They have two highly-rated prospects, Oswald Peraza and Anthony Volpe, who both look very promising to one day take over as a starting shortstop at the major league level. Sticking with what they have would be more of a short term solution to the Yankees problem at shortstop. If the Yankees do stick with Urshela at shortstop for now, there is nothing really wrong with having a “defensive specialist" at the position. He is an inconsistent player on offense but his defense has always been reliable. Urshela is more than capable of adjusting and making the full time transition with how good his glove is. The new defensive alignment for the Yankees late last season worked out well for them despite three players being outside of their normal positions. LeMahieu has played some third base in his career but second base has always been his primary position. Urshela is an excellent defensive player and Gold Glove caliber third baseman when at his best, but had very little career experience at shortstop. DJ LeMahieu moved off of second base and over to third base so that Gio Urshela could take over as the new shortstop. When the Yankees moved Gleyber Torres back to second base late in the 2021 Major League Baseball season, they shuffled their infield positioning accordingly. Yankees Sticking With What They Have at Shortstop? It was a necessary move that may have been overdue, but it begs the question about what the Yankees plan is moving forward at shortstop, one of the most important positions in baseball. Regardless of the reasoning, the Yankees finally moved Gleyber Torres back to second base and away from shortstop. The added pressure defensively may very well have had a major effect on his bat, as just about every statistical category declined. The struggles on defense could be a result of pressing too hard and over thinking the responsibility.
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