Yankees manager Aaron Boone didn’t reveal a lineup, or even a potential lineup, for Tuesday’s Wild Card Game when speaking during Monday’s workout day – but he did confirm that Kyle Higashioka will indeed catch Gerrit Cole as he has most of this season.
However, maybe we can call it one-and-a-half lineup notes, as he said that he’s leaning towards keeping Gleyber Torres in the leadoff spot.
“As I'm sitting here right now, I'm thinking probably Gleyber, but I'll sit and get with Mendy and the coaches tonight and see exactly the way I want to go,” Boone said. “But I think there's a good chance it will be Gleyber.”
So, with Gleyber in the leadoff spot, and Higgy behind the plate, does that mean Giancarlo Stanton in the outfield and maybe Gary Sanchez as the DH?
“No, not necessarily. Again, we'll sit down and do that,” Boone said. “It means he's potentially a bat off the bench, but you know, we'll talk through it.”
The Red Sox may not have their DH/part-time outfielder tomorrow night, either, as J.D. Martinez is questionable after a fluke ankle injury on Sunday, but Boone and the Yankees are preparing for a 100 percent Martinez regardless.
“Obviously he's a great hitter. So, yeah, that's an important cog in a really good offense that wouldn't be available,” Boone said. “But, you know, they can also mix-and-match other ways that make it difficult as well. So I would imagine he would be in there.”
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"J.D. is a pretty big-time slugger, and seems like a pretty resilient individual based his career path and evolution into the player that he's become today, so he's a tough at-bat," starter Gerrit Cole added about Martinez's talent. "Like some of those intangibles, I think, are just as important. He's got some magic and he's got a lot of talent, and so in situations like that, I think you have just got to try to stay vigilant and execute the pitches to the best of your ability."
No matter who is in there, the matchup of Gerrit Cole vs. Nathan Eovaldi has all the makings of a pitcher’s duel, and honestly, outside of maybe Cole vs. Chris Sale, is the best microcosm for the rivalry Boone could think of.
“I'm more focused on our guys and making sure we're ready to go and have a good idea what we want to do and just hopefully help our guys carry out our plan as best as possible, but I do appreciate it,” Boone said of the pitching matchup. “Obviously Evo's been a really good pitcher here for them. It's a great matchup. It's two great, historic teams in a great rivalry, and two great pitchers matched up against one another. So I think it's a good thing for baseball, but you know, we'll be uber-focused on just making sure we go handle our business.”
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And, to the thought Chad Green floated on Sunday, Boone had mixed emotions when asked if, perhaps, the constant pressure the Yankees have been under the last few weeks can help them when it comes to coming up clutch.
“I do think guys are more equipped to handle tougher situations, but we probably overstate it at times, though, too,” he said. “Sometimes it is a product of a guy being locked in or not locked in or just going through a tough stretch. But I think there's no question that some people are more equipped to handle more difficult, more pressure-packed situations, more clutch situations. So while I think we probably take it a little far sometimes, I absolutely think it's a real thing.”
One last roster note from Boone: while nothing “changed” per se in Luke Voit’s condition to cause the Yankees to move him to the 60-day injured list and officially end his season, the move to do so was made more because the team wasn’t sure Voit would be able to be back at 100 percent in a timely fashion to be an effective piece for the postseason.
“It was more just probably the reality that he wasn't going to be in play for us and then giving us a little bit of flexibility there.”
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