In a move to add more speed to the roster the Yankees have dropped Eric Hinske, a 2009 trade deadline acquisition, and added Freddy Guzman to the ALCS roster for their upcoming series against the Angels.
Yanks Add Freddy Guzman, Drop Hinske From ALCS Roster
From the New York Times:
The Yankees purchased Freddy Guzman from the Baltimore Orioles in late August because they wanted an extra pinch-runner for the playoffs for the days Brett Gardner starts in the outfield. Guzman did not make the roster for the division series, but he is on the team for the American League Championship Series, replacing Eric Hinske.
“We thought we could use another speed guy in this round,” Manager Joe Girardi said. “We’ve had some success doing those types of things late in games, and in a seven-game series, we felt that it could come up late in games. As we saw, the games against Minnesota were very close, and sometimes you could use a couple of pinch-runners. And if Gardy gets a start, then you don’t have a pinch-runner. It just frees us up to do some more things.”
Though it makes sense for New York to add speed to win against the Angels, the Yankees can’t try to imitate the Halos’ small ball style of play. Rather they must stay true to how they’ve been winning all season - power. I’m not sure a bench move will affect the outcome of the series but look for Guzman to pinch run as often as Girardi sees fit.
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