BALTIMORE — Franchy Cordero is the epitome of a boom-or-bust player.
Through seven seasons in the big leagues, he has negative WAR, meaning he’s statistically worse than the average replacement player. For his career, he’s struck out in nearly 35 percent of his at-bats. He has negative-7 defensive runs saved and negative-2 outs above average, which means he’s a poor defender.
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But what he has is otherworldly power. In batting practice at Yankee Stadium earlier this week, Cordero hit a ball 490 feet that landed in the last row of the bleachers. In Baltimore before the game, Cordero hit the warehouse beyond Camden Yards’ right field on the fly. In Friday’s 7-6 loss, Cordero blasted a three-run, 411-foot home run at 105 mph.
Franchy Fried 🔥 pic.twitter.com/QMThwm8y0B
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 7, 2023
Yankees manager Aaron Boone took the left-handed Cordero out of the game in the sixth and replaced him with Isiah Kiner-Falefa when the Orioles put in a lefty reliever. With a runner on third, Kiner-Falefa popped out to first.
“Just a chance to have a better matchup with the lefty there and a chance to add on,” Boone said of his decision to use Kiner-Falefa in that situation. “I like the chances of IKF putting the ball in play there. He popped it up.”
In the eighth with two outs, Kiner-Falefa struck out with another runner on third and an opportunity for the Yankees to tie. Boone was asked why he stuck with Kiner-Falefa in his second at-bat over using beleaguered veteran Aaron Hicks.
“We’re looking for a hit in that spot,” Boone said. “It’s not an on-base situation, necessarily, it’s more of a hit situation, so I liked IKF there.”
That Boone trusted Kiner-Falefa, who’s now 0-for-12 this season with just one hard-hit ball, over Hicks says a lot for where he stands on the team’s depth chart. Hicks recently told The Athletic that he has no idea what his role is. It’s even less clear now. If Boone doesn’t trust him over Kiner-Falefa, who not only has a .000 average but has never played center field before this season, then when’s a good time to use him?
What gets interesting is when Harrison Bader returns from an oblique injury. The Yankees will have to create a roster spot. If Cordero continues showing intriguing potential, the Yankees may feel inclined to keep him around because they could use a lefty power hitter on the bench. Oswaldo Cabrera deserves everyday playing time in left field. It could come to a point where DFA’ing Hicks becomes a possibility. He has three years left on his contract and is owed over $30 million, but the Yankees ate a salary that large in the past with Jacoby Ellsbury.
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Hicks’ immediate future in pinstripes does seem more uncertain after each time the Yankees use other outfielders over him.
Here are some more takeaways from the Yankees’ series-opening loss against the Orioles:
Schmidt’s struggles continue
We mentioned this in his first start, but until Clarke Schmidt can get left-handed hitters out, he’s more of a relief pitcher than a starter. In his second start, the Orioles’ lefties were 4-for-8 with two doubles and two walks. Schmidt lasted 3 1/3 innings, gave up five hits, walked three and allowed four runs.
“Being able to get left-handed hitters out regardless, that’s something that I want to be good at,” Schmidt said. “Whether it’s starting or relieving, you need to be able to get a left-handed hitter out.”
The amount of hard contact even with the outs he did get was also concerning. Baltimore had 11 balls in play over 95 mph against Schmidt on Friday afternoon. Part of Schmidt’s development this offseason was implementing a cutter so he could have a better go-to pitch to use against lefties. He had a 6 percent whiff rate with his cutter Friday, generating just one swing-and-miss on 16 swings.
When Carlos Rodón and Luis Severino return from injury, Schmidt may end up being the odd man out of the rotation.
Volpe’s slow start
Since his two-hit game in his second start, Anthony Volpe is 1-for-15 with seven strikeouts. He’s now 3-for-21 to begin his career. There’s no reason to panic. Derek Jeter was a below-average hitter for nearly the first half of his rookie season. Aaron Judge wasn’t the Aaron Judge we now know when he debuted.
Unless Volpe looks completely overmatched, it seems unlikely that the Yankees would make a change. Kiner-Falefa held the position last season while being a below-average hitter and a shaky, at best, fielder. There will be bumps with a rookie shortstop.
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“He’s falling behind a little bit, so he’s probably chased a little bit,” Boone said. “Everyone’s human. You want to get those first things going. You want to get off to a good start. He’ll be fine. He’s probably just expanded a little more than who he is, which is a guy who controls the strike zone. So it’s probably a little bit of expansion and probably a result of getting behind in some counts.”
Odds and ends
• Before the game, Boone said Josh Donaldson will likely go on the injured list with right hamstring tightness. It’s likely DJ LeMahieu will get the bulk of the work at third base in his absence.
• Severino is scheduled to throw a bullpen Sunday; Rodón will throw live batting practice Monday.
• Jhony Brito will start for the Yankees on Saturday. Everyone else in the rotation will get bumped back one day.
(Photo of Aaron Hicks: Vincent Carchietta / USA Today)