While we endorsed Brian Cashman's major moves of the offseason, one of the areas that we strongly disagreed was the bench construction. The Winn signing in particular didn't make sense because -- a) He didn't fill a need. b) There were better options available.

Meanwhile, our top offseason bench target, Reed Johnson, is tearing up LHP with a .341/.383/.500 line and playing excellent defense in the corner OF spots.

"I consider this position I’m playing in as a bench role," said Cashman. "Right-handed hitting outfielder that Joe can look on the bench and say, I’m not going to start one of my left-handers, I’m going to start a right-hander."

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And on Monday, they announced the signing of Marcus Thames to a minor-league deal.

"He hits left-handed pitching well and we know him as a person so we will see where it takes us," Brian Cashman said of the career .256 hitter with a .516 slugging percentage and 40 homers and 105 RBIs in 620 at-bats against lefties.

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Well, that's all fine and dandy, but...

Thames versus LHP: .256/.329/.516 in 691 PAs
Reed Johnson versus LHP: .313/.378/.463 in 1027 PAs

Thames career UZR/150 in LF: -12.2
R. Johnson career UZR/150 in LF: +23.3

Johnson signed for $800k. Thames gets $900k if he makes the team. Johnson was a better option than Thames and came cheaper (if Thames makes the team).

While it seems to be sacrilege to critique the Yankees front office nowadays (is the Kool-Aid coming south?), we're not afraid to say that Cashman & Co could have used their remaining funds better.

Eric Hinske + Reed Johnson > Randy Winn + Marcus Thames

Reed Johnson would have also been a better fit. He smashes lefties, provides better suck-it-tude insurance on Brett Gardner, and still gives you a really good LF glove. If Johnson signs for more than Winn, then so be it. Yanks are reportedly on a budget. But if Johnson signs for Winn money or less, then the front office missed the boat on this one.

With all this being said, Winn is an ok bench piece. He can still field like a mofo with a +20 UZR/150 in the OF last season, +16.6 in 2008 (although mainly in RF). His offense took a huge hit in 2009, dropping to a .671 OPS - a .120 point decline from both his 2008 and 2007 season lines. However, if it's one thing we learned from the Nick Swisher trade, it's clear that Cashman looks at line drive rates and BABIP. In 2009, Winn posted his highest line drive rate since that stat has been tracked, and at the same time posted one of the worst BABIP's of his career. Clearly, the FO is hoping for a bit of a bounceback. Winn also went 16/18 in SBs in 2009, so he brings that element.

So overall, Winn is an ok addition to the bench. (By the way, for the people speculating he's the starting LF, please stop it. That's a clearly dumb conclusion). If players like Hinske or Johnson weren't available, then we'd be fine with it. But Hinske signed for less money and is better, and Reed Johnson fills the Yankee need for a high-quality option against LHP.

This is a C+ signing.

*Props to Mick Shrimpton for also contributing to this post.