Last year around this time the Yankees demoted Francisco Cervelli to Triple-A. He remained there for basically the entire season and hit just .246 with a .657 OPS in 99 games.
And now he’s in position to be the Yankees’ starting catcher.
Yesterday manager Joe Girardi told Andy McCullough of the Newark Star Ledger that it’s “fair to say” Cervelli will be the Opening Day catcher after the Yankees reassigned catching prospect Austin Romine to the minors.
Cervelli’s only remaining in-house competition is Chris Stewart, so it’s not much of a fight. But while Cervelli is no one’s idea of a great starting catcher option and his performance at Triple-A last season raises questions about whether his skills have declined at age 27, his numbers from 2009-2011 (.275 AVG, .341 OBP, .699 OPS) are decent enough to be a regular at a position where the average player hit just .246 with a .718 OPS.
