The New York Yankees are facing off against the Tampa Bay Rays in the second game of a three-game series on Wednesday evening. On Tuesday, they fell 6-3, with Masahiro Tanaka having a poor outing. The offense simply wasn’t able to get going either, and with three of their best players absent, things won’t get better for at least another week.
Nonetheless, the Yankees have plenty of reserve options to utilize in the meantime.
Manager Aaron Boone deployed an interesting lineup on Wednesday, one day after he gave Luke Voit the leadoff spot. Voit drove in three RBIs and hit a home run. On Wednesday, he moved Aaron Hicks to the top of the order, placing Mike Ford at clean up as the DH, and Brett Gardner in left field. Interestingly, Thairo Estrada received the start at second base over Tyler Wade.
Where is Boone making a mistake?
The mistake revolves around Gardner, who continues to gain reps over Mike Tauchman despite the obvious difference in production. So far this season, Gardner is hitting .167 with three homers and six RBIs over 48 at-bats. Tauchman is hitting .333 with seven RBIs and five walks over 45 at-bats.
Tauchman is also a fantastic defensive player, and while he isn’t the slugger that Brett somehow has managed to become, his ability to get on base and high contact rate makes him more valuable at this point in time. Tauchman has been a supplemental piece the past few games, receiving minimal starts. I don’t know what it will take for Boone to finally realize that Tauchman is the better player and deserves more playing time over Gardner.
Injury update on New York Yankees in filter DJ LeMahieu:
LeMahieu overextended his thumb several days ago against the Boston Red Sox.
Ultimately, the second baseman has been “sore” and is still in the 2-3 week return timeline. He suffered a similar injury back in 2018 with the Colorado Rockies and is once again dealing with a thumb issue. Giving him as much time as needed is essential, but luckily the Yankees are close to gaining slugger Aaron Judge back. Judge featured in batting practice yesterday but was placed on the 10-day IL as a precaution.
DJ LeMahieu (thumb) said he is “sore” and that a couple of different doctors have given him a 2-3 week timeline for return.
— Bryan Hoch ?? (@BryanHoch) August 19, 2020