TAMPA – Corey Kluber threw his first live batting practice of the spring into the Yankees’ minor league complex on Sunday, with Gary Sanchez behind the bar and Aaron Boone sounding pleased with what he sees.
The manager calls the outing ‘good’.
“There’s been a lot of talk about it, of course,” Boone said of Kluber’s arrival at a one-time $ 11 million deal after hitting just one innings over the past two seasons due to a broken forearm in 2019 and a shoulder injury in the past. year.
‘He came in here after throwing live and was even more strenuous than [Sunday] wash. It was good to get Gary with him in a vibrant environment. Another good step forward in the process for him. ”
The health of Kluber’s right arm is the key to a rotation that Gerrit Cole wants to support after losing Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton and JA Happ to free agency during free season.
Aroldis Chapman introduced a fast fingerball last year, but he used the field sparingly. Expect to see more of it this season.
“I believe this is definitely a pitch for me,” Chapman said through an interpreter. “I feel like I’ve incorporated the pitch into my pitch mix.”
He expects to use the splitter more than he has to change, throwing it “just a few times here and there.”
“I definitely feel really good about it,” Chapman said of the split. ‘[It’s] definitely a weapon that will be used in the future. ”
Austin Wells was drafted by the Yankees in June last year and has never played a game due to the pandemic, so he tries to take advantage of the early camp as much as possible.
“I’ve been at a distance with training for over a year,” Wells said. “Any bat against any pitcher I get is beneficial to me.”
Wells is just one of the minor leagues that lost just as much as a season of development when the minor leagues closed last year.
Reese said the development of players without games was ‘interesting’.
“It was a challenge,” Reese said. “It was difficult. You throw away the game plan for a year and adjust immediately. ”
The Yankees chose not to have a teaching league last fall, and Reese said the organization decided there was too much risk associated with COVID cases rising in Florida at the time and that the Yankees did not have their own hotel for players. safely housed.
Miguel Andujar is not the only position player as he reports to camp this week hoping to prove he can deliver more than one position.
Boone also mentions newly signed Jay Bruce and Derek Dietrich, as well as Andrew Velazquez, the Fordham Prep product that also has a minor league deal.
Dietrich can play second and third bases, Bruce first and Velazquez short, and they can all be used in corner-outfield positions.
“I feel like we have some guys with pretty good versatility and flexibility,” Boone said.
– Additional reporting by Ken Davidoff