Yankees manager Aaron Boone is on record saying there may be changes in the series, and he has GM Brian Cashman’s blessing to do whatever he wants to start a sleeping ball club that is just five of his first Won 15 matches.
If Boone wants to shake up his field by playing Aaron Hicks and Clint Frazier for one day, two days or longer with Mike Tauchman and Brett Gardner, Cashman signs off. The same goes for putting Rougned Odor to play Tyler Wade in second place or Mike Ford, depending on what the now retired Jay Bruce’s grid space takes up. If Boone wants, he can also handle the catch the same way he did in the playoffs last October, more Kyle Higashioka and less Gary Sanchez.
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‘As a manager (Boone) always has the timetable he likes, “Cashman said in a Zoom call on Monday. ‘There are clearly many different choices to play with. This is something he struggles with on a daily basis with his coaching staff. If you want to convert things in the off-field, you definitely have a few other choices to play with if you want. And you can do it in the interior too. There is a bit of flexibility there. And it also goes all the way to the catchment area. So he always had it in his back pocket. ‘
On Sunday, Boone admitted he could make some changes to the series after the Yankees losing streak increased to five games when they were swept home by the Tampa Bay Rays in a weekend series. The Yankees kicked off a series of two games at the Yankee Stadium against the Atlanta Braves on Monday night and Tuesday night.
The Yankees series was the biggest problem, as each of the beginners started disappointingly. DJ LeMahieu hits a respectable .286, but that’s a big drop from last season’s MLB best .364. No one else is above .255 and five entrees are below .200 – Gleyber Torres (.196), Giancarlo Stanton (.176), Frazier (.167), Hicks (.160) and Odor (.125).
“There are a few things I’m considering shaking things up, no doubt,” Boone said. “I did it a little bit, but it’s a little hard. It’s a bit of a different era if you only have three or four benches, but these will probably be more opportunities for guys who may not have played as much. ”
The easiest switch is to give Gardner and Tauchman more playing time, while Hicks and Frazier both struggle on the board and in the field. On Sunday, Hicks misjudged a volleyball and bubbled two balls, resulting in an undeserved run, while Frazier allowed a frontrunner to move into the standings by tossing the second base to a result. .
“Whether it’s playing with Gardner one day … it’s a lever (Boone) has the chance to pull when he wants to pull it,” Cashman said. “It’s part of his job. If he gets the chance to realize who can benefit from a day off by grinding a lot or who can benefit from a day or two off, or who you want to move up or in the series, all the different things are part of his abilities. But I can not tell you this is something that is going to happen or not. ”
Sanchez’s receiving and hitting improved than a year ago when both areas were terrible, but he had all three errors, he only hit .235 and last week he ended a late rally with a terrible base-running gaffe. Higashioka started just four games, but he hit .308 with two homers and his reception was stellar.
The most disappointing Yankees this year were probably Hicks, who was 3-for-4 in his best game and 5-for-46 in his other 12.
“I think he’s a big part of us starting,” Cashman said of Hicks. “He is an example to many of our players in our entire group. You can insert his name, you can take out his name and throw in another name and you will get the same answer. This is below where (Hicks) is able to play, and this currently applies to most of our list. ”
A year ago, the Yankees were first in the AL in runs, OPS and on the base percentage, second in homers and sixth in the batting average. This year, they are 14th among 15 teams in batting average (.215) and runs per game (3.7); 13th in OPS (.642), 11th in percentage at base (.296) and ninth in the home run (16).
“In the first place, it is clear that transgression is currently the main target for what we are worried about, because it is something that is a strong point of ours, and it will be a strong point of ours,” Cashman said. ‘But it’s not a strong point of ours at the moment, and it obviously makes other aspects of the roster that we do not rely on much … it exacerbates the shortcomings.
‘Individual performance below average, it will be corrected, we believe over time. We trust our players. We trust our process. ”
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