Back From Sabbatical, Yankees DFAed Morgan Ensberg

New York Yankees - Designated 1B-3B Morgan Ensberg for assignment; recalled P Scott Patterson.

Speaking of ulcers, the Yankees just cauterized their own. Ensberg was a fine, underrated player, a valuable defensive player and a good hitter, but he's been a completely different player since he started having shoulder problems. He played through them with the Astros and while he can still wait for his pitch, he can't do a damn thing with his pitch anymore. Best thing for Ensberg is to not try to come back and try instead to seek other treatment for his shoulder. If he can't really get physically and mentally to where he was, he might as well retire, because he's a multi-millionaire and not current a major league caliber player. It wasn't a bad gamble for the Yankees given how good a player Ensberg was and how well he would have fit the team if he was even 60% as good as he used to be, but it didn't work out nicely. The ZiPS projection is speculative, the computer doesn't know that this isn't the same Ensberg from 2005 and even the first half of 2006.

2008 In-Season ZiPS Projection - Morgan Ensberg
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Period         AB   R    H  2B 3B  HR RBI  BB  SO  SB    BA   OBP   SLG 
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Actual 2008*   74   6   15   0  0   1   4   6  22   0  .203  .263  .243
Rest of 2008  231  32   55   9  0  10  31  40  63   0  .238  .355  .407 
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2008          305  38   70   9  0  11  35  46  85   0  .230  .334  .367 
2009?         312  45   70  12  0  13  53  52  78   0  .224  .338  .388 
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Top Comps - Rico Petrocelli, Vern Stephens (Both 3B by this point)

* - Includes minor league translation, if applicable.
Top Comp -