Towards the tip of a column yesterday suggesting that the Yankees commerce Gio Urshela, we devoted a paragraph to Didi Gregorius:

“One thought the Yankees mustn’t and certain won’t think about is bringing again Didi Gregorius to play brief. Final winter, the workforce considered Gregorius as a profitable participant who had merely misplaced an excessive amount of of his first-step quickness. This yr in Philadelphia, his defensive metrics and underlying hitting numbers have been pretty ghastly.”

Given the extent to which some Yankee followers seem like clamoring for Gregorius to return, this appears price teasing out a bit and explaining. We don’t need to bury one other matter that appears vital to many who observe the workforce.

Gregorius was at all times a topic of some debate between the analytics of us within the group, who favored him lower than the scouting wing (that’s a reductive framing, as a result of most individuals on each “sides” of this “divide” are multi-dimensional thinkers, however works for this abstract dialogue of the dynamic).

Earlier than the Yankees even traded for Gregorius, in response to sources, the scouting of us needed him greater than the stats of us did. Brian Cashman’s job is to hearken to each side and render a verdict; on this case, he sided with the scouts who noticed Gregorius as a profitable participant. They have been proper.

Final yr, nonetheless, many within the group famous that Gregorius appeared a bit slower than up to now. Superior knowledge famous that his first-step quickness had declined, which is among the causes the workforce determined to let him stroll.

With the Phillies this yr, Gregorius batted .284 with 10 dwelling runs and an .827 OPS. He isn’t washed up.

However even a cursory look at his web page on Baseball Savant exhibits underlying numbers that may scare off a workforce this winter. Gregorius’ exit velocity was within the 2nd percentile amongst MLB hitters. His laborious hit share was within the eighth percentile. His dash pace was within the 58th percentile, his barrel share within the 19th percentile. And so forth.

These are the sorts of metrics groups use to judge whether or not a participant will repeat what appeared on the floor like a very good season.

In Gregorius’ case, it appears that evidently Cashman’s scouts have been proper to push for the preliminary commerce, and the numbers appropriately recognized the best time to let him go.

Bringing him again on a one-year deal, if that chance presents itself, wouldn’t be the worst thought on the earth if the workforce finds itself in search of a shortstop. However any dedication past that would appear to threat paying for his decline.