Cameron Maybin may be going soon, but he's made an impact on Yankees
Cameron Maybin follows through on his fifth-inning home run against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on Monday in the Bronx. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The sands in the hourglass on Cameron Maybin’s time with the Yankees could be running out. However, as long as some remains, he continues to produce.
On Monday night in the opener of a big series with Tampa Bay, Maybin was a key player on offense in the 3-0 win at the Stadium. He went 3-for-3 with a home run and scored two of the Yankees’ runs.
The Yankees lead the AL East by 1½ games, thriving despite a spate of injuries because several replacements have picked up the slack. Maybin is a big one. The Yankees acquired him from Cleveland in late April when their outfield ranks — depleted already with Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton on the IL — were further thinned by an ankle injury to Clint Frazier.
In 38 games, he’s batted .299 with 22 runs scored, four home runs and 11 RBI.
But now the Yankees have acquired first baseman/designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion, have Stanton returning on Tuesday and very likely will have Judge back before the end of the week.
The regular outfield will be, left-to-right, Stanton, Aaron Hicks and Judge. Frazier was sent down after the Encarnacion trade; Mike Tauchman was sent down after Monday's game and Maybin is likely to come off the 25-man roster as Stanton and Judge return, with Brett Gardner remaining as the fourth outfielder. But manager Aaron Boone wasn’t about to discuss how things with Maybin could play out.
“We’re not at that point yet,” he said.
What he did say about Maybin is “he’s been a really good player and another guy that’s come in here, fit in, gelled, impacted the room. His performance speaks for itself between the lines in terms of what he’s brought: flexibility to play anywhere in the outfield, the speed he brings to the basepaths, the energy he plays the game with and brings to the dugout on a nightly basis.”
Maybin had a one-out single in the third, alertly advancing to second when centerfielder Kevin Kiermaier bobbled the ball. He scored the Yanks first run on DJ LeMahieu’s two-run homer. Maybin led off the fifth with a home run to left center.
It was his third straight game with a home run, the longest run of the 36-year-old’s career. Over his last eight contests, Maybin has had five multi-hit games, hit .400 and scored 10 runs.
“We’ve seen the power come into play the last few days,” Boone said. “Man, he’s been really good for us — really good.”
But a time may be coming soon when he has to try to be good for another team.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
