Bit players taking on big roles for $292 million Yankees
Jake Bauers #61 of the Yankees follows through on his third inning two run home run against the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, June 21, 2023. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Amid all the Aaron Judge despair, and the nightly booing of the higher-priced guys in pinstripes, everyone lost sight of the path to Yankees’ salvation.
If only they can keep Jake Bauers and Billy McKinney healthy, things should be OK.
Crazy, right? Two non-roster invitees, making pocket change by MLB standards, are basically rescuing Hal Steinbrenner’s $292 million ballclub. They did it again Wednesday by throttling Mariners ace Luis Castillo, as Bauers smacked a two-run homer and McKinney went deep for the second time in as many nights to fuel the Yankees’ 4-2 victory.
With Bauers and McKinney the most popular guys in the Bronx right now, we’re not sure if that’s more a credit to GM Brian Cashman’s continued success mining talent in the margins or an indictment of all the money currently being flushed on Josh Donaldson, Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu.
Two of those three weren’t even in the lineup Wednesday as manager Aaron Boone chose to sit both a former MVP (Stanton) and two-time batting champ (LeMahieu) to spare them what he presumed to be a humiliating matchup against Castillo. The third, Donaldson, probably wished for a seat on the bench, because he was loudly booed during each of his at-bats, and only escaped the full-throated rage from the crowd of 41,090 when the Mariners botched his double-play grounder in the eighth.
For those counting, that’s $68 million of the 2023 payroll contributing essentially zero to Wednesday’s series-clinching win, the Yankees’ second straight after a four-game losing streak. Instead, Boone has been forced to rely on any number of Triple-A Scranton call-ups on any given night, with Bauers and McKinney making the most of their opportunities to keep the Yankees afloat.
“They’ve been huge,” Boone said. “With Billy now, it’s just been consistent at-bats day in and day out ... Jake’s done a really good job of impacting the ball, and especially in the leadoff spot lately, I feel like he’s had really competitive at-bats.”
With the Yankees exhausting all their previous leadoff options, Bauers has taken over with some pop as 13 of his last 18 hits have been for extra bases (nine doubles, four homers). He’s also been the de facto replacement for Judge in rightfield, although Bauers is usually subbed out late defensively by his Scranton buddy McKinney, who slides over from left. What they’ve done at the plate for the other misfiring Yankees has been priceless, however.
“I don’t know about carrying the offense, because we got guys one through nine who are still having good at-bats,” Bauers said. “But yeah, I love to see my guy Billy swinging it well. He’s come up and done a great job for us.”
Bauers was being generous including all nine — everyone knows where the holes are. But he’s dead-on regarding McKinney, who now has reached base in 12 straight games, the second-longest streak of his career, with three doubles, one triple, three homers and a walk over those dozen. Maybe there’s something to be said for not having a $20-million contract as a safety net, because the Yankees are fortunate these two are actually treating these games like they’re important rather than an extended rehab stint.
“I’ve always believed in myself, but you’ve got to prove it in this game,” said McKinney, who’s been with six teams in the past six seasons. “If you hit, you’ll play, that’s what my old man always said. So you got to produce, and do well, and take it one day at a time.”
With Judge not expected back until some time around the All-Star break, both Bauers and McKinney should continue to get these opportunities. The Yankees really have no other choice. Boone talked before Wednesday’s game about maybe giving Stanton a start in the outfield for Thursday’s series finale, but he’s better off leaving those guys right where they are.
Stanton wasn’t even the DH Wednesday — he was benched for Willie Calhoun, another Scranton special, who went 1-for-4 with a walk from the No. 3 spot but appeared to blow out his left quadriceps running out a grounder in the eighth. That’s likely to mean more roster shuffling for Thursday, but Bauers and McKinney don’t have to worry about such things for a while.
The Yankees need them in the Bronx, where Cashman doesn’t have to sweat that once-bothersome leftfield vacancy anymore. At least not for now. And with most people stressing over Judge’s prolonged absence, you can bet Bauers and McKinney are relishing the chance to be the silver lining.
“You have to have a positive mindset,” McKinney said. “Stay away from the negative because it can take you down. I think Jake and I have been through it, the negative thoughts. We just talked in Triple-A about always trying to bring a good attitude, a good vibe, and hopefully it helps the team out.”
The Yankees would be in a bad place without them, that’s for sure.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
