Brett Gardner still valuable for Yankees as playing time increases

Early in spring training, Brett Gardner made a comment that, at the time, earned him eyerolls from some in the Yankees fan base.

"For me, I still mentally and physically have to be prepared to play every day," Gardner said back in February. "I know that if all of our guys are healthy, that's probably not going to happen, which is fine. I know what I signed up for when I decided to come back here. I'm just excited to be a part of this team, and however often I play, I'll be ready for it."

The 37-year-old Gardner, who only a couple of weeks earlier had agreed to a two-year deal to return to the Yankees, saying he would prepare as if he would still be an everyday player, was interpreted in some circles as a veteran not quite ready to cede his starting job, in this case in leftfield to Clint Frazier.

Frazier, of course, had all but been anointed the starter in the offseason by general manager Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone.

But Gardner wasn’t responding to that.

Instead, it was, as one club insider put it, "the classic case of a veteran [who has] been around forever knowing how this [stuff] works."

Meaning, declarations in the spring, and certainly before the spring, mean very little.

Every baseball season unfolds script-free and as the 2021 edition approaches the two-month point, Gardner, indeed, is playing every day.

And that likely will continue for the foreseeable future.

With Aaron Hicks late last week choosing to undergo surgery, which likely will be season ending, to repair a torn tendon sheath in his left wrist, Gardner officially took over as the everyday centerfielder.

"I feel more comfortable there than I do in left, to be honest," Gardner said over the weekend of center, his natural position. "I see the ball good off the bat. It's just a matter of continuing to work and put myself in a good position to go out and contribute. With [Hicks] going down for a little while, the team needs me and other guys now more than ever to step it up."

Gardner, who turns 38 Aug. 24, already had been playing quite a bit with Frazier’s ongoing struggles, the periodic rest Boone is giving to Aaron Judge to keep him healthy and the April trade of utility outfielder Mike Tauchman. Gardner was in the lineup for the 38th time in 48 games on Tueday night when the Yankees started a three-game series against the Blue Jays at the Stadium,

"Huge," Boone said before Tuesday’s game of how valuable Gardner has been. "As good an outfielder as he is, [he’s] the one true centerfielder right now on our roster. He's been huge. And I feel like offensively, he’s started to really tick up here this last week, 10 days with a lot of really good at-bats, starting to get some results."

Gardner, hitting .208 with a .554 OPS entering Tuesday, has been better of late, hitting .320 with an .810 OPS his previous seven games going into the Toronto series. But, as Boone indicated, because of the outfield issues, what Gardner does at the plate is almost irrelevant, citing "the really good defense" he provides daily.

"We've needed him," Boone said. "Obviously, we're leaning on him heavily in this stretch. I'm going to have to find him a day [off] here in this 13-day stretch…But there's a reason we keep trying to bring him back every year, is because he's a really good player and really valuable with his ability to move around the outfield."