Franchy an early-season hit for Yankees

This story was excerpted from Bryan Hoch’s Yankees Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

If there was a secret sauce to identify players on the cusp of offensive breakouts, the Yankees would bottle it and corner the market. That hasn’t happened -- at least, not yet.

But the Yankees’ talent evaluators deserve credit for hitting big on a pair of rebound candidates within the last calendar year. Matt Carpenter came out of nowhere with a rebuilt swing to hit 15 homers last summer, and Franchy Cordero is stealing headlines (and playing time) with a surge of his own.

“I don’t think there’s any formula for that,” manager Aaron Boone said. “There’s people that have come here that you never think they would like playing here, being here, and they thrive. Conversely, you have other situations where you think a guy is cut out for it and he’s just not. We try to do as much homework to try and make the best decisions, but in the end, it’s a little inexact.”

With four homers and 11 RBIs through eight games, Cordero has seemingly muscled past Aaron Hicks on the Yanks’ outfield depth chart.

“It’s amazing to be able to contribute,” Cordero said through an interpreter. “I’m really happy with the results I’m getting right now.”

The 28-year-old Cordero has long tantalized teams with his toolsy talent, including a powerful left-handed bat. He made his big league debut with the Padres in 2017, then bounced to the Royals (2020) and Red Sox (2021-22) before attending Spring Training with the Orioles this year.

Cordero said his spring focus was on “making sure that I was balanced enough to make good swings at the plate.” Despite batting a gaudy .413 (19-for-46) in Grapefruit League play, he didn't make Baltimore's roster. He opted out of his contract to sign a split deal with the Yankees, which will pay him $1 million if he sticks in the Majors.

“I felt like I was having a really good camp, and I felt like I had a really good chance of making that team with Baltimore,” Cordero said. “Unfortunately, things like that happen and sometimes teams are looking at necessities or what they need. I can tell you that I’m very happy I’m with the Yankees right now.”

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Cordero was the first Yankee to record 11 RBIs through his first seven games as a Yankee. He’s also just the sixth Yankee to hit at least four homers through his first seven games, joining Shelley Duncan (2007), Barry Foote (1981), Eric Hinske (2009), Dave Kingman (1977) and Carpenter (2022).

Sustained success has eluded Cordero, whose best big league season to date was 2018, when he hit .237 with seven homers and 19 RBIs in 40 games for San Diego.

“One thing about Franchy is, he’s got a lot of ability,” Boone said. “It’s been a lot of fun to watch him have a level of success here in the last 10 days and really get some big hits for us in big wins.”