Yankees will take any Giancarlo Stanton positive they can get
The combination of Aaron Judge hitting second and Giancarlo Stanton third had not resulted in the offense anyone expected, so Aaron Boone made a change Thursday.
The Yankees manager moved Stanton, who entered the day hitless in his previous 13 at-bats, out of the three-hole for the first time this season, shifting him to cleanup behind Didi Gregorius and ahead of Gary Sanchez.
Stanton hardly dominated in a 4-3 win over the Blue Jays, but Boone was encouraged by his walk and infield single — and by the fact Stanton got to a full count three times.
“It was a positive step for him,” said Boone, who added before the game he won’t slide Stanton lower than fifth.
“I still want him surrounded by impact guys,’’ the manager said. “You move him down [more] and all of a sudden, he’s one good at-bat away from getting locked back in and … you’re in a situation where it’s a blatant pitch-around.”
Boone said he doesn’t believe pitchers will attack Stanton much differently, regardless of where he is in the lineup.
“He’s Giancarlo Stanton,” Boone said of the reigning NL MVP. “I don’t think they’re gonna groove him pitches because he’s hitting second or he’s hitting fourth or he’s hitting third. Guys kind of get pitched to how they get pitched, and I think in the long haul he’s gonna benefit more from having traffic on the bases, and pitchers being in trouble, and When he’s right, there’s no one better at taking advantage of mistakes.”
It could be a while before Tommy Kahnle is back in the bullpen after an MRI exam revealed tendinitis in his shoulder and biceps.
“We don’t think it’s serious, but he will be shut down for the next 10 days or so, so it could be something that’s a few weeks before he’s back,” Boone said of the righty, who was placed on the 10-day disabled list Tuesday. “We don’t believe it’s too serious and hopefully with the rest here over the next week or 10 days, and then he starts back to building that arm strength back up, … and hopefully we get him back to where he was.”
Kahnle’s velocity has been down throughout most of the early part of the season, though he only complained of arm trouble this week.
Luis Cessa (oblique) joined Kahnle on the DL Thursday, when CC Sabathia was activated. Cessa was an option to make a spot start during the current stretch in which the Yankees will play on 18 straight days.
For now, the Yankees intend to stay in rotation at least through Monday, with Sonny Gray going Friday, followed by Jordan Montgomery, Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka.
