Yankees slugger Stanton could see time in right field at home
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 Class AAA 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 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.
Ex-Mets coach suing for age discrimination
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.”
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. 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.
Voit, Naquin to join Milwaukee in camp
First baseman Luke Voit and outfielder Tyler Naquin agreed to minor league contracts with the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday and will report to major league spring training.
Voit, 32, hit .226 with 22 homers, 69 RBIs, a .308 on-base percentage and a .402 slugging percentage in 135 games with San Diego and Washington last season.
Naquin, who turns 32 on April 24, batted .229 with 11 homers, 46 RBIs, a .282 on-base percentage and a .423 slugging percentage in 105 games for Cincinnati and New York Mets last season.
Royals CF Waters out due to oblique strain
Royals prospect Drew Waters, expected to compete with Kyle Isbel for the starting center field job, will miss six weeks with a strained left oblique, according to manager Matt Quatraro. Waters hit .240 with five homers and 18 RBIs in 32 games after he was acquired in a trade with Atlanta last season.
Quatraro said that Isbell will have “every opportunity to grab that spot.” Nate Eaton and Edward Olivares also will get a look as the Royals seek to replace Michael A. Taylor.
Pirates’ guest suffers cardiac arrest on field
A guest of the Pittsburgh Pirates required emergency medical attention after suffering cardiac arrest on Tuesday while fielding fly balls on a practice field.
The Pirates said the guest 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 and CEO of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce in Bradenton, confirmed the man is a member of her group, which sometimes is invited to attend practices and retrieve balls near the fence during batting practice.
Dezelski said the man suffered cardiac arrest and was alert and talking later Tuesday following a procedure.