Hitting second for the Yankees, maybe Aaron Judge
The Yankees' Aaron Judge, left, and Giancarlo Stanton stretch during a spring training workout at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla.,on Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. Credit: Newsday / Thomas A. Ferrara
CLEARWATER, Fla. — During his first news conference of spring training, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said one of his two sluggers, Giancarlo Stanton or Aaron Judge, definitely will hit second.
Boone gave indications Thursday that he has settled on one.
Asked if he likes Judge, who batted second in his exhibition debut Wednesday, in the two-hole, he said, “I do. I do.”
His reasoning?
“Just the ability to get on with power,” said Boone, who then backtracked a bit. “I do like having one of our premium hitters in that slot. But it could be Stanton, too. But, yeah, I do like Aaron there.”
In 28 games hitting second last season, Judge had a .327/.465/.827 slash line with 13 homers in 98 at-bats. He hit second in all 13 of the Yankees’ postseason games.
In 110 games in the two-hole last season, Stanton had a .289/.391/.675 slash line with 47 homers in 419 at-bats.
Boone was asked Thursday if Gary Sanchez, considered by most rival talent evaluators as the best overall hitter on the club, is a candidate for the No. 2 spot. He nodded.
“Possible,” he said. “Possible. But honestly, I wouldn’t read too much into these [exhibition] lineups.”
Florial a triple threat
Outfield prospect Estevan Florial, 20, probably the most untouchable prospect not named Gleyber Torres in the organization, hit his second triple in three days and third of spring training. He led off the seventh inning of the Yankees’ 6-4 victory over the Phillies on Thursday with an opposite-field drive to left-center and scored on a sacrifice fly. Florial, who is likely to start the season with high Class A Tampa, is 4-for-10 with two walks.
Frazier improvement
Clint Frazier, out since Saturday with a concussion, was doing “better” Thursday, according to Boone. Frazier, who was scheduled to do mostly treadmill work Thursday, will see a doctor on Sunday.
Boone said “if he’s cleared,” Frazier will take batting practice on Tuesday and Wednesday and perhaps be ready to play again toward the end of next week.
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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