Making the case for Alex Cora

Before the trade deadline, the New York Yankees were reportedly looking for some infield bench help. Throughout the final weeks prior to the deadline they were linked to names such as Ty Wigginton, Jhonny Peralta, Ryan Theriot, and even attempted to re-acquire Jerry Hairston Jr. They desperately searched for an upgrade over "all-defense-no-bat" Ramiro Pena, but the Yankees failed to execute a trade for a bench infielder. However, last week a move was made, and now the Yankees could acquire a proven veteran infielder for the major league minimum salary: Alex Cora.


Last week the New York Mets released infielder Alex Cora, a move that was somewhat surprising, but also unsurprising.

A longtime bench player and middle infielder who broke in with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1998 (he started for the Dodgers from 2000-2004), Cora has played second base, shortstop, third base, first base, and left field in his career over 13 seasons spent with the Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox and Mets. While versatile to say the least, Cora, 34, was in the midst of one of his worst seasons, hitting just .207/.265/.278 through 62 games, without a home run. Always known to be a reliable defense player, he only made two errors this season while playing second base, shortstop and first base. In his career, he has a career fielding percentage of .971, committing just 102 errors in 8044.0 innings over 13 seasons.

While not known to be a power hitter or high-average contact hitter, Cora will occasionally hit some homers, belting a career-high 10 in 2004 while playing second base everyday for the Dodgers. He has a career batting average of .244, attributing to a career-season average of .244/5/39. After 2004, he signed with the Indians and was later traded to the Red Sox, where he defined his role as a middle infield bench player, hitting a career .256 while playing stellar defense. Cora was part of the 2007 Red Sox World Championship team.

Cora has playoff experience, taking part in the '04, '05, '06, '07, and '08 playoff series but has just a career average of .154, which is respectable, since has been playing off of the bench during games and had not been playing everyday. Cora has also experienced pressure: playing in the World Series, Game 7 of the 2008 ALCS, and in the powerful American League East.

Cora's playoff experience, defense, and ability to hit at about .240 (despite having an off-year) could help his case if the Yankees were to sign him, which I would support. As well, having played in the AL East has proved to be a challenge to some players who can't handle the pressure, but Cora has dealt with the pressures and produced in the division, which shows he wouldn't feel pressured when playing close games against the Red Sox and Rays.

Since Cora had been released by the Mets, and not designated for assignment, that means that he is a free agent and that a team could sign him for the major league minimum salary of $400K. There's always some suspicion when a below .500 team releases a player, but Cora, simply put, was not having a good season.

While Pena is younger (24), and also makes some great plays on defense (4 errors this season), he isn't as reliable with the bat as Cora is, which is why I would feel more comfortable with Cora at the plate. While Cora's line isn't much better than Pena's .204/.240/.214, I think that Cora would insure a greater chance to produce at the plate given his history. Pena's inability to hit and lack of playoff experience are his only true cons, as he and Cora are basically the same player (seriously, look: Pena / Cora). While I like Pena a lot because he's a good kid and Yankee farmhand who is getting a shot to play in the majors (which is a rarity), I do, however, like Cora's bat more off of the bench, as well as his versatility and defense. Getting a player like Cora for practically nothing is a pure depth move.

So have at it, should the Yankees sign Alex Cora?