Choi for fans over Carter latest DFA
Yankees fans have been clamoring for months for anyone to replace Chris Carter at first base. On Tuesday, that’s what they got.
Following a 4-1 loss to the Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium, the long-struggling Carter was designated for assignment for the second time in less than two weeks, with the team announcing infielder Ji-Man Choi will be signed and placed on the Yankees’ 25-man roster.
Choi, 26, played his only 54 major league games last season with the Angels, batting .170 (19-for-112), with five homers and a .611 OPS.
Carter, who went 0-for-2 with a walk before Tyler Wade pinch hit for him in the ninth inning, had made five straight appearances since rejoining the Yankees, but the 30-year-old had just one hit in his final 12 at-bats.
The slugger, who seemed worth a gamble in spring training after he shared the NL lead with 41 home runs and drove in 94 runs with the Brewers in 2016, hit .201 with eight homers and 26 RBIs this year, while recording more than twice as many strikeouts (76) as hits (37).
“Originally our plan was [for] Greg Bird to be our first baseman,” manager Joe Girardi said. “He’s hurt. We call up Tyler Austin, hoping we get something. He got hurt. So it is what it is, and we’ll continue to go day by day.”
The days have been long and dark at first base.
Bird hasn’t suited up since May 1, and may need ankle surgery. He held an anemic .100 batting average in the 19 games in which he appeared in this season. Austin lasted four games before moving to the disabled list with a hamstring injury, giving Carter another opportunity he hadn’t earned.
Girardi said he started Carter on Tuesday because of his success against Toronto starter J.A. Happ (4for-12, with two homers), but he went hitless as usual, and dropped a throw at first base, eliciting the boos that have followed him throughout his first season in The Bronx.
“It’s life in New York,” Girardi said. “It’s part of it.”
Though Girardi said backup catcher Austin Romine remains “an option” to play first base, Choi likely will make his first start soon — which would make him the team’s seventh starting first baseman this season.
This year, the South Korea native batted .289 (55-for190) with eight home runs and a .876 OPS in 56 games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. In 444 career games in the minors, Choi has a .306 batting average.
Will Choi be an upgrade over the massive free-agent disappointment? That’s impossible to know right now. But Carter made the unknown the most attractive option available.