TAMPA — The first full-squad practice for the Yankees’ left field competition is scheduled for Monday, and Giancarlo Stanton is a wild card.
The Yankees need to keep Stanton healthy, so he may not be a viable choice to start every game at the position, but manager Aaron Boone said Friday that Stanton is “in the mix in the outfield.”
Boone said after pitchers and catchers worked out at George M. Steinbrenner Field, “I believe he’ll be our designated hitter more than anyone else, but I’m hopeful that the outfield is very much in play.”
Stanton began 38 games in the outfield in 2018 and 26 games in 2021. However, the majority of these games were in right field, and none of his 14 starts in left field were at Yankee Stadium due to the position’s expansive dimensions.
Boone was noncommittal when asked if Stanton could play left field at Yankee Stadium, something he hasn’t done since 2019.
“We’ll have to see,” he said. “And I may also be innovative in that regard. We’ll have to see how that turns out.”
The versatile Oswaldo Cabrera and Estevan Florial, among others, are anticipated to see time in left field during spring training. In the meanwhile, Aaron Hicks is viewed as the front-runner for the left-field job entering spring training.
Boone believes that Hicks is “in a good place” after suffering a knee injury in Game 5 of the American League Division Series. Hicks’ season ended due to a collision in which he suffered a knee injury.
“He’s working on shortening some aspects of his swing,” Boone said. “These adjustments are inevitable over the course of a career.” Physically, he’s in good shape, and emotionally, I believe he’s eager to compete and ready to go.
Austin Wells has been sidelined from baseball activities due to a bruised rib suffered on the first day of training camp. According to MLB.com, the Yankees’ No. 4 prospect expects to return to the field by Monday.
Wells stated, “There was no trigger or anything, it just came out of nowhere: ‘That doesn’t feel very good.’” “But, it feels much better today. Day by day, the situation is vastly improving. Just attempting to be prepared for when the games begin around here.”
Ron Marinaccio threw another bullpen session on Friday and reported feeling well as he continues to recover from the shin injury that knocked him out of last year’s playoffs. The reliever will face batters early the next week.
On Friday afternoon, Luis Severino, Michael King, and Clarke Schmidt threw live bullpen sessions. King faced batters for the second time since breaking his right elbow in July of last year.
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