Didi, Stanton take first steps toward return
BALTIMORE — While the Yankees were preparing to play the hapless Orioles on Monday night at Camden Yards, their eyes were peaking toward Tampa.
That’s where Didi Gregorius and Giancarlo Stanton, two big talents the Yankees hope to get back from the injured list, took steps in that process.
Gregorius played five innings at shortstop and made five plate appearances in an extended spring training game and Stanton went 1-for-3 with a home run and two strikeouts for the Single-A Tampa Tarpons at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
While Gleyber Torres has filled in very well at shortstop and the Yankees were atop the AL East with Stanton going down three games into the season, adding Gregorius and Stanton is a must. So, too, is welcoming back Aaron Judge, Dellin Betances, and Luis Severino at some point.
“Looking forward to all of them getting back,’’ said Aaron Boone, whose club started Monday’s action a halfgame up on the second-place Rays in the AL East. “They have all been a part of what we are doing. Over the long haul of the season, 162 games, you want to get your dudes back in there.’’
Gregorius playing in a game at short for the first time on Monday is a major step forward in his return from Tommy John surgery last fall on his right elbow. Ditto Stanton, who hasn’t played a game since March 31 due to a strained left biceps and a shoulder problem that required a cortisone shot in mid-April.
Against Tigers minor leaguers, Gregorius got two hits and a walk in five plate appearances and made a throwing error on the first of three chances he got at short.
“Got a lot of at-bats and told me he threw one away so the arm was feeling too good, I guess,’’ Boone said of Gregorius, who will DH on Tuesday and could be getting close to being assigned to the Tarpons for the beginning of a minor league rehab stint. “A big step, obviously, in the return for Didi.’’