It may only be a short window of opportunity, but Neil Walker needs to take advantage of it — more so for himself than for the Yankees, who have managed just fine despite his struggles at the plate.
With Tyler Austin beginning his reduced four-game suspension on Friday, Walker will probably start all of those games at first base for the Bombers, Aaron Boone confirmed.
“To this point — from a personal standpoint — I just haven’t been good,” Walker said. “And that’s where my focus is, trying to get back on track. I’m in a winning environment, I know what I’m capable of and that I’m able to help this team, so we’ll see what happens.”
No. 2 catcher Austin Romine will likely serve as the backup at first in case of an emergency. Miguel Andujar has been getting reps at first, but it doesn’t appear the team wants to play him there just yet.
Walker has struggled since signing a one-year, $4 million deal toward the end of the spring, posting 11 hits in 64 at-bats for a .172 batting average. Austin, on the other hand, has thrived with Greg Bird out — hitting both righties and lefties while posting a .991 OPS with five homers and 16 RBIs in 62 at-bats.
“I hope he gets going a little bit. I know he’s going to hit,” Boone said of Walker. “And some of that slow start has been the result of other guys really getting going and maybe a normal matchup where he’d usually start he hasn’t played. Hopefully some regular at-bats will get him rolling as well. It’s nothing I’m worried about.”
Neil Walker has struggled since signing a one-year, $4 million deal toward the end of the spring, posting 11 hits in 64 at-bats for a .172 batting average.
(Elsa/Getty Images)The switch-hitting Walker, 32, had an .801 OPS last season splitting time between the Mets and Brewers, while feasting against right-handed pitching when healthy. But that hasn’t been the case thus far in The Bronx, where he started behind due to his lack of reps during the spring and was dealing with some “hip stuff” last week, according to Boone.
“I’m not going to use anything anything as a crutch,” Walker said. “It’s taken me awhile to get comfortable at the plate and I’ll leave it at that. I know I’m not that far off.”
Bird was slated to travel down to Tampa on Friday, as he continues to ramp up baseball activity and, eventually, begin minor-league rehab games. He had right ankle surgery on March 27, so he is a little more than a month into a projected 6-to-8 week recovery timetable.
The Bombers infield looked mostly unstable early on, due to the Bird and Brandon Drury injuries, as well as the struggles of both Walker and the since demoted Tyler Wade. But the promotions and strong starts from both Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres have totally changed that outlook, with the duo making life difficult for opposing hurlers at the bottom of the lineup.
Drury (migraines, blurry vision) himself just played his first minor-league game on Wednesday for Class A Tampa, and will play again on Friday.
Tyler Austin is beginning his reduced four-game suspension on Friday.
(Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)Eventually, decisions will need to be made from a pure playing time standpoint. But like Boone says, in baseball, things often have a way of sorting themselves out.
And regardless, the Yankees currently lead the majors in both runs and homers — this despite All-Stars Gary Sanchez and Giancarlo Stanton flirting with the Mendoza Line. Even after hitting a walk-off three-run homer on Thursday, Sanchez — along with Austin — was taking early batting practice, trying to fine-tune his swing.
The bigger concern for the Bombers is getting disappointment Sonny Gray back on track and finding more consistency from enigma Masahiro Tanaka. Tanaka (Saturday) and Gray (Monday) have big starts coming up against strong offensive clubs in Anaheim and Houston, respectively. And, of course, hoping Dellin Betances can get on a role with Tommy Kahnle and Adam Warren still sidelined. Plus, cleaning up all the errors defensively.
So it’s really more on Walker to get it going and keep his roster spot, because the team has gotten along just fine without him producing.