Debby Wong-US Presswire
One of the New York Yankees’ biggest surprises this season has been Vernon Wells,who was acquired about a week before the regular season started to replace Curtis Granderson.
This was another one of those trades that I did not get. I’d been saying for months that the Yankees need to get younger, and adding Wells didn’t help that.
The Yankees would not have traded for Wells if Granderson did not get hurt in February. When you think about it, the Yankees did not have many options. Ichiro Suzuki and Brett Gardner were penciled in to start in the outfield, but the Yankees’ outfield options were Ben Francisco and Brennan Boesch. A move to acquire an outfielder was necessary.
The thing that I did not like about Wells is that he is not consistent. He’ll start the season strong but by May or June, he’ll start to fade.
He hit .230 with 11 home runs in 77 games last season for the Los Angeles Angels. You can’t really blame the Angels for not playing Wells that much last season, though — there was an outfielder for the Angels last season named Mike Trout who stole the show.
In 23 games this season, Wells is hitting .307 with six home runs and 13 RBIs. It is hard to replace someone like Granderson in the lineup, but Wells has risen to the occasion. The Yankees’ first month of the season has been highlighted by players coming through who you would not expect to come through, and Wells is one of them.
Wells has provided timely home runs and has done an admirable job filling in for Granderson. Three of Wells’ six home runs have come in his last 10 games. When Granderson and Mark Teixeira come back this month, I am curious to see what the Yankees will do with Wells.
