Yankees' swoon has led to some curious lineup decisions by Aaron Boone
Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres runs on his solo home run during the second inning against the Mets in an MLB game at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Aaron Boone sent in his lineup late Tuesday night, hoping he’d found the special potion that could stir his hitters alive.
On Wednesday, that meant Gleyber Torres was leading off for the first time since April 9. J.D. Davis was moved out of the cleanup spot in favor of Austin Wells. And Juan Soto and Aaron Judge stayed exactly where they’ve been all along: two and three in a lineup that’s wilted around them during one of the most pivotal parts of the season, and with the Mets in town.
“It can be” a challenge, Boone said of the lineup construction. “Especially, when a couple important guys go through some struggles in the middle and you have a significant piece out like Big G (Giancarlo Stanton), you’re trying to get some guys rolling. You’re trying to piece together that middle of the lineup a little bit and then obviously, on different nights you’re facing different pitching or different situations. It’s been a little bit challenging but I also feel like we have some good things happening to a couple of guys who are really important to what we do.”
Going into Wednesday’s game against the Mets, the Yankees faced the ignominious prospect of a season series sweep, and yet another loss in a string of them. They’ve been 10-21 in this latest swoon - a winning percentage second only to the lowly White Sox - and are hitting .230 as a team, which was fourth-worst in baseball in that span.
All of it has led to some curious decisions - say, batting Davis cleanup Tuesday despite the fact that he hadn’t swung a bat since Independence Day - and only further highlighted that the Yankees need to acquire some more fire power at the trade deadline.
Batting Torres leadoff was just a symptom of that: He started the season there, but was bounced for Anthony Volpe after some early struggles. Now, Volpe isn’t hitting too much, and Torres was back at it, despite going into the day sporting a .230 average.
“We’re just trying to find a little combination right now,” Boone said. “We haven’t faced lefties (like the Mets' Sean Manaea) in a while, so not wanting to go three out of four lefties right out of the chute to open the game. (We’re) just trying to mix it up a little bit as we try to find that combination right now to score runs.”
Getting significant backup at the trade deadline isn’t necessarily a sure thing. Sure, Stanton is making steady progress in his return from a hamstring injury, but the Yankees find themselves in a precarious position. They’ve got plenty of needs, but will likely prefer to hold on tight to top prospects Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones. And, let’s face it, if they do resign Soto, it’s going to cost a king’s ransom - meaning they’ll need younger, low-cost options at at least some positions. That means retaining prospects.
It's clear that the front office, like Boone, is still trying to parse that all out.
“I touch base, whether it’s with Cash (Brian Cashman) or other front office guys pretty much on a daily basis now just to say, ‘What do we got? What are we thinking? What do we think about this? How does this fit? How do you see using this guy?’” Boone said. “Those conversations happen as they have a real grasp of the landscape of organizations and prospects and all that…
“It’s an exciting time for our sport.”
And nerve-wracking. And confounding. And, especially for the Yankees right now, very vital.
Notes & quotes: There’s still no exact timeline for Stanton to return, but Boone said he was doing more on the field Wednesday and was working to build endurance and volume. “I’m clearly excited and will be really excited to get him back,” Boone said. “But I also don’t want to get ahead of myself and rush. I want him to be a completed, ready to roll at the end of the rehab process. I want him to be in a really good physical space so that we’re in the best position possible to where he can come in and start impacting and, frankly, impact us the rest of the season … I don’t want to rush that final step.”
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
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