During the offseason it was speculated New York Yankees prospect Rob Refsnyder could be the team's starting second baseman in 2015. Well, it could be at some point in the season, but it won't be to start off the year.
The 24-year-old is slashing .333/.447/.538/.985 with 10 runs scored, one home run and five RBIs in 23 spring training games. His offense is what the team expected it to be, as club sources previously said they believe Refsnyder is the organization's best hitter. It's his defense that's the issue.
"Refsnyder, I think he had a tremendous camp, but (he's had) maybe 240 games at second base so far,'' general manager Brian Cashman told Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com. "He just needs to finish off some more defense. If we needed to use him, we'd be comfortable enough, but at the same time you guys saw in camp he's got some work to do on the defensive side.''
The youngster made the transition to second base at the beginning of the 2013 season after starting his minor league career in the outfield. This spring he has made six errors in 23 games, which hasn't given the Yankees enough confidence to utilize him as an everyday option in the big leagues. It looks like the newly acquired Gregorio Petit will serve as the backup second baseman behind Stephen Drew because Jose Pirela (concussion) and Brendan Ryan (calf strain) will be sidelined to begin the season.
However, this doesn't rule out Refsnyder making some sort of an impact in 2015.
"We want him to be finished off and ready to go whenever we need him," Cashman added. "But at some point if injuries hit and we have to have him in that role or situation, I'm not saying you won't see that down the line. We'd just prefer not to do that right now."
Cashman would rather have Refsnyder be an everyday player at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (where he has only logged 77 career games) rather than ride the pine on the Yankees' 25-man roster and be deprived of reps at second base.
"I wish I could have played better on all sides of the ball," Refsnyder told Ryan Hatch of NJ.com. "But I'm happy with where my work is right now."
Depending on the Yankees' injury situation, it looks as if Refsnyder will be reassigned to Triple-A to start the year and get some more time in the minors before he makes his debut in pinstripes. However, Didi Gregorius is also dealing with a sprained wrist, so if these infield injuries persist then Refsnyder could make his debut sooner than expected.
