NEW YORK — When Aaron Boone sat down for his pregame press conference on Wednesday, the Yankees still had not released their starting lineup for the day. This came on the heels of DJ LeMahieu abruptly getting scratched from the lineup on Tuesday and Giancarlo Stanton leaving mid-game with a lower leg malady.
Boone was asked about Stanton, and his initial update was mostly a nothing burger.
“I don’t have a lot for you guys yet,” the manager said. “He just got here and got his MRI. We’re waiting to get that read.”
Then, less than 45 minutes before the game, it was announced Stanton was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right calf strain. Joey Gallo was also reinstated from the COVID IL.
It certainly does not seem like Stanton’s injury is very serious, but it was enough for the big man to pull himself out of a tight game in the seventh inning, and has now warranted some time on the shelf, something that Boone did concede was a possibility before the move was made official.
“I just talked to him, he is feeling pretty good,” Boone said. “We hope that he said something early enough to where this doesn’t become long.”
The big question around Stanton has been how much he’ll play the outfield, how that affects his offense, and now, if that had any impact on his health. Boone was questioned about whether the lower leg problem would limit Stanton’s defensive innings moving forward or his willingness to put him in the field once he’s healthy again.
“It won’t. We’ll go with him when he’s healthy,” Boone responded. “I think G and I both feel this way, playing the outfield is probably something that aids him in staying healthy. We obviously can’t push him too much. I don’t think it changes much.”
The manager said there’s also no set formula for Stanton’s defensive deployment or a magic number they try to meet over a certain amount of time.
“It kind of varies week to week,” he noted. “There was a week where he and I both felt like he needed a couple DH days in a row. There were other times where we probably played him two or three times in a row in the outfield. He and I have gotten really good at communicating with each other as we try and lay out the next days. It varies.”
No DJ for second day in a row
LeMahieu, who was not in the lineup for Wednesday’s rubber match with Baltimore, spoke at his locker about the left wrist discomfort that has kept him out for the last two games. He was also out of the starting nine on Monday, which Boone said was just a typical rest day.
“I literally just picked up a bat on Monday in the cage before the game and couldn’t swing really,” LeMahieu divulged. “I don’t remember doing anything. It’s very strange.”
The MRI on his wrist did not show anything alarming and the team doctors gave him a cortisone shot.
“Because there’s nothing on the MRI, I’m hoping this cortisone knocks it right out.”
LeMahieu has not been placed on the injured list.
More injury news
Another Yankee reliever is going on the injured list.
This time, it’s Jonathan Loaisiga, who joins Chad Green and Aroldis Chapman as members of the Yankee bullpen to go down in the last four days.
“He’s got some shoulder discomfort that he’s been dealing with,” Boone said on Wednesday afternoon. “He’s going to go on the IL. [David] McKay is here. There’s a lot of moving parts in there.”
Boone did his best to explain his understanding of the situation, with the typical caveat that he is not a doctor and does not have the full information.
“He’s gone through some tests in the last couple days,” Boone reported. “It’s similar to what he dealt with last year, just not as severe. It’s probably something that, as a precaution, we need to be smart here and take a couple weeks. Hopefully that’s all it is.”
He did confirm that Loaisiga has been shut down from throwing, even though the team believes that this is something “minor.” For many, the immediate thought here is that the Yankees’ bullpen is in shambles. Losing Loaisiga, Green and Chapman — probably their three most important relievers from last year’s team — is unquestionably a big hit. But the manager of the team cannot think that way, and Boone was quick to spin the unfortunate situation into a potential positive.
“It’s a great opportunity for people that we’re really excited about to step up and step into roles,” Boone said. Two obvious candidates for a larger role are Clarke Schmidt and Ron Marinaccio. Both pitchers are rookies who made the opening-day roster this season but have been back and forth between Triple-A and the big club. Schmidt has thrown 13 innings for the Yankees this season while Marinaccio has only seen 4 2/3, mostly in garbage time.
Boone also said he does not think that the shoulder discomfort has contributed to Loaisiga’s major struggles this year, as the problem crept up only a few days ago.
“We look forward to getting Lo back and pitching like he’s capable of. He’s not far off as far as his stuff and his repertoire.”
