It seems that Brian Cashman has lost it

With the injury of Brendan Ryan, there was a glimpse of hope for Rob Refsnyder that he could make the Opening Day roster. Was. But yesterday the Yankees got Gregorio Petit from the Astros in exchange for a player to be named later and cash considerations. Petit, a Venezuelan infielder, that signed with the Athletics organization in 2001, is a minor league journey man. The Astros were his fifth organization. Recently the 30-year old was sent to the minors because of the crowded infield of the Astros. Petit hit .278 in 37 games for the Astros last season. He was having a productive spring, batting .310 (9 for 29) in 18 Grapefruit League games. In a total of 62 games in the Majors, Petit hit .278 with two homeruns and ten runs batted in.

As soon as Ryan is back from the DL, Petit will be sent down, released or designated for assignment, no doubt about that. The only reason I can think of why they choose Petit over Refsnyder is Refsnyder’s defense. Despite being a good hitter, his defense still has some flaws. He is leading all players with six errors this Spring Training. With serving some more time at AAA the Yankees can work on his fielding. To me that is a fair excuse. But still I rather see Refsnyder getting a shot over Drew or Petit.

Another remark made by Cashman ticked me off rather much.

Does he hint that Didi Gregorius will platoon with Brendan Ryan at shortstop? On days that the opponent will have a lefy as starting pitcher, Ryan will start at short and Gregorius on other days?
Sure Didi’s numbers vs lefthanders were not very strong last year (.137), but he has shown quite some improvement during Spring Training (.267). Of course numbers during Spring Training are no guarantee for the regular season.
Did Cashman overlook the stats of Ryan vs. lefties? He hit a whopping .120. Not an improvement over Gregorius. I don;t care about the fact that Brendan Ryan is hitting light. We don’t only need sluggers. But the fact that Cashman wants to let a guy with a worse batting average play short, makes me think that he has lost his *beep*ing mind.

Just a littel advice mr. Cashman. Just see how Didi develops. If his numbers vs. lefties are really as bad as last year around June, you can still hit the panic button. But for now it looks like he is still learning and improving. Just leave the kid alone.