The New York Yankees are seriously considering this wild Carlos Lagrange proposal.
Earlier this season, the New York Yankees had plans on bringing Carlos Lagrange up to the major leagues to forge a role in their struggling bullpen.
A shoulder injury at the beginning of July thwarted all of that.
Lagrange did not pitch in a minor-league game for two-and-a-half months before finally making his return on Sept. 16, when he tossed one inning of shutout ball with a couple of strikeouts. And yes, he was hitting triple digits on the radar gun.
But it appeared that the Yankees would be punting on the Lagrange big-league experiment until next spring.
Well, apparently, New York has other plans, as Greg Joyce of The New York Post has reported that there is a legitimate possibility Lagrange could join the team for the Wild Card Series next week.
Yes, it sounds exciting, and yes, players have made their major-league debuts in the playoffs before. Cleveland Guardians outfielder Chase DeLauter did it last year. Heck, Yankees pitcher Ryan Weathers did it with the San Diego Padres back in 2020.
But that doesn't mean Lagrange himself is ready.
We know that Lagrange has fantastic stuff, and he absolutely has sky-high potential. But he has some major issues that need to be repaired.
For starters, Lagrange has posted a 4.48 ERA in the minor leagues this season. He's given up 10 home runs over 64.2 innings of work, and his 1.352 WHIP is a bit alarming. That's primarily because his walk rate (4.6 BB/9) remains a problem.
Lagrange can throw well over 100 mph. Aaron Judge himself saw that back in Spring Training. But if you can't locate it, it won't mean much.
The Yankees wouldn't just be asking Lagrange to come in and get some outs during mop-up duty; they would be placing him in high-leverage situations in the playoffs.
That is a lot for a kid who has never even sniffed the majors, and it could potentially ruin Lagrange moving forward.
Is there a chance it works? Sure. Perhaps Lagrange gets promoted and dominates big-league hitters who have never seen him before. But it's also possible that Lagrange simply can't find the strike zone. That's been a bugaboo for Lagrange in the minors. Why wouldn't it be a problem for him in the MLB playoffs?
Clarke Schmidt's setback may have changed things for New York. Had Schmidt not hit the IL again, the Yanks probably wouldn't even be considering Lagrange. But sometimes, desperate times call for desperate measures.
I just think this would be a little too over the top on the desperation scale.
