MOVING UP
Yanks hope utilityman Wade can add Zobrist-like impact
CHICAGO — He wasn’t a member of the heralded haul general manager Brian Cashman received from the Indians and Cubs at last year’s trade deadline, but that doesn’t mean the Yankees haven’t always thought highly of Tyler Wade.
On Tuesday, four years after being a fourth-round pick out of Murrieta Valley High School in Murrieta, Calif., Wade arrived in the big leagues when he was summoned from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to join the Yankees in time to pinch hit in a 3-2 win over the White Sox, scoring a run after walking in the eighth inning and striking out in the ninth.
Wade’s promotion to the big leagues came about Monday night when second baseman Starlin Castro suffered a Grade 1 strain of his right hamstring running out a ground ball in the third inning of a 6-5 Yankees victory. He underwent an MRI exam Tuesday and was placed on the 10-day disabled list.
A natural shortstop, the 22-year-old Wade embraced the Yankees’ plan hatched two years ago to turn him into a super utility player. This year at Scranton/Wil- kes-Barre he played 44 games at short, 12 at second base, 10 at third, two in center field, two in left field and one in right field.
At the time of his promotion, Wade was hitting .313 (89-for-284) with five homers, 25 RBIs, a .833 OPS, a .390 on-base percentage and had 24 stolen bases in 28 attempts.
“I don’t feel right now it is that bad,’’ said Castro, who leads the Yankees with 92 hits. “For me I don’t think it’s serious. I am walking normal.’’
As for the Ben Zobrist-like role, Wade viewed it as a faster way to the big leagues.
“I wanted to help the big league team anyway I can. I felt this was the quickest way,’’ Wade said.
A talent evaluator who follows the Yankees’ system and saw the Triple-A team this past weekend praised Wade’s versatility, which proves the 6-foot-1, 185pounder is an above average athlete.
“I think he is a very good athlete. Anybody who plays all of those positions is a good athlete,’’ the scout said.
As for the bat, the scout said Wade is comfortable in his own skin.
“He is a line-drive hitter who goes gap to gap and un- derstands who he is,’’ the scout said of the left-handed hitting Wade, who batted .299 (26-for-87) against lefties at Triple-A. “I think he might struggle against better left-handed pitching at the beginning but he looks like he is going to be a good major league player. His arm is above average and accurate and is a plus runner. He is everything you want in a major league player.’’