Hot Stove! Middle Infielders! Churros!

I just threw that last one in there because...who doesn't like churros?  Especially with a good chocolate dip...

Anyway, let's do this systematically, people!  Next up:  middle infielders.

The path seems pretty clear here.  They will let Sir Didi walk, turn second over to The General, where he won a Gold Glove in the NL, and give shortstop to El Conquistador, The Gleyber, for the next 12 years or so.

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy, as our soon-to-be Brexited friends across the sea would say.  

Or maybe not.  LeMahieu, who really deserves this year's MVP award, is 30, and has only one year remaining in his contract with your New York Yankees.  Will he really become a fixture at second?

And great as it was to see Torres continue to blossom this year, I wish someone would stop him from making that sliding-across-the-grass move to stop ground balls.  He's going to really hurt himself doing that some day—and almost did so this year (And yes, I'm saying that as a warning to the JuJu gods.  We see you coming on this one!).

Our musical question here is—what is there to do about a problem like Sir Didi?

It's true he had a tough time coming back from injury this year.  His slash line—.238/.276/.441/.718—was way down.  While he had that grand slam against Minnesota, he often looked dreadful against Houston in the ALCS, popping everything up or striking out.

It should be time to finally let Tyler Too, Thairo the Pharaoh, and/or Kyle Holder have their shot as back-ups, at least.  Shouldn't it?

On the other hand, Didi is far from old.  He doesn't turn 30 until next spring training, and still looks plenty athletic.  He also has a major clutch gene.  Again and again he bailed us out at key moments this year, most memorably with both bat and glove during the big London farce.  And while I think "clubhouse presence" is generally overrated, let's face it:  Didi is the heart and soul of this team.

As is their wont—and it's a wanting wont—the Yanks have him in the wrong spot and expect him to do too much.  Didi should not be in the No. 3 or 4 spot, but more down around 7 or 8.

What I would do:  Sigh.  This is between the proverbial rock and the proverbial proverb.  I dunno.  The smart thing, I guess, would be to let him walk and save the money for a pitcher.

The nasty, hardball thing to do would be to bargain Sir Didi down—he can't command very much in the open market, not after this past season—see how things go in spring training...then trade him, if everybody is well and playing well, so we at least get some value in return.

But that would be such a sleazy, awful, miserable way of dealing with a beloved player.  Oh, sign him, dammit!  Sign him and play him wherever an opportunity opens up!  Someone is bound to get hurt.

WWCCD?  Sir Didi is gone, alas.  And the money saved won't even be used on acquiring a pitcher.