Yankees' Gio Urshela feels good, but is moved to third base vs. Red Sox
New York Yankees third baseman Gio Urshela fields a ball and throws to first base during the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays in an MLB baseball game at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
BOSTON — Gio Urshela said he, somewhat surprisingly, felt "really good" Tuesday, Aaron Boone still wasn’t taking any chances.
Urshela, who took a nasty spill into the Rays dugout Sunday afternoon in what ultimately was the successful pursuit of an Austin Meadows foul pop, was in the lineup for Tuesday night’s wild-card game against the Red Sox, but not at shortstop.
Urshela instead started at third base, where he spent the vast majority of the season before Gleyber Torres’ shift to second a few weeks ago, and batted seventh.
"We went out with Gio today [pregame] and he moved around and it actually went well," Boone said a few hours before first pitch. "But I do feel like he’s not quite 100% and with short being a second position for him, [I] felt more comfortable with him starting tonight at third base."
Boone quickly added he "wouldn’t hesitate" moving Urshela to short at any point in the game if the situation arose.
The Bronx-born Andrew Velazquez, who excelled in the field and on the bases in the limited time he was up this season, started at short Tuesday and batted ninth.
As for Urshela, who said Monday it was "really tough to walk" at times, said he felt "much, much better" than he did Sunday after crash landing thigh-first in the visitor’s dugout.
"Yeah," Urshela said, asked if he was surprised to be back in the starting lineup so soon after the spill he took. "[At that] moment [Sunday] I was really in pain. But today I feel much better and I’m glad I’m here and I’m able to play today."
Roster doings
Among the additions to the Yankees’ 26-man wild-card game roster were Velazquez, outfielder Greg Allen and Rob Brantly, which gave the Yankees a third catcher.
"Having the third catcher, [there’s] some value there just as far as if you want to be aggressive pinch running in a situation or pinch hitting, you kind of have that coverage," Boone said. "And Greg Allen is a guy that, when he was up with us this year, played really well with us. Had a really good year in Triple-A, just does a lot of things well — outstanding defensive outfielder, runs the bases really well, a switch-hitter to give us some protection there. So just a good player that deserved to be here and could fill a lot of potential roles, especially late in the game."
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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