The New York Yankees have been the powerhouse team this offseason from filling in all their holes without going over their $197 million payroll threshold. Now the Bronx Bombers struck gold picking up veteran infielder Neil Walker to a 1-year deal worth $5 million. Neil will be turning 32 entering in his 10th season of the show for 2018. Neil and the Yankees have talked last offseason, last years trade deadline, and earlier this offseason about Neil joining the Yanks but struggled to reach an agreement until now. Last year Neil played in 111 games for the Mets and Brewers, batting .265 with 14 home runs, 49 rbi's, a career high OBP of .362, and an above average OPS of .802. For the past couple years the switch hitting 2nd basemen has struggled to stay on the field battling with back and hamstring injuries, but is optimistic being apart of a World Series caliber team. Neil now fills in the void of the Yankees need for an everyday 2nd baseman after trading last years 2nd baseman Starlin Castro to the Marlins for headline superstar Giancarlo Stanton. Before Neil signed with the Yankees, the bronx bombers struggled on who was going to fill in the vacancy of 2nd base with the options they had with Tyler Wade who had some playing time in the league last year but not their desired player to take on the everyday role, top prospect Gleyber Torres who needs more maturing in the minors especially after recovering from Tommy John surgery last year, and star bench player Ronald Toe Torreyes who's thrives as a bench platoon player than starting everyday. Neil now brings stability to the position with his switch hitting power and his above average fielding. Neil is a patient batter that doesn't strike out excessively with power from both sides of the plate. He will enjoy the opportunity to hit more home runs from the left side of the plate with New York's short right field and being another above average hitter in an already dominant lineup. For Neil's fielding he has always been a solid second basemen that has never committed over 10 errors in a full season, has played 3rd base before and played 17 games 1st base. This gives New York verticality and a reliable glove on the field. The only problem with Neil is that he is a rental not long term commitment with Gleyber Torres on the rise. If Gleyber starts thriving in Triple-A we could see Neil get traded later on in the season performing or not with the Yankees wanting Gleyber to be apart of there future. The other problem that Neil might encounter is if his back and hamstring start acting up again and can't perform to his usual expectations, but we'll see what the season holds. With a healthy Walker joining the Yankees and being apart of one of the best lineups in the game. We can see Neil playing in 120-145 games batting around 265-285 with 15-27 home runs and 55-75 rbi's with an with an OPS well over 800. If you thought the Yankees couldn't get any better you thought wrong. Welcome to Bronx Neil you're going to enjoy wearing the pinstripes and maybe win a ring as well.
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