Duke Ellis will find himself back in Scranton as the Yankees have chosen to send him back down to Triple-A, which will open up room on their 26-man roster for Jon Berti. The veteran infielder was rehabbing in the Minor Leagues for weeks now after suffering a calf injury and some setbacks in the process, but he looks ready to go after tearing up the Syracuse Mets this past week. A solid bat in 2023 with versatility, Aaron Boone seems prepared to deploy him in a myriad of ways including the outfield as he played some left field as well during this stint in the Minor Leagues.
With some speed and contact tools, he could provide some value at multiple positions down the stretch for this Yankees’ team.
Yankees Demote Duke Ellis, Jon Berti Could Return From IL
Duke Ellis appeared in just three games with the Yankees, recording a hit in his only at-bat and picking up a steal in a pinch-running opportunity yesterday. With Jon Berti coming back, this was an easy choice to make, as the Yankees will hope that the veteran infielder can give them some extra right-handed depth as they’ve been shut down multiple times by left-handed starters in recent weeks. There’s an interesting strategy that could be deployed if the team tries to get Jon Berti involved in left field, as that’s been their biggest position of weakness on offense.
They would invite the speed and solid contact skills, but perhaps Berti is able to hit the way he did in 2023 and give them roughly league-average production in a bottom-of-the-lineup role. He slashed .273/.322/.327 in 17 games with the Yankees as he didn’t generate much slug in his brief time with the team, but he seemed to be getting hot after his first injury, hitting .306 with a 116 wRC+ in May before hitting the shelf again with a calf injury that sidelined him for roughly 3.5 months.
As for where the Yankees could use him, Jon Berti has +2 Defensive Runs Saved and +1 Outs Above Average in left field while being an above-average defender at third base and shortstop as well. The overall value here in a bench role is solid, but the Yankees have found their solutions to both second base and third base thanks to the acquisition of Jazz Chisholm and Gleyber Torres finding himself at the leadoff spot. If they’re going to play Jon Berti, it will likely be as a defensive substitution late in games or a pinch-runner assuming they keep playing Alex Verdugo in left field every day.
With Oswaldo Cabrera rarely getting starts and DJ LeMahieu looking iced out of the lineup entirely, there isn’t much room for playing time if you’re an infielder who can’t handle first base. There’s more value in trying him out in left field, although the concerns with how he would handle such a task are more than fair given how shaky Aaron Judge is defensively in centerfield and Alex Verdugo’s glove in left field being firmly above average. The Yankees return home for a series against the Kansas City Royals as they look to hang onto a razor-thin AL East advantage.
