Emilio Bonifacio Would be Great Addition to New York Yankees’ Roster
By Christopher Gamble
@chriswgamble
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While the New York Yankees keep their eye on the Chase Headley free agency situation and hope to re-sign him, GM Brian Cashman must be thinking about backup plans in case Headley is offered a lot more than the Yankees are willing to pay. One name that has flown under the radar is Emilio Bonifacio.
Bonifacio, 29, spent last season with the Chicago Cubs before being shipped to the Atlanta Braves at the deadline. With the Cubs, Bonifacio hit a nice .279/.318/.373 with two home runs, 14 doubles and scored 35 runs while swiping 14 bags in 69 games. He split time between second base, the outfield, shortstop and third base. However, he struggled with the Braves. In 41 games he slashed just .212/.273/.280 but did steal 12 bases.
In many respects, Bonifacio is like current Yankee Martin Prado in that you can plug him just about anywhere except catcher. Adding Bonifacio to the Yankees’ roster would give manager Joe Girardi a ton of flexibility which would be a huge plus with so many questions surrounding the Yankees’ lineup.
His glove isn’t the best but Bonifacio does make consistent contact, only 555 strikeouts in 2725 plate appearances, and has some good speed with 164 stolen bases in 722 career games. More importantly, he is a switch-hitter who has hit left-handed pitching to the tune of .291/.341/.380 in 762 plate appearances. Against right-handed pitching, Bonifacio has hit .250/.311/.326 in 1947 plate appearances as a left-handed batter. Last season, Bonifacio raked lefty pitchers to the tune of .365/.411/.548 in 114 plate appearances.
Given the amount of questions surrounding the Yankees at third base, second base, shortstop and depth in the outfield, Bonifacio would be a great fit. There would be plenty of playing time for him as Girardi likes to play percentages a lot and having a switch-hitter who plays as many positions as Bonifacio does would greatly increase roster flexibility. Even if the Yankees re-sign Headley, adding a player like Bonifacio would be a huge addition to the roster.
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