Isiah Kiner-Falefa is making his first career start in center field on Sunday when the New York Yankees wrap up their series against the San Francisco Giants (GameTracker). Kiner-Falefa is batting seventh as part of a lineup that is hoping to provide sufficient run support to debuting starter Jhony Brito.
Kiner-Falefa, 28, has never before played the outfield during a big-league game. All 534 of his performances have come either on the infield or as a designated hitter. He does have some experience from his minor-league days, albeit in the form of just 10 appearances, and none since 2017.
It's notable that Kiner-Falefa will make his first start before two other outfielders on the roster, in Aaron Hicks and the recently signed Franchy Cordero. Estevan Florial, designated for assignment on Saturday, had also not made a start. In other words, it seems the Yankees may view Kiner-Falefa as more than an emergency option in the outfield.
The Yankees attempted to give Kiner-Falefa a crash course on playing the outfield after it became apparent that either Anthony Volpe or Oswald Peraza would displace him as the Yankees' everyday starting shortstop. (Volpe, a rookie, won the job and recorded the first two hits of his big-league career on Saturday.) Kiner-Falefa's education included instruction from former big-league outfielder Nick Swisher.
Kiner-Falefa disappointed in his first season with the Yankees. He batted .261/.314/.327 (84 OPS+) with four home runs and 22 stolen bases. Publicly available defensive metrics were split on his glovework at shortstop, but the Yankees nevertheless kept him around this winter. Now, it appears they'll deploy him in a super-utility role.
Brito, 25, is one benefactor from the Yankees' rash of rotation injuries. He split last season between the upper minors, accumulating a 2.96 ERA and a 2.60 strikeout-to-walk ratio. CBS Sports did not rank him as one of the three best prospects in the Yankees system. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs, however, placed him 15th in the system, writing the following: "As his options run dry, he'll either establish himself as a steady backend starter or end up working in a valuable multi-inning relief role." Brito will be opposed by veteran right-hander Ross Stripling.
