Yankees' Oswald Peraza to see 'plenty of playing time' with Josh Donaldson out
Oswald Peraza #91 of the Yankees runs in to the dugout after an inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, Apr. 18, 2023. Credit: Jim McIsaac
DENVER — Josh Donaldson may well have played his last game as a Yankee.
Oswald Peraza, the hyped prospect who lost out to Anthony Volpe for the Yankees’ starting shortstop job after spring training, was called up Sunday to take the injured Donaldson’s place, with the idea of him doing more than watching from the bench.
“There should be plenty of playing time for him,” manager Aaron Boone said before the Yankees’ 8-7, 11-inning loss to the Rockies at Coors Field.
Before the game, the Yankees put Donaldson on the 10-day injured list with a right calf strain. The injury occurred in the seventh inning Saturday night when Donaldson was running to first on a groundout. He went for an MRI on Sunday, but the Yankees did not release the results.
Peraza landed in Denver on Sunday morning, went straight to the ballpark and entered as a pinch runner in the ninth inning.
He stole second with DJ LeMahieu at-bat and Gleyber Torres on third but was later thrown out to end the inning when he attempted to advance to third on a throw home by leftfielder Nolan Jones on Harrison Bader’s sacrifice fly that tied it at 5.
Peraza also had an RBI single to give the Yankees a 7-5 lead in the 11th.
In 34 games this season, Donaldson has batted .142. He has only 15 hits, 10 of which were home runs. Peraza hit .261 with 12 homers and an .847 OPS in 45 games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this year.
It is anticipated that Donaldson, whom the Yankees tried to trade in the offseason and were willing to move this season, will be out for a while.
The Yankees have been looking for a path to get Peraza, 23, back to the big leagues since the early part of the season. And with the club holding a team option on Donaldson for 2024, there simply may be no roster situation that makes sense when and if he is able to return this season.
As for Peraza, a slick fielder who has been inconsistent with the bat in his career, Boone said he would be comfortable playing him at second, third and, of course, shortstop, his natural position.
“He’s pretty gifted in the infield,” Boone said. “He’s a natural infielder.’’
Extra bases
The Yankees led 3-1 in the eighth inning and 7-5 in the 11th inning in their 8-7 loss to the Rockies on Sunday. According to ESPN Stats & Info, it was the first loss in Yankees history in which they had multiple leads of at least two runs in the eighth inning or later . . . In the month of July, the Yankees have gone 3-6 against the Cardinals, Cubs and Rockies, three teams with a combined record of 119-160 . . . The Yankees are 15-19 since Aaron Judge suffered his toe injury on June 3. They have gone 19-25 during his two stays on the injured list and are 31-19 when he has been active . . . Anthony Rizzo has not homered in his past 41 games (148 at-bats, 169 plate appearances). When he last went deep on May 20, he had 11 home runs in 46 games (175 at-bats, 200 plate appearances).
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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