As the Yankees look to bounce back after back-to-back losses to the Boston Red Sox, manager Aaron Boone addressed a few big issues facing his club before Saturday's matinee in The Bronx.
Aaron Judge progressing
The Yankees slugger is still dealing with the effects of the flexor strain in his right arm, but he has progressed in his throwing program as the wait for his return to the outfield continues.
Boone said that he believes Judge was throwing with “a little more intensity” on Friday and was out to 150 feet. “I think we’re getting to introduce some paces, so hopefully we're getting close,” the skipper said.
With the reigning AL MVP limited to just hitting, Boone dismissed a question about whether the injury was impacting the slugger at the plate. “I don’t,” he said.
Giancarlo Stanton was in the lineup in right field for Saturday's game, his seventh start in the outfield since Judge's return from the IL.
But since coming back from the injury during the first week of August, the slugger has just 11 hits in 51 at-bats (.216) with a double and three home runs for a .412 slugging percentage and .806 OPS (boosted by 15 walks) through his first 15 games as a DH.
In the 15 games before the injury, Judge had just 11 hits in 54 at-bats (.204) with three doubles and five homers for a .537 slugging percentage and an .836 OPS. He had nine walks to 21 strikeouts in that span compared to 14 since the injury.
Anthony Volpe could get a day soon
Boone said he didn’t consider giving Volpe a day off for Saturday’s game with Red Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet on the mound, but amid the shortstop’s struggles at the plate and in the field, it is something he is considering.
“Especially now with [Jose] Caballero [able to play short], I gave him one the other day,” Boone said about a start for the trade deadline acquisition. “So those can be in play here, but wasn’t gonna do it with the lefty here.”
Volpe has struggled again at the plate this year as his .209 average entering Saturday's game matches his mark from his rookie season. His .403 slugging percentage is a career high, but his .276 on-base percentage is a career low.
The numbers have been particularly dire of late, as the 24-year-old has just eight hits in his last 18 games is slashing .127/.179/.254 for a .433 OPS with four walks and 18 strikeouts.
Through his first 446 career games, Volpe is slashing .222/.285/.381 for a .666 OPS for an 84 OPS+ and 86 wRC+ (average is 100).
And his once-reliable fielding has abandoned him with 16 errors already this season (not including a mental error in Friday night's game) and a minus-7 outs above average (fourth percentile in MLB). On the other hand, his three defensive runs saved on the year are good for eighth among qualified shortstops. So he hasn't totally regressed.
On Friday, with a runner on second and nobody out in the ninth inning, Volpe fielded a grounder right at him and tried to get the runner at second rather than taking the out at first. Instead, the Sox got two on and nobody out.
“It’s obviously not the right play,” Boone said after the game Friday. “It’s a little bit of a heady play, too. He almost caught a guy off in scoring position there, and then he doesn’t come around to score anyway. He makes a really good play on the contact play. Are we going to really dive into that one a lot? I mean, I get it. It wasn’t an out, but it’s kind of a heads-up. Almost got a guy napping.”
Fernando Cruz nearing return
The veteran right-hander is set to come back after a lengthy stint on the IL that has seen him sidelined since late June, either on Sunday or Monday, the skipper said.
Cruz pitched to a .300 ERA and 1.000 WHIP in 33 innings over 32 appearances. He had 54 strikeouts to 14 walks, thanks to an absolutely wicked split-finger that had a 60.2 whiff percentage and .119 expected batting average against.
