees aren't really betting on him being the "anything"-of-tomorrow, other than a good utility role player. Well, this is exactly one of those situations where you need a guy like that. I'd be perfectly happy to have him and Zoilo Almonte (my preference, or any of the other not-quite-ready OF prospects) start the season in the Bronx, get a taste for what the majors are all about, then heading down to SWB once the multi-millionaires are healthy enough to play. It's a bit of a low-pressure situation, where all anyone is expecting is "replacement-player" production so anything else will be seen as a huge success. It'll be a good way to get a closer look at some of the kids in the pipeline and also light a fire under their rumps to do the work needed to make it back to the bigs.