Isiah Kiner-Falefa was the New York Yankees’ starting shortstop for much of the 2022 season.
After a fast start, he started fading and morphing back into the hitter he has been for his whole career: a below-average one.
For the year as a whole, he slashed .261/.314/.327 with a horrid .642 OPS.
Defensively, the reports were mixed but the eye test says he wasn’t all that impressive.
He started losing some reps come the playoffs, and is now in a competition for the shortstop starting gig with Oswald Peraza and Anthony Volpe.
IKF was one of the worst starting shortstops in baseball last season, so there really is no point on insisting he as a regular.
The Yankees’ front office can be very stubborn, though, so the possibility of running it back with him can’t be ruled out.
Still, Peraza is the most likely starter for the 2023 campaign.
What role will Kiner-Falefa occupy if he loses out on the shortstop position?
Manager Aaron Boone can envision a super-utility role for him.
“Aaron Boone said if Oswald Peraza wins the SS job at the end of camp that Isiah Kiner-Falefa could have a lot of different roles on the team, even including playing the outfield,” Yankees insider Chris Kirschner tweeted.
Aaron Boone said if Oswald Peraza wins the SS job at the end of camp that Isiah Kiner-Falefa could have a lot of different roles on the team, even including playing the outfield.
—Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) March 2, 2023
IKF won a Gold Glove as a third baseman and can play catcher, too.
Logic indicates that second base is a position that he should be able to play well if given the chance.
While asking him to play center would probably be a stretch, it’s not hard to envision him playing some corner outfield in a pinch.
Defensively, he could be a very valuable piece for the Yanks because of his versatility.
He is not a starter because he doesn’t have the bat for it, but he can be a nice utility piece.
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