Amed Rosario is not supposed to be the center of a late-August Yankees debate. He was brought in to give the club coverage around the infield and a useful bat against left-handed pitching. That works when the bat is there. It gets far less comfortable when the results disappear.
Rosario is 2-for-16 in August with two walks, a .125 average and a .347 OPS. His season line is better, with a .226 average, 10 homers and a .697 OPS, but a team trying to gain ground does not get to live off the April version of a player forever.
The small sample needs to be acknowledged. It also cannot become a reason to keep granting at-bats out of habit. Rosario has gone quiet during a stretch when the Yankees are trying to find any dependable answer around the infield.
Amed Rosario celebrates with Jasson Dominguez in Chicago. Photo: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect.
I would not toss Rosario aside. There is still a real use for a versatile right-handed hitter who has shown he can run into a fastball and cover different spots on the field. The choice is about how much the club asks from him right now.
He should not be treated like the automatic answer when a left-hander starts or when the lineup needs a late adjustment. Give him matchups he can win. Stop pretending every cold spell will be fixed by one more start.
The Yankees have enough uncertainty without making a struggling utility player a daily referendum. Rosario's defensive flexibility matters, and his earlier production counts for something. His current at-bats count too.
This is the part of the season where roles have to follow production. Rosario can still help, but the Yankees need to make him earn more than a situational lane.
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