Yanks rest DJ,
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It’s not really a break. With DJ LeMahieu and Gleyber Torres leaving Tampa and heading straight to Cleveland for the All-Star game, Aaron Boone decided Sunday was the best day to get them some rest.
But resting two of your best players with a series against your closest division challenger on the line is never easy. Social media was full of people second guessing Boone’s decision, especially after the Yankees offense was stalled in a 2-1 loss to the Rays at Tropicana Field.
“I just feel like both of those guys need a day. I won’t go too much into it other than these are guys that we’ve leaned on heavily. We’ve been through a really tough stretch of games with obviously going over to
London and part of the way we’re built is on our depth,” Boone said. “Time and time again when we’ve rested guys, the guys that we’ve had go in there not only are capable but have played a role in us winning ball games. So this is part of something that I’ve planned out all week about how I’ve wanted to get Didi (Gregorius) a day, get Gary (Sanchez) a day, get (Aaron) Judge a day and now our two All-Stars that we’ve leaned on so much.
“It’s just my call that today was a good day to have both of those guys off.”
The Yankees have five players participating in the All-Star Game and CC Sabathia being honored for his contributions on and off the field. Joining Torres and LeMahieu on the American League team will be Sanchez, who was the desig