Stanton may play some RF
TAMPA, Fla, — Giancarlo Stanton may play right field at times in New York Yankees’ home games this year and Aaron Judge could be shifted to the more spacious left field in the Bronx.
“I think I have more of a flow when I’m in the outfield,” Stanton said Tuesday after the Yankees’ second full-squad workout. “Being in the outfield, you’re kind of more engaged in the game whereas DH you’re inside a lot of the time staying warm and hitting, and kind of watching the game from the TV as opposed to being out more engaged.”
Gold Glove winner Harrison Bader, acquired at last year’s trade deadline, figures to get the bulk of the starts in center.
“If we need to put Big G in right field at Yankee Stadium, move me to left, I don’t mind it,” Judge said. “I don’t mind switching around, so we can have Bader, me and the Big G out there. We’ll get some (game) reps hopefully at spring training and be comfortable out there.”
Judge played 78 games in center last year and 73 in right. He hasn’t played left field since 2016 at Triple-a Scranton/ Wilkes-barre.
“I’m open to things like that, especially in the home ballpark,” Boone said. “We’ll just see how that goes in letting that play out. No decision on that yet but it’s on my board.”
Stanton has battled a variety of injuries in four of his five seasons with New York. He was acquired from Miami following a 59-homer season in 2017 with the Marlins.
Stanton has topped 30 homers three times since but was limited to 18 games in 2019 and 110 last year. The closest he’s come to 59 homers with the Yankees was 38 during his initial season with New York.
Stanton played 34 games in right last season and four in left — all on the road. He didn’t play the outfield after July 21, soon before he went on the injured list with left Achilles tendinitis.
More Yankees: New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone fully expects a comeback season for third baseman Josh Donaldson. The 37-year old former American League Most Valuable Player hit .222 last season, 43 points under his career average. He finished with 15 home runs and 62 RBIS in 132 games. “First of all we’re talking about a great player,” Boone said. “This has been a star player, and consistently for a long time. He’s not far removed from 2021 where he was still a wrecking ball.”
Mets: Phil Regan sued the New York Mets and former general manager Brodie Van Wagenen, alleging age discrimination and wrongful termination when he was moved out as pitching coach after the 2019 season. Regan, a former big league pitcher who turns 86 in April, also claimed harassment and hostile work environment in a complaint filed Monday in New York Supreme Court in Queens. “Phil came into an underperforming pitching staff and immediately righted the ship,” his lawyer, Matthew J. Blit, said in a statement Tuesday. “He helped lower the team ERA and brought the staff back to where it was supposed to be. Instead of rewarding him for his masterful performance he was tossed aside because of his age.” Regan was 96-81 with a 3.84 earnedrun average for Detroit, the Chicago Cubs and White Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1960-72 and was an All-star in 1966. He managed the Baltimore Orioles to a 71-73 record and third-place finish in the AL East during the strike-shortened 1995 season. He joined the Mets organization as pitching coach of Class A St. Lucie in 2009 and became minor league pitching coordinator in 2016. New York fired pitching coach Dave Eiland on June 20, 2019, when the team was fourth in the NL East at 35-39 with a big league-high 16 blown saves and a 4.67 ERA, 20th among the 30 big league clubs. Regan became interim pitching coach, and the Mets lowered their ERA to 4.24 by the end of the season. Regan was replaced on Dec. 8 by Jeremy Hefner, who was 33 at the time and still holds the job. Regan claimed in the suit the Mets offered him a minor league contract at reduced terms. Regan was listed last season as senior adviser, pitching development.
Brewers: First baseman Luke Voit and outfielder Tyler Naquin agreed to minor league contracts with Milwaukee and will report to major league spring training.
Pirates: A guest of the Pittsburgh Pirates required emergency medical attention after suffering cardiac arrest while fielding fly balls on a practice field. Ernie Withers, 69, was shagging balls at the team’s spring training complex when he had “a medical event” that required immediate attention and caused practice to stop. Jacki Dezelski, president of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce in Bradenton, Fla., confirmed Withers is a member of her group which sometimes is invited to attend practices and retrieve balls near the fence during batting practice. Dezelski said Withers suffered a cardiac arrest and was alert, talking and “doing well” following a procedure.