It’s hard to believe Mark Teixeira is already entering the final season of his eight-year, $180M contract. It feels like just yesterday he was poised to sign with the Red Sox before the Yankees swooped in to sign him at the last moment. That was, hands down, one of the most exciting days in RAB history. That Teixeira immediately led the Yankees to the 2009 World Series title was icing on the cake.
Teixeira, now 35 and turning 36 shortly after Opening Day, has had a mostly successful stint in pinstripes, no doubt with some injuries mixed in. He’s appeared in only 372 of 648 possible games over the last four seasons, and the Yankees have missed Teixeira dearly whenever he’s been out of the lineup. Greg Bird last year was the only adequate fill-in they’ve had. Others like Lyle Overbay and Kelly Johnson were just … no.
It appeared the injuries were taking their toll on Teixeira back in 2014, when he hit a career worst .216/.313/.398 (101 wRC+) with 22 homers in 123 games. His second half in particular was gruesome (63 wRC+). Wrist surgery sabotaged Teixeira’s 2013 season, so a year ago at this time we were hoping the poor 2014 was simply Teixeira struggling to get back to 100% after surgery. The further away he got from the procedure, the more effective he’d be, right?
Right. Teixeira hit .255/.357/.548 (143 wRC+) with 31 homers in only 111 games last season before fouling a pitch off his shin and suffering a small fracture. It was his best offensive season as a Yankee by wRC+ — he had a 142 wRC+ in 2009 — and he was the club’s best all-around player by no small margin. You could easily argue Teixeira was the team’s best hitter and best defensive player in 2015. He was that good before getting hurt.
Whereas last season Teixeira was viewed as a bounceback candidate, he comes into this season as a no doubt middle of the order presence who also saves runs with his glove. Teixeira reestablished himself as a core player in 2015, which means a lot will be expected of him in 2016, namely …
Stay Healthy
As I said earlier, injuries have been a problem for Teixeira the last few years. He hasn’t played more than 125 games since 2011. A few weeks ago losing Teixeira would have sucked but been survivable because Bird was going to be waiting in Triple-A. That is no longer the case. Bird will miss the season following shoulder surgery. The safety net is gone. If Teixeira goes down, we’re going to see an awful lot of Dustin Ackley and Chris Parmelee. Yeesh.
I suppose the good news is Teixeira has not dealt with any chronic injuries the last few years. Yes, the wrist surgery was very serious and possible flare-ups will be on ongoing concern, but it hasn’t given him trouble since. Last year he fouled a ball off a shin. It happens. Two years ago he pulled a hamstring running after a pop-up in foul territory. Back in 2012 he pulled his calf trying to beat out a double play, then rushed back and re-aggravated it. These are all dumb, mutually exclusive injuries.
Had Teixeira been dealing with a nagging injury over the last few seasons, say something along the lines of Albert Pujols’ plantar fasciitis or Matt Kemp’s arthritic hips, then I’d be much more concerned about his ability to stay healthy. He’s suffered a bunch of random injuries. Hopefully the extra rest the Yankees say they plan to give all their veterans allows Teixeira to avoid those sort of physical issues in 2016.
Get On Base & Mash Taters
Does anyone still care Teixeira is a dead pull hitter from the left side who is prone to losing hits to the infield shift? That’s so 2012. Last season Teixeira showed he can be very productive despite those shifts because he puts the ball in the air and he makes loud contact. His 35.3% hard contact rate ranked 36th out of the 211 players who batted at least 400 times in 2015, better than Jose Bautista’s and Justin Upton’s and Buster Posey’s and many, many more.
At this point of his career Teixeira is not going to hit for a high average. That’s just not who he is. He’s an old school masher who walks and hits the ball out of the park. Teixeira has consistently walked in 11%+ of his plate appearances over the years and when he puts the ball in the air as a left-handed hitter, roughly one in five batted balls have left the yard the last few seasons. (It’s closer to 15% as a righty hitter, which is still pretty darn good.) Those are Teixeira’s two best and most important offensive skills*. Walking and hitting the ball in the air with authority.
The Yankees have a very straightforward offensive strategy: Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner get on base and run a little, then Teixeira and some others (Alex Rodriguez, Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann) drive them in. That’s it. Nice and simple. When the Yankees do that, they’re dominant. Teixeira figures to hit cleanup again, meaning his job is to drive runs in and get on base for the power hitters behind him. That’s all. That’s what the Yankees need from him at the plate. Take those walks and grip it and rip it. No need to overthink this.
* Teixeira doesn’t get enough credit for being a low strikeout hitter. His 18.4% strikeout rate last year was below the 20.4% league average and tenth lowest among the 41 players to go deep at least 25 times.
Force The Yankees To Make A Tough Decision
Last week Teixeira told reporters he wants to play until he’s 40 and he would love to remain with the Yankees beyond this season. That’s nice to hear. Up until a few weeks ago, it was difficult to see how that would happen. Bird was ready to step in and take over as the long-term solution at first base. Replacing the guy in his mid-to-late-30s with the guy in his early-20s is a no-brainer move.
Bird’s shoulder surgery has cast some doubt on his ability to step in at first base in 2017. Even if his rehab goes well, he may need some time in Triple-A to shake off the rust and get back to where he was last season. We’ll have a much better idea of Bird’s status come the end of the 2016 season, but for now, we’re in wait and see mode. Shoulder surgery is serious stuff. The rehab could take longer than expected.
Teixeira will be a free agent after this season and the Yankees want to have to make a difficult decision come October. Do they give Teixeira the qualifying offer? Do they considering bringing him back as Bird insurance? If Teixeira’s performance suffers at all this season, say he repeats his 2014 showing, these questions will be easy to answer. No to the qualifying offer and no to bringing him back, then find someone else to play first if Bird can’t do it.
But, if Teixeira repeats his 2015 performance, or even produces at 80% of that rate, then what? Those qualifying offer and re-sign him questions become difficult to answer. I suspect we’re going to see more players accept the qualifying offer in future seasons given what happened to Dexter Fowler and Ian Desmond this winter. Teams shy away from players Teixeira’s age, so even if he has a big year, he might be worried about getting hung out to dry on the open market.
There’s no need to worry about any of this right now with a full season yet to come. The Yankees for sure want Teixeira to play well enough that they have to at least consider the qualifying offer and re-signing him in a few months. If that happens, the 2016 Yankees will have received from a very awesome contract season from someone who has been a very awesome Yankee.
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