No discussion necessary: Yankees' Josh Donaldson needs to sit
Yankees pinch-hitter Josh Donaldson returns to the dugout after he struck out swinging against the Rangers during the 10th inning of an MLB game at Yankee Stadium on Friday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
It’s highly unusual when Aaron Boone doesn’t show up on time for his pregame media session. The manager often beats the reporters into the conference room.
On Sunday morning, however, Boone was a half-hour late, to the extent that a Yankees PR official ducked her head into the room at one point and told everyone it would be another five minutes.
So what was this momentous occasion? Boone explained that a conversation with Josh Donaldson in his office went long but didn’t go into much further detail.
Neither did Donaldson, for that matter. The slumping third baseman didn’t talk at all until after the Yankees rallied to beat the Rangers, 5-3, before another sellout crowd of 46,064.
Donaldson clearly was annoyed when he arrived Sunday morning. He wasn’t in the lineup for a third straight game, and after quickly changing out of his street clothes, he grabbed a bat and headed for a side door that leads to the manager’s office — declining to speak with reporters, which he typically does upon request.
Both Donaldson and Boone denied there was anything confrontational about their pregame chat, as did another source briefed on the nature of the discussion. But if Donaldson is unhappy about not being in the lineup, he should get used to it, because the Yankees need to be shrinking his role as they consider jettisoning him for good, regardless of the financial commitment.
When Boone repeatedly was asked Sunday morning about Donaldson’s standing as the starting third baseman, the manager expressed his angst over going with DJ LeMahieu for the series finale, mentioning how he “wrestled” with the decision for a few hours Saturday night before choosing to sit Donaldson again.
“I felt like this is the way I wanted to go with it,” Boone said.
That’s the CliffsNotes version of Boone’s explainer, and honestly, he could have spared us all the verbal gymnastics when it comes to Donaldson because here’s the bottom line: The manager’s only responsibility is to write out a lineup with the best chance to win (with some front-office collaboration, of course).
Donaldson isn’t part of that equation right now, and it’s debatable how much he ever has been since the Yankees traded for him during spring training of 2022. He has six home runs but is hitting .125 (8-for-64) with a .604 OPS in 21 games. He has two hits in his last 30 at-bats and four in his last 44.
The only saving grace for Donaldson lately has been the epic fail of the Yankees’ lineup overall. You could argue it is unfair to make him the fall guy. But Sunday may have signaled the beginning of the end for Donaldson’s grip on the third- base job as LeMahieu seems to be coming out of his own funk, ripping a big two-run double in the second inning after Gerrit Cole put the Yankees in an early 3-0 hole.
If LeMahieu finally is on the verge of being fixed, there’s zero reason to keep running Donaldson out there, other than as a pinch hitter or giving someone a breather. And as much as Boone wants to cite Donaldson’s defense, LeMahieu even made a brilliant backhanded stab deep behind the third-base bag and fired a perfect cross-body throw to beat Josh Jung in the seventh inning.
Whether or not Donaldson was airing his grievances before Sunday’s game is mostly irrelevant, other than the distraction it potentially could create. He’s surely not thrilled about riding the bench, but general manager Brian Cashman has to live with the agonizing case of buyer’s remorse after paying Donaldson a total of $29 million this season (including the $8 million buyout of his ’24 option).
The Yankees’ ridiculous financial commitment to Donaldson, however, can’t be a valid reason for playing him. It’s a sunk cost. Consider those millions flushed. And for Donaldson, that pile of cash is not a bad consolation prize if his role is reduced to spectator.
Beyond that, Boone has to figure out his appetite for all these time-consuming “baseball chats” with Donaldson.
“Obviously I want to play, but that’s not why we were talking,” Donaldson said after Sunday’s series-clinching win over the Rangers. “At the end of the day, I’m happy our team won, and however I can help this team win ballgames or contribute in any way possible, that’s what I’m here for.”
During the course of Boone’s twisting pregame narrative regarding Donaldson, the manager eventually got around to comparing his three-day benching to LeMahieu’s mental reset earlier in the week. But it was never previously advertised as such, and that whole storyline felt unnecessary.
Anyone with eyes can tell the Yankees are a better team with Donaldson taking a seat these days, and he’s going to have to hit his way out of that doghouse with limited opportunities in the future. And there are no excuses required for that. The Yankees’ only motivation should be winning, and if that means Donaldson on the bench — or some other clubhouse — enough said.
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.
