The Yankees dropped a disappointing game against the New York Mets on Tuesday evening. Despite coming off a dominant offensive win against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday, manager Aaron Boone shook up the batting order, which led to some offensive problems.
Yankees Falter with Shuffled Lineup Against Mets
First and foremost, Boone started Jahmai Jones at leadoff, a move that was already bewildering. However, the most questionable decision was slotting in J.D. Davis as the primary cleanup hitter.
After all, the Oakland Athletics had designated Davis for assignment before trading him to the Yankees for prospect Jordan Groshans.
The 31-year-old has displayed power in the past, but this season, he’s a well below-average offensive player. In fact, he’s hitting .216/.288/.338 with four homers, six RBIs, a 24.8% strikeout rate, and a 7.2% walk rate. On Tuesday, the Mets’ plan was to walk Aaron Judge and attack Davis, which resulted in two strikeouts and a double play.
“I think they’re just trying to be a little careful and you’ve just got to pass the baton to the next guy,” he said. “It’s part of it. It’s a team game. Even if I went 4 for 4 today, we still might not win. So it’s just about, if I get a pitch to hit I’ve got to do some damage on it.”
Missed Opportunities
The Mets were essentially giving the Yankees a free base every time Judge got up to bat, and the fact they weren’t able to capitalize on that was disappointing. The decision to move Davis to cleanup is another example of poor roster construction and management.
The team is currently without Giancarlo Stanton, but having Gleyber Torres feature in cleanup would have been a better option. Additionally, Jones offered nothing as the leadoff hitter, striking out twice and grounding out to third base before being replaced by Trent Grisham.
- Yankees’ Nestor Cortes gives honest answer after move to bullpen
- Yankees interestingly move lefty starter to bullpen
- Yankees reinstate interesting pitching prospect to Double-A after injury
Strategic Missteps
This was an all-time bad lineup, with Boone trying to get creative but ultimately shooting himself in the foot. The Yankees need far better talent and more offensive bats at the deadline, but General Manager Brian Cashman has a tall task addressing multiple weaknesses on the roster.