Aaron made a SMART decision …
Here’s the boxscore below. Today Romine was 1-2 with a 2B, 1 RBI, 2 R, and a BB. Last year when Sanchez went on the DL in the 1st week of the 2017 season, Romine stepped in as the everyday catcher for the month of April. Not only did he do a great job as a receiver (remember before the Yankee home opener he challenged Pineda to throw more Change-Ups & he pitched a perfect game into the 7th inning by doing so), but Romine also had a .314 BA / .351 On base% in April when he played everyday. In May ’17 when Sanchez came back from the DL Romine had a .125 BA. Let me be clear, Romine is not a great hitter and never will be but when given semi-regular ABs he becomes a tough-out. Also below, check out the splits for Sonny Gray when he throws to the 2 Catchers.
Right now Aaron Boone says Romine will catch Gray “for the foreseeable future”, and that’s smart. Now my question becomes should his role be expanded slightly more. Possibly from 1 in 5 games to 2 in 5 games, with Sanchez DH-ing more? Seems like a good idea to me. Sanchez has possibly the best bat in the Yankee potent line-up. A catcher gets beat up behind the plate with foul-tips etc. They have to endure the oppressive heat of the dog days of summer, wearing equipment that makes it that-much hotter. All catchers tend to wear down towards the end of the season for these reasons. Why not keep Sanchez fresh by giving him a break at DH more often? With Romine’s superior receiving skills, it seems like a win /win to me.
