The Yankees bench and part-time players have been phenomenal. Some performances in particular (see: Dewayne Wise) have been utterly remarkable. We’d go so far in saying that these role players are one of the main reasons why the Yankees have separated themselves from the rest of the AL East pack, despite suffering a rash of injuries.

Dewayne Wise

A career .639 OPS hitter who is hitting .260/.288/.520 in 52 PAs. It’s obviously a very small sample and probably the best example of “lightning in a bottle” you’ll ever see, but we’ll take it. His wOBA of .371 is second on the team only to Robinson Cano!! His ISO of .260 is 3rd on the team. Combine that with his excellent defense, and he’s put up more Wins Above Replacement (WAR) this season than he has in his entire career (+0.7 WAR this season, +0.6 WAR for his career).

All we can do is enjoy while it lasts.

Andruw Jones

He’s a beast and single-handily owned Fenway Park over the weekend. His swings the heaviest stick on the team with a .291 ISO. He’s hitting .244/.326/.535, on track for his third year in a row of really good numbers. His .366 wOBA ranks 3rd on the team behind Cano and DeWayne Wise (!!! Still crazy to even write that). And he’s healthy and athletic enough to continue to provide solid defense.

Furthermore, if the Yankees are going to lose Swisher to the Steinbrenner Cap, plugging in a vastly underpaid Andruw as the right half of a RF platoon would be a nifty solution. This is the second year in a row Jones’ WAR/PA is HIGHER than Swisher’s. While we shouldn’t expect that to continue, it indicates Jones may not be too far behind Swisher in value.

Eric Chavez

Chavez has always had the talent, just not the health. As a part-time player, his brittle body gets more rest and is less likely to get injured.

He’s hitting .282/.336/.504, with a .354 wOBA — which is 5th on the team. And cover your ears children, the real reason for Chavez’s great results is….drum roll please…Joe Girardi. The Yankees’ overmanager has done a fantastic job leveraging Chavez’s platoon advantage, having him face 133 righties to only 13 lefties. Kudos, Sabrardi!

Raul Ibanez

The shine has come off Ibanez over the past month or so. After a great May (.946 OPS), the month of June saw him hit .162/.250/.265. He was brought in to hit RHP, and he’s been decent doing that: .250/.311/.484 — although those numbers aren’t overwhelming for someone who is supposed to be your “righty-masher”.

He has been affected by a career-low .232 BABIP, but at the same time, he’s hitting more flyballs and less groundballs than he ever has in his career. We wonder if he’s taking hitting advice from Mark Teixeira.

General speaking, Ibanez has been OK — probably about league-average as a hitter. Plus, he hasn’t really embarrassed himself in LF.

Major props for the bench.