Ellsbury OK with fifth hole

TAMPA — The Yankees didn’t import Jacoby Ellsbury from Boston to bat fifth, but with less than a week left before the regular season begins, here we are.

According to Ellsbury, who has started exactly zero games batting fifth in his career, his new spot fits him just fine — even if “nothing’s set in stone.”

On Wednesday, a day after Joe Girardi placed Ellsbury fifth in the lineup against the Tigers, the outfielder said the manager approached him before making the move.

“I talked to him about it before,” Ellsbury said at George M. Steinbrenner Field. “He asked me what I thought. [I said] whatever’s best for the team.”

Asked if he thought it helped the team, Ellsbury said: “If [Girardi] feels that way, I feel that way.’’

And right now, that means splitting up Ellsbury and Brett Gardner, two left-handed hitters who had been at the top of the lineup. It also allows Gary Sanchez to get more at-bats by hitting second. What remains to be seen is how it might impact cleanup hitter Matt Holliday, behind whom Ellsbury will be hitting if the new lineup sticks.

The dynamic will shift once the lefty-swinging shortstop Didi Gregorius returns from a shoulder injury, which is expected in May, and Girardi said he’s unsure of what he will do with the order once that happens.

But for now, Girardi seems intrigued about the idea of sliding Ellsbury down. Ellsbury has spent the vast majority of his career leading off, but he did hit third for a significant stretch in 2014 — something the center fielder pointed out Wednesday. That season, he didn’t alter his approach despite being placed in the middle of the lineup.

“That’s the good thing about it,” Ellsbury said. “It doesn’t really affect anything as far as [what I do].”

That includes hitting for power, which is something Ellsbury hasn’t done outside of 2011, when he hit 32 homers with the Red Sox in his one All-Star season.

“You look at my homers, my numbers are right on par with my career,” Ellsbury said. “I’ll keep the same approach. No one’s asked me to do anything more.”

Girardi also pointed to Ellsbury’s success in clutch situations as a reason why he was a candidate to hit fifth, but the evidence is mixed.

Ellsbury had an OPS of .814 with runners in scoring position last season, but in 2015 it was just .678.

“When you hit leadoff, there could be runners on,” Ellsbury said. “Once you go through the lineup once, you’re in the middle of the lineup.”

True, but generally there’s a reason players are put in certain spots.

“Everything’s the same,” Ellsbury said. “It’s just four slots down. I’ll be aggressive and take the same swings.” For now, at least. “It’s not even set in stone,” Ellsbury said. “We’re talking about something that’s not even for sure. … That’s Opening Day. Day 2, it could be a different lineup [depending on] lefty [or] righty. It’s one game out of 162.”