It’s been quiet in the leadup to the Winter Meetings. A number of waiver claims were made on December 1, and arguably the most notable one was the Yankees’ pickup of toolsy outfielder Oscar Gonzalez. Here’s a closer look at Gonzalez.
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A Look at Gonzalez
A little over twelve months after ex-Guardians outfielder Oscar Gonzalez put the Yankees on the brink of elimination in the 2022 ALDS, the 25-year-old finds himself in The Bronx.
It’s been a whirlwind since for Gonzalez, who at that point in 2022 seemed poised to be a building block of the future for Cleveland.
A smooth-swinging outfielder who first garnered attention in 2017 with Mahoning Valley (SS-A) on the same team as fellow ex-Guardians prospects Will Benson and Nolan Jones, Gonzalez put up modest numbers in the Minors before a breakout 2021 campaign. Largely an 8-15 home run hitter prior to 2021, Gonzalez hit .293/.329/.542 with 31 home runs and 56 extra-base hits between Double and Triple-A.
Gonzalez got his first MLB look in 2022 and impressed. Over 91 games, Gonzalez hit .296/.327/.461 with 11 home runs and 38 extra-base hits over 91 games, then belted the game-winning home run in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card round off Corey Kluber to get the Guardians to the ALDS.
This past season, Gonzalez’s numbers took a tumble. The new Yankee hit just .214/.239/.312 with two home runs in 54 games, and Gonzalez got sent back to the Minors in May.
He did find success back in Triple-A — an .819 OPS with 13 home runs and 40 extra-base hits over 83 games — but that didn’t change his position within the Guardians depth chart.
Just from watching the video from 2022, it’s not hard to see why Gonzalez was grabbed by the Guardians. The 25-year-old has good raw power, and his speed and arm strength ranked quite high on the Statcast percentile rankings.
At that same token, Gonzalez is a highly aggressive hitter that had a Chase% rate of 46.8% in 2023. Keep in mind that the MLB average is 28.5%. He doesn’t strike out as much as one would expect, but he doesn’t walk much at all, either. Gonzalez owned a 2.8% BB% this past season in the Majors.
It should also be noted that Gonzalez had trouble with the heat. He hit just .154 off four-seam fastballs in 2023 and whiffed north of 30% off those pitches.
Analysis
The acquisition of Gonzalez is far from a sexy move, but it does give the Yankees some depth for the upcoming season. Not to mention, it does fit the Yanks’ modus operandi from recent years.
New York experimented with Franchy Cordero and Jake Bauers, two players with intriguing tools, this past season. Cordero’s power gave him another look in the Majors this past year, but he posted just a .689 OPS over 71 games. Bauers, on the other hand, give the Yanks a little more but hit just .202/.279/.413 across 272 plate appearances.
Nonetheless, this pickup serves more as a depth pickup. It doesn’t address the team’s holes in left and center field.
What about Soto?
Padres outfielder Juan Soto has been the apple of Yankees fans’ hearts for weeks — and for good reason. Soto would provide the Yankees with much-needed support in the top half of the lineup and could slot in right ahead of Aaron Judge in the lineup.
However, the potential return is the issue. Per multiple reports, the Yankees and Padres have stalled in talks for the superstar outfielder. A number of pitchers who saw time in the Yankees rotation last season, including Michael King, Randy Vasquez, and Jhony Brito, were reportedly involved in said discussions.
What exactly it will take to land Soto is unclear. San Diego needs MLB-ready pitching in the worst way, as the Padres are set to lose three key pieces from the 2023 rotation in free agency.
The Yanks do have some depth to deal from. But, what else would a return for Soto entail? Soto only has one year left before he can hit the market and San Diego doesn’t have much leverage, aside from the option to use other teams to raise the price.