Donaldson, Boone clear air; 3B will play ‘lots’

NEW YORK — Out of the lineup for a 3rd consecutive sport, Josh Donaldson spun from his locker within the Yankees’ clubhouse, cap backwards and a bat in his hand. He ambled towards supervisor Aaron Boone’s workplace, sparking a prolonged dialog that spilled a half-hour longer than anticipated.

The outcome: Boone mentioned that he and Donaldson are actually “on the same page,” and that Donaldson can be “playing a lot” because the Bombers’ third baseman.

“I know the batting average since he’s come back has not been great, but scratch the surface to the underlying [numbers] and he’s hitting the ball hard,” Boone mentioned. “I feel like there’s a ton in there for him offensively. He’s tremendous defensively at third; I don’t think anyone would argue with that. I just want to get him going, because I know he can be a key figure for us.”

Donaldson, 37, is slashing .125/.197/.406 with six homers and eight RBIs in 21 video games this season. He is 6-for-48 (.125) since getting back from a proper hamstring pressure on June 2 and has been booed at Yankee Stadium, together with after placing out as a pinch-hitter within the tenth inning of Friday evening’s 4-2 loss to Texas.

“He’s a mentally tough guy. He’s got broad shoulders,” Boone mentioned. “From my standpoint, I just wanted to give him a little blow here. The biggest thing with me was wrestling with getting him back in there [Sunday] ahead of an off-day going on the road. I wrestled with it for a few hours yesterday.”

In a small pattern dimension, Boone’s reference to the underlying numbers has some credence. Donaldson has barreled seven of 35 batted balls (20 %) since his return. He has a 51.4 % hard-hit fee in June, which ranks thirty seventh amongst all Major Leaguers with a minimum of 50 plate appearances. Donaldson’s 4.5 diploma launch angle, nevertheless, has saved him from doing extra harm.

Acquired from the Twins in March 2022, Donaldson is within the remaining 12 months of a contract that can pay him $21 million this season, with a $16 million membership choice for subsequent 12 months that features an $8 million buyout.

Yankees common supervisor Brian Cashman just lately mentioned that he wants a bigger pattern dimension to correctly consider Donaldson’s place on the roster.

Cashman believes that Donaldson can enhance upon the efficiency he confirmed final season, when he slashed .222/.308/.374 (95 OPS+) with 15 homers and 62 RBIs in 132 video games.

“Prior to that, he’s always been an above-average offensive player,” Cashman mentioned. “This year, he got out of the gates looking good. And then he got hurt and then he reaggravated his injury, so he’s been down for a long period of time. I’d like to get him some runway here where he can get some consistent at-bats and then get on a roll so we can be in a better position to judge.”