The fluidity Gregorius brings to the position is somewhat surprising, given his tall frame, but the range he brings to an infield slated to feature the veterans Headley and Stephen Drew on each side of him, with Mark Teixeira at first, is a major run-prevention asset for a team that has made deliberate efforts to win in a new way.
Gregorius on joining Yankees, championship goals
Didi Gregorius talks about coming to the Yankees, being part of the team's winning mentality and learning from the club's veterans
That I am 175 words into this without having mentioned Derek Jeter makes this some sort of 2015 Spring Training record, I believe, but there you go. I mentioned Derek Jeter. Happy now?
Obviously, Gregorius isn't and won't ever be Jeter the Icon, but, more pertinently, he won't be the 2014 installment of Jeter, either.
Look, we love Jeter, we rightly celebrate Jeter, many of us would love to be Jeter. But strictly from a baseball standpoint, by the end, Jeter was one of the Majors' least-productive regulars at the plate, which only made his range deficiencies in the field more of a liability.
To date -- and we're only talking about 724 plate appearances here -- the 25-year-old Gregorius has not proven he can provide even league average production at the plate. He's a pull-happy left-handed hitter who has struggled mightily against southpaws. There have been a few positive signs from him offensively this spring, and Yankee Stadium's short porch at least benefits his pull-side approach, but the Yanks didn't acquire Gregorius to hit like Jeter in his prime. They'll just bat him in the lower third of the lineup and figure he can at least approximate -- and more likely improve upon -- the totals brought to the equation by the 40-year-old Captain.
NYY@ATL: Gregorius lines an RBI triple to right field
3/18/15: Didi Gregorius drives a triple down the right-field line, scoring Chris Young to give the Yankees a 7-0 lead
The Yankees still have many of the issues that plagued them in consecutive October-less campaigns in 2013 and '14 -- namely, a lineup and rotation loaded with potential DL candidates -- but they were wise to learn not only from their own experience in the second half of '14, but also the outcome of October, by prioritizing the bullpen and the infield defense in their offseason dealings.
"The game is a little bit different than it was a few years ago," Headley said. "You can be a below-average or average defender if you're driving in 120 [runs] and hitting 35 homers, but there's just not that many guys doing that anymore. That's the shift in the game we've seen the last few years."
As with most things Yankee-related, the effectiveness of the infield hinges on health.
Headley has battled back issues in the not-too-distant past, and Teixeira hasn't played a full season since 2011. With Drew, the question is probably less about health and more about whether his bat will allow him to stick as a starter. Youngsters Rob Refsnyder and Jose Pirela have both had strong camps and could force the issue at second, though Refsnyder, in particular, is a converted outfielder who needs to show improvement on the defensive end.
NYY@PHI: Gregorius makes a tough play on grounder
3/6/15: Didi Gregorius ranges to his left, spins and fires to first in time to throw out Odubel Herrera
Anyway, in the absence of clarity about what the future holds, the best we can do is look at the penciled-in lineup and conclude that infield defense should be a strength for this squad, something we could not say a year ago. And while that doesn't guarantee us that CC Sabathia's improved spring velocity is going to stabilize or that Masahiro Tanaka's elbow ligament won't snap or that Michael Pineda's shoulder will stay intact, it does lead you to believe the pitching staff will be backed by a dependable supporting cast.
"I don't hear a lot of people talking about it, but I'm sure people are going to realize how good defensively we're going to be," third-base and infield coach Joe Espada said. "If we stay healthy, we're going to help this team win some games with our gloves."
Gregorius is the biggest source of potential improvement. Primarily because of his glove, Gregorius' Steamer projections available at FanGraphs.com call for a 1.3-WAR season, which would be more than a full win better than the minus-0.3 mark Jeter posted on his farewell tour.
"I'm not replacing him," Gregorius said. "It's not like he's here and playing a different position. I just have to play my game."
Gregorius' game revolves around making the routine and the not-so-routine look easy, with great instincts and a strong arm. As is the case with all young shortstops, anticipation is everything, and the more he learns opposing batters in a new league, the better-situated he'll be to make the plays.
TB@NYY: Didi fields grounder, throws out Souza Jr.
3/9/15: Shortstop Didi Gregorius handles Steven Souza Jr.'s ground ball and retires the speedy runner with a strong throw to first base
"It's all about being in the right position at the right time," Gregorius said. "I'm not worried about changing leagues, because you've got the charts and everything here, and they'll tell you where to play."
The Yankees have made defensive positioning a greater priority over the last two seasons, and now they've got an infield that can cover a lot of ground. The guy with the biggest adjustment ahead of him might be Headley, if only because he'll have to get used to backing off more balls bounding toward his left.
"You really have to pay attention to where he is," Headley said. "I can give him an extra two steps, because he's going to make up those balls. We have to communicate more. I don't want to make a play that's a difficult play for me when he has an easy angle on it. So it's just about getting to know each other."
They've had plenty of opportunity to do so in a clubhouse in which their lockers neighbor each other, though gold headphones are noticeably absent from Headley's stash.
Perhaps one day Gregorius will have a Gold Glove Award to go with his headphones, but for now his main goal is improving the profile of a club emphasizing the obstruction of offense, perhaps even more than the obtainment of it.
Anthony Castrovince is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his columns and follow him on Twitter at @Castrovince. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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