Top 10 Things Tyler Could Wade Into

I know what you’re thinking. “I did not come to the great YankeesFiles.com to read about things Tyler could wade into, and that’s not even how names that just happen to be verbs work!” My response to you is that that’s too bad, and it’s time for a freakin’ list, yo (nobody talks like this).

1: The Caribbean Sea After Winning the World Series

To me, Tyler Wade seems like the kind of guy who would go to Antigua. Isn’t that the kind of guy he seems like to you? Just imagine, it’s mid-November and Tyler Wade takes a trip to the Caribbean to relax after executing a walk-off squeeze to win the World Series. Margarita in hand, he wades into the clear, refreshing water and basks in the glory of being a champion.

2: The CFP Expansion Debate

The closest major college football program to Tyler Wade’s hometown of Murrieta, California appears to be USC. The thing about USC is they are The Bad School and their football program is to be treated as the enemy at all times (Go Irish). Tyler Wade likely supports a playoff structure in which only the most grossly underachieving teams are invited, to ensure USC’s participation.

It seems the College Football Playoff will be expanded, so we’ll see what happens with Tyler’s Trojans, but we’re still waiting him to wade into the debate.

3: A Hippo-Patrolled Lagoon

While we advise against it, because a hippo is the world’s deadliest land mammal, it would be very easy for Tyler to mistakenly find himself treading where he ought not. We know that Tyler loves nature and has aspirations to go on a safari someday soon (we absolutely don’t know this), but we hope that if he does go on a safari one day, he does so safely.

4: The Lazy River at LSU

We all know that Tyler Wade would love to be more like his middle-infielding big brother DJ LeMahieu, who, ya know, has more than 0.1 career WAR. One way he could do that is by going to LSU, where DJ LeMahieu went. LSU famously spent a bunch of money on a lazy river in the shape of the school’s logo. Maybe a few rides around that would help Tyler become a league-average hitter for his career.

5: The Ocean Spray Cranberry Bog

Can’t you just imagine Tyler putting on some waders and cultivating and harvesting some cranberries? I sure can. He’s definitely the Yankee who is most likely to be a farmer (there’s absolutely no indication that this is true or reason why it would be true, and Nick Nelson is so mad that I said it) and his elite speed would allow him to move quickly despite the largely suboptimal mobility that one has in a cranberry blog.

6: The Crowd at a Taylor Swift Show

Look at the crowd at this Taylor Swift show. It’s massive. An absolute unit, one might say. Imagine Tyler starting from the back row and wading through this audience toward the stage as the Queen of Pop belts out “Better Than Revenge” on stage before bringing out Olivia Rodrigo for a collaboration on the pop punk anthem “good 4 u” in the performance of the century. He would be approaching one of the most iconic performances in music history all thanks to some good old nominative determinism.

7: A Nice River on a Fly Fishing Expedition

This article is heavily focused on Tyler’s enjoyment of the outdoors, and this is no exception. Imagine Tyler and some of his Cali bros going out to catch some trout on a flowing river in the remote, western United States. It’s an idyllic, pastoral scene. He would wade into the crisp water and allow all the stress of the baseball season to melt away as he used a fake bug to attract the attention of a fish or two.

8: The Supreme Court Expansion Debate

We know Tyler Wade loves all things governmental, so it would only make sense for him to offer his thoughts on how many justices should sit on the highest court in the land, as Florida football coach Dan Mullen refused to back in fall 2020. This is a key issue that will define our politics and the future of our country for years to come, and frankly, Tyler’s silence on the issue is rather unnerving.

I'm happy that Dan Mullen is politically engaged but he really needs to pick a side on this. pic.twitter.com/W2tvFnEkex

— Miguel Andújar Stan Account (@RW_Harris10) October 14, 2020

9: The Fourth Outfielder Conversation?

The Yankees currently have an outfield that consists of Aaron Judge (MVP), Miguel Andújar (rapidly improving), and either Brett Gardner (kind of getting better but still bad) or Clint Frazier (hasn’t found it yet this year). Now, is Tyler Wade better than any of those guys as a hitter? No. Is he better than any of them as a fielder? Maybe. Clint and Miggy are not exactly Grady Sizemore out there. If Tyler Wade could play at an 85 wRC+ level with elite defense, would that make him a valuable outfielder on this team? He can (allegedly) play every outfield position, and it wouldn’t be terrible to get a bat that’s slightly better than Gardy’s or Clint’s in there if he could reliably produce (which has not been something he has ever done). With the return of Voit, 2B is about to get very crowded, so Tyler will be struggling to find playing time. Maybe he wades into this debate!

10: The Back of Rougned Odor’s Mind

In the same way that Tyler would love to inset himself into the debate about who should be getting reps in the outfield, he would love to make himself the go-to option to back up at second base or shortstop. The Yankees insist on running Rougned Odor out … often … despite the fact that he creates little offensive value and is a mediocre defender. Despite the fact that he is sporting the second best xwOBA of his career, he is only at an 84 wRC+ (maybe that’s shifts killing him?) and the “let’s hope he runs into one” philosophy isn’t really delivering. Again, it’s a low bar for Tyler to inch himself closer to playing time and to wade into the back of Rougie’s mind about being the best option at 2B after DJ once Voit is back. I’m absolutely here for super utility Tyler if he can make it happen.