CF Gardner proves he was Yanks’ best option all along

In the midst of a winter of mainly Yankees inaction, particularly when it came to making a play for an outside player of stature, Brian Cashman insisted to me the healthy return of Brett Gardner would add significant impact.

I was incredulous. I had always thought of Gardner as a useful piece, but my comparison was often to a third-down back, a Darren Sproles type, someone who could be useful in a specific and complementary — but mainly not starting — role.

Cashman maintained I was wrong. In fact, he stressed not to get caught up in names. To that end, after the Indians had given Michael Bourn a four-year, $48 million pact and the Nationals had dealt one of their best prospects, Alex Meyer, to secure Denard Span, the Yankees general manager was emphatic Gardner was in their class, if not better.

Neil Miller

Brett Gardner

Well, halfway through the season, Gardner is going to have to be considered for the All-Star team, which Bourn and Span pretty much have no shot of making.

"I always believed when Gardner played he was an impact player," Cashman said.

To appreciate that, you had to see the whole player — not just what Gardner might hit, but how he fields and the asset he is on the bases. Gardner, when healthy, has always showed well in Wins Above Replacement (WAR), a stat that attempts to bring all the skills of the game into one number.

Gardner has a 2.8 WAR, which, in case you are not familiar with the stat, is very good. Span is 1.7, Bourn is 1.2. Going into yesterday's games, it actually was the fourth-best mark in the majors among center fielders, behind only Milwaukee's Carlos Gomez (4.7) — yes, Mets fans, that Carlos Gomez — Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen (4.0) and the Angels' Mike Trout (3.5).

Gardner's WAR was tied with Boston's Jacoby Ellsbury and better than Cincinnati's Shin Soo-Choo (1.9) who, after Robinson Cano just might be the two most sought-after free agents this offseason. Cano, at 3.5, was the only Yankee with a higher WAR than Gardner. If you have watched the Yanks this year, you know Cano and Gardner are pretty much the only Yankees position players who have brought daily quality.

Gardner and David Robertson — two rare homegrown successes — are the Yanks' main free agents after the 2014 campaign. You wonder if the team will break with its long-time policy of not negotiating early and try to get each to ink multi-year pacts this offseason. The Yankees might avoid it just because the luxury tax payroll is based on average annual value, and Gardner and Robertson would almost certainly have larger annual values than 2014 contracts, at a time when the Yankees are trying to get next year's payroll under $189 million.