With Austin Wells making his spring debut sooner than expected earlier this week and Gerrit Cole taking the mound on Friday, a few more Yankees are set for their first taste of exhibition action.
Aaron Boone said that Aaron Judge will play against the Astros on Saturday, a previously expected target. While spring games began on Feb. 21, the manager had not felt a need to rush the Yankees captain and American League MVP.
Boone took a similar approach with Wells following a short offseason and heavy 2024 workload.
DJ LeMahieu is going to make his spring debut on Saturday or Monday against the Pirates. The Yankees have a road game against Atlanta on Sunday, and veterans typically don’t make such trips during spring training.
While Judge is firmly entrenched as the Yankees’ right fielder, LeMahieu’s first spring game will also be his first chance to make a statement on the club’s third base competition.
The battle also includes the uber-versatile Oswaldo Cabrera and the sure-handed but light-hitting Oswald Peraza. A two-time batting champ, the 36-year-old LeMahieu is coming off the worst campaign of his career, has shown steady decline and battled injuries for a few seasons, and is owed $30 million over the next two years.
The Yankees’ third base candidates have left fans asking for an upgrade for months, but LeMahieu, now healthy, hopes to prove doubters wrong following an offseason “reset.”
“I definitely lost a lot of sleep,” LeMahieu said earlier in camp. “It’s tough to be a guy that the team can’t rely on at times. I always take pride in that, so to not be able to do that, it’s definitely frustrating. But at the same time, I haven’t lost my passion for helping this team and my passion for this team. So that keeps me going.”
Nothing New On Stanton
While Boone had dates for Judge and LeMahieu’s spring debuts, he still doesn’t know when Giancarlo Stanton will return to camp.
The designated went to New York to deal with what Boone called a personal matter earlier this week. “Hopefully soon,” the skipper said when asked about Stanton rejoining the team, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch.
Stanton is also dealing with tennis elbows. He was not doing any notable baseball activities, and his availability for Opening Day was already in question prior to his departure.
Effross Out
Scott Effross will be out for a bit, as the reliever suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain after exiting a spring training outing after one pitch on Tuesday. Boone tole reporters that the righty received a PRP injection on Thursday.
Vivas Close To Game Action
Jorbit Vivas, a longshot option at third, has yet to play in spring games due to shoulder soreness, per MLB.com. However, Boone said that the prospect is getting close to seeing the field.
