NEW YORK — Joey Gallo was out with several players taking extra batting practice off a pitching machine that simulates high velocity and high spin rates.
It was early Tuesday afternoon — hours before a 5-1 loss to the Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium — and Gallo wasn’t in that night’s starting lineup. Manager Aaron Boone gave him a day off amid a rough start to his time in pinstripes.
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Hitting coach Marcus Thames said Gallo has worked hard to pull himself out of a slump that seen him hit just .130 with 61 strikeouts in 123 at-bats over 35 games with the Yankees. General manager Brian Cashman acquired him before the July 30 trade deadline from the Rangers in an effort to balance their then-righty-heavy lineup.
“He’s jumping out there,” Thames told NJ Advance Media. “His timing is off a bit. He put in a lot of work (Tuesday). We’ve got to get him going. We’ve got to get him on track. We’re going to have to have him. We’ve got to make sure we get him cleaned up and he can go back to being the hitter we know he can be.”
Before the Yankees acquired Gallo, he was in the midst of a season that made him an All-Star for the second time in his career. With going-nowhere Texas, Gallo was hitting .223 with 25 homers, 55 RBI and a .869 OPS in 95 games.
The 27-year-old’s power display also earned him a spot in this year’s Home Run Derby, in which he would nab the No. 2 seed but lose in the first round, 20-19, to No. 7 seed Trevor Story of the Rockies.
That was on July 12.
“He’s just set up a little bit different now. No excuse, but he said when he went to the Home Run Derby, some things got off track a little bit,” Thames said. “He’s trying to get back. He’s trying to get more stabilized, be more consistent with his barrel. It’s just, he’s got to be perfect right now, and that’s not how you hit. You’ve got to make sure you position so that you have some adjustability in there. That’s what we’ve been working on.”
Since the derby, Gallo’s season batting average has dropped from .239 on July 10 to .199.
Thames said that Gallo has been “all in” on the work to try to turn things around.
“We stayed after (Monday’s game) and watched video for a while, and then we hit and we talked,” Thames said. “Came in early (Tuesday). Trying to get him on track.”
For his part, Gallo told reporters he’s not panicking.
“I want play well,” Gallo said. “Especially coming to a new team. But at the same time, it’s not the first time. It’s baseball. You’re going to struggle some times. Obviously working hard to get back to where I know I can be and help the team win. So, it’s frustrating not winning games, but that’s part of baseball and I’ve just got to keep working through it and figure it out.”
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Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com.
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