Lefthander Matt Krook has a chance to be in Yankees' bullpen
TAMPA, Fla. — Matt Krook so impressed the Yankees last season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the club contemplated putting him on the playoff roster.
Though primarily a starter in his minor-league career, the lefthander will get a serious look as a bullpen option in spring training.
“He’s a real problem for lefties,” Aaron Boone said Thursday. “At the end of the season last year, we were seriously considering him for [the] postseason. But he also has enough weapons to be a starter. For him, it’s that next level of command, and that’s going to allow him to see what he can be from a length perspective. But he’s an interesting guy and if nothing else is a built-in problem for lefties.''
The Yankees currently have only one lefty, Wandy Peralta, who is a lock to make the bullpen out of camp. Because righties Ron Marinaccio, Jonathan Loaisiga and Michael King are as tough on lefty batters as most lefty specialists are, the Yankees aren’t married to the concept of needing more than Peralta from the left side. But Krook, 28, who went 10-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 29 games (22 starts) last season and held lefties to a .172 batting average and a .499 OPS, will get a close look.
Another lefthander in camp to watch is Nick Ramirez, a non-roster invitee who has big-league experience with the Tigers in 2019-20 and the Padres in 2021. Ramirez, 33, who in the past has relied mostly on his sinker and changeup, has raised some eyebrows in camp with a sweeping slider he’s trying to incorporate into his arsenal.
Extra work
On an 87-degree day, Josh Donaldson, after taking a handful of at-bats in a simulated game on the main field, put in an intense workout at third base on one of the back fields in the early afternoon. With first base/infield coach Travis Chapman smashing an array of grounders to him and Isiah Kiner-Falefa at short, Donaldson, grunting and at times talking to himself, threw strike after strike into the chest of coaching assistant Brett Weber at first.
“That’s some Gold Glove [expletive] there,” Chapman commented when the workout ended. Donaldson, 37, who struggled at the plate much of last season, overall was a standout in the field.
