Didi Gregorius set to return to Yankees' lineup Friday vs. Indians
The Yankees' Didi Gregorius carries the insert of his shoe in his mouth as he warms up before during a Gulf Coast League game on May 20 in Tampa, Fla. Credit: AP/Chris O'Meara
TORONTO – Friday night, at last, Didi Gregorius will make his 2019 debut in Cleveland.
And that prospect brings a smile to manager Aaron Boone, as has any mention of the shortstop’s name during what has been a faster-than-expected rehab.
“I don’t think I have to tell you guys what a good player he is,” Boone said before his team tried to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the Blue Jays. “You guys have seen the last few years what he’s meant to our club in so many ways. To get a player like him back, it’s exciting.”
In his end-of-season news conference last Oct. 12, shortly after the Yankees fell in four games to the Red Sox in the ALDS, general manager Brian Cashman dropped the bombshell that Gregorius would undergo Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
At that point it seemed a very real possibility Gregorius’ entire 2019 season might be in jeopardy, with Cashman using “June, July or August” as a general timetable. But Gregorius, who flew to Cleveland Thursday night after finishing a six-game rehab assignment with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, proved a quick healer.
“Obviously, having a serious, significant injury, the fact that everything’s kind of gone best-case-scenario as far has him rehabbing and getting well and being able to be in this position to return now, is exciting for all of us,” Boone said.
Gregorius, among the most respected and liked players in the clubhouse, not surprisingly will be welcomed back.
“We’ve obviously played great without several of the guys that we’ve been missing, but to get him back healthy, ahead of schedule, to be getting him back before the All-Star break, is great,” Brett Gardner said. “I know he’s itching to get back, but just what he brings on both sides of the ball, offensively, defensively, the flexibility. It’s going to really benefit us in the long run. Can’t wait to get him back, I know he can’t wait to be back, and looking forward to getting back after it with him.”
Gregorius went 3-for-25 in six games with Scranton, which matters not in the least to Boone.
“Save those hits for here,” Boone said. “I don’t worry about Didi. As long as he’s healthy and building up properly and getting the reps and getting the everyday [routine] and bouncing back at shortstop, I feel like he’s getting that out of the way now. So, no, I’m not worried about it.”
The Yankees have been a righty-heaving hitting lineup most of the season and the lefty-swinging Gregorius, a stud defender who hit .268 with 27 homers and an .829 OPS in 134 games last season, will help in that regard, too.
“Preferred but not necessary,” Boone said of the lineup balance. “Ultimately you want good players and good hitters in there to make a lineup strong. I think in a perfect world, you do have balance, whether that’s with some switch hitters, whether that’s with left-right balance. It does give you a little bit of a strategic aid…so it’s certainly preferable.”
Most important, Boone stressed, is the total package Gregorius brings, on the field and inside a clubhouse that has had a distraction or two of late.
“Didi’s just…I always hate saying low-maintenance, but he’s just low-maintenance,” Boone said. “Blue-collar, likes to play, he isn’t consumed with himself at all. It’s just like, ‘Yeah, I’m ready to play.’ And he’s been saying that since spring training. Now that it’s a reality that he’s here, I know how hard he’s worked, is exciting for us and all of his teammates.”
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
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