You can’t blame the Yankees for trying to economize. Having expended up to $200 million a year on minimally useful gewgaws such as Carl Pavano, Jaret Wright, and Kyle Farnsworth without reaching the World Series, Brian Cashman and pals came to the conclusion that they could very well do more with less.

The Yankees’ New Austerity program hasn’t worked its way through the ruling class’s bloodstream so thoroughly that they can bring themselves to forgo dropping a million or so bucks on a replacement-level ballplayer like Miguel Cairo when any number of Triple-A types might do as well or better for the major league minimum, but give them time. Forbes magazine claims the Yankees lost money last year (allegedly the only team in baseball to do so).

Because the Yankees have some gigantic, old-school-style contracts on the books, it hasn’t been easy for them to cut payroll and maintain quality at the same time. By themselves, Jason Giambi and Derek Jeter cost the Yankees more than $40 million. Throw in Andy Pettitte, Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, and Pavano, and the Yankees have already spent nearly $100 million on just a half-dozen players, and the roster holds an additional 19.

Whether well-spent (Jeter) or not (Pavano), those blocks of money don’t shrink, so the Yankees can cut payroll only on the margins. This year that has meant, among other things, Doug Mientkiewicz at first base and Wil Nieves as the reserve catcher. The problem here, of course, is lack of discernment. While Mientkiewicz is unlikely to hit as well as first basemen are expected to (so far he hasn’t hit at all), at least a weak argument can be made for him on the basis that he hit decently last year, has hit .300 in the past, and is a former Gold Glove winner who still retains a decent amount of his defensive ability.

No such argument can be made for Nieves. Twenty-eight years old, Nieves has been in baseball since 1996 without developing the ability to hit for power, take a walk, or sustain a decent batting average. He first surfaced in the majors with the Padres in 2002, propelled to the Show by a .309 AVG/.321 OPS/.498 SLG showing at Triple-A Portland. The Padres should have known better; Nieves had drawn just five walks in a half-season of play. He batted .181 /.224/.250 for San Diego and has largely disappeared since then, except for brief appearances with the Yankees starting in 2005. Through Saturday’s game, he is 0-for-22 in his Yankees career.

Usually it would be nitpicking to criticize a team’s choice of reserve catcher; few teams are especially blessed with a second catcher who can really play. Still, most do better than the Yankees in that they manage to secure the services of a player who might deliver the odd hit or home run. Even John Flaherty, for all his offensive deficiencies, could claim a bit of power.

The weekend series with the Red Sox amply demonstrated what the Yankees have risked in choosing Nieves rather than a more qualified backstop. Jorge Posada has been one of the most durable catchers of his day. Posada ranks 10th on the list of games caught from 1990 to the present, an amazing standing given that he didn’t have anything like a regular job until 2000. Still, during the last six years he’s missed 20 to 25 games a year to the occasional booboo and scheduled days off. Those games count. The Yankees have to win them. But with Nieves in the lineup along with a defensive specialist first baseman a slumping Melky Cabrera, and from the sixth inning on the apparently inevitable pinch-runner for Jason Giambi, the Yankees’ chances of running up a high score become dependent on the continuation of Alex Rodriguez’s April miracle. A lineup that looks like the 1927 Yankees on paper becomes more like the 1972 Yankees.

Posada is a vastly underrated player. When the book on the great catchers of this era is written, Ivan Rodriguez and Mike Piazza will be the names written in gilt lettering. Since 2000, Posada has been more than their equal with the stick, reaching base more often than either while hitting with nearly as much power. Perhaps even the Yankees have failed to realize just how integral to their efforts he has been, letting him rot behind Joe Girardi through what would have likely been the most productive portion of his career, then failing to notice that the drop-off from Posada to his many substitutes was devastatingly severe.

Economizing means that instead of dining out at Per Se you go to Sizzler. You don’t skip right past that to the Dumpster. Wil Nieves is not a major league player. Jorge Posada is one of the best. In the gap between those two points, the Yankees’ pennant chances are suspended.

Mr. Goldman writes the Pinstriped Bible for yesnetwork.com and is the author of “Forging Genius,” a biography of Casey Stengel.