Refsnyder glove affair
With less than two weeks remaining before the July 31 trade deadline, the Yankees still have one glaring decision to make about the team they’ll carry into the stretch run: Who is going to be the starter at second base?
With his swings and his defensive prowess in Friday night’s 4-3 win over the Mariners, Rob Refsnyder came one step closer to answering that question for Joe Girardi. The 24-year-old has now started all three games since his call-up last Saturday, each against a lefty starting pitcher, while the lefty-batting Stephen Drew has been relegated to the bench.
Refsnyder went 0-for-2 with a strikeout and reached base on a catcher’s interference call Friday. He is batting .222 with a home run in three games, but he is earning praise from his manager at the plate.
“He did a good job again today,” Girardi said. “I thought his swings were fine. It’s hard to judge on just a couple at-bats. But I thought he did a good job.”
Said Refsnyder: “I’m just trying to see some pitches, honestly. I haven’t seen a lot of these guys and a lot of these arms. I’m not the most talented hitter, so I’ve got to see sequences.”
Refsnyder, a converted outfielder, made 13 errors in 73 games at second for Triple-A Scranton this season and was charged with an error in Boston on Sunday when he dropped a throw at second base for what would have been a forceout.
But in Friday’s victory, Refsnyder showcased his defensive ability on a couple of unconventional grounders, charging a ball and getting the runner at first with a sidearm delivery in one instance and using a flip toss to force out the lead runner in another.
“He looked pretty relaxed to me,” Girardi said. “He made some tough plays, some really tough plays tonight. And he made them all — some between hops, some slow rollers, go to your left try to turn the double play. There wasn’t really an easy play for him tonight.”
BELTRAN UPDATE
Carlos Beltran, out since July 1 with a left oblique strain, played his third straight rehab game for Single-A Tampa on Friday, going 0-for-2 with a walk in seven innings. He started in right field and batted third.
Beltran has combined to go 3-for-7 with two runs and an RBI during his rehab stint.
Girardi said Beltran came out of Friday’s rehab game “OK,” but he hadn’t yet discussed how the team would progress. He did, however, rule out the possibility of Beltran being in the Yankee lineup on Saturday.
MONTERO RETURNS
Four years ago, Jesus Montero was a 21-year-old catching phenom for the Yankees, widely considered a top-five prospect in all of baseball. Now he’s just happy to have a second chance.
After spending much of the past two seasons either in the minor leagues or suspended, Montero — whom the Yankees dealt to the Mariners in the Michael Pineda trade before the 2012 season — was called up on July 10.
“I learned a lot through the process when I was in Triple-A,” Montero said at the Stadium Friday, before striking out to end the game. “It’s not easy to be here.”
Montero suffered through a downward spiral on and off the field with Seattle, including a demotion to the minors, a 50-game ban for his part in the Biogenesis scandal and a weight problem.
Montero lost some weight, embraced a move to first base and hit .332 over the first 84 games of 2015 in Triple-A. “It’s been a couple of rough years,” Montero said. “But I feel good. I’m happy to be here.” . . . Infielder Brendan Ryan (back strain) came off the 15-day DL. The Yanks optioned infielder Gregorio Petit to Triple-A to make room on the roster.