Yankees infielder Oswald Peraza undergoes MRI on his right shoulder
Yankees shortstop Oswald Peraza throws to first base during the first inning of a spring training game against the Rays on Wednesday in Tampa, Fla. Credit: AP/Charlie Neibergall
TAMPA, Fla. — Yankees infielder Oswald Peraza was heading into an MRI tube Thursday after a recurrence of the right shoulder discomfort that has hampered his spring training.
Peraza, who played on Tuesday and Wednesday in his first appearances since Feb. 25, told manager Aaron Boone the pain has returned.
“He felt like he really couldn’t rip it across the diamond like he would want to,” Boone said before the Yankees hosted the Tigers at Steinbrenner Field. “I think he’s going for imaging now, so we’ll see what we’ve got in there and continue to treat it accordingly.”
Peraza, 23, is battling Oswaldo Cabrera and several others for what look to be a pair of bench spots on the Opening Day roster.
The Yankees already might have been leaning toward starting Peraza every day at shortstop in Triple-A and keeping a veteran such as non-roster infielder Kevin Smith as Anthony Volpe’s backup.
Boone mentioned Smith, a 27-year-old with 114 games of big-league experience with Toronto and Oakland, as someone with a chance to stick.
Smith started at third base on Thursday and is batting .188 in spring training. “He’s got a little bit of experience,” Boone said. “He can legitimately play all the infield positions. You can legitimately play him at shortstop. He’s had some success as a hitter. He’s got a little bit of thump from the right side.”
Smith is a career .173 hitter with eight home runs in 333 plate appearances.
Second basemen Jahmai Jones and Jorbit Vivas are on the 40-man roster, but neither plays shortstop.
Lo and behold
Jonathan Loaisiga has yet to pitch in a spring training game, but Boone said the righthander threw two innings of live batting practice on Wednesday with “a full clip” and is on schedule to open the season.
“His work is where it needs to be,” Boone said of Loaisiga, who was limited to 17 2⁄3 innings last season because of elbow woes.
Extra bases
Austin Wells hit his first spring training home run, a solo shot, and had a two-run double in an 11-5 loss to Detroit . . . Yankees starter Luke Weaver allowed three runs in 1 1⁄3 innings . . . The Yankees are bringing an action-packed lineup to Dunedin on Friday to face the Blue Jays. Marcus Stroman will start — his third straight road appearance — and every healthy regular except for Volpe and Giancarlo Stanton is on the travel roster.
Baker’s BP
Quarterback Baker Mayfield, a free agent who played for Tampa Bay last season, took batting practice with the Yankees along with Bucs offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
