The rumors surrounding the New York Yankees this offseason have been around adding depth to their pitching rotation and who is going to play the infield. Now that Spring Training is underway, the hype train surrounding the Yankees lineup continues to grow, but a common question being circulated throughout baseball is - who will bat second in the Yankees lineup? That question may finally be answered, as well as, who is playing third base for New York. One Yankees infielder believes he is "competing with himself" for the starting job at third. Plus, the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks Pete Carroll gave his personal scouting report on Seahawks quarterback/Yankees infielder Russell Wilson. Here are the latest Yankees news and rumors you need to know
THE EMPIRE: This NEW Yankees Hype Video Is The Best Thing You'll See Today
Who Is Batting Second For The Yankees This Season?
Baseball is a very analytical sport driven by stats and recently MLB teams have fallen in love with the idea that a team's best hitter should bat second in the lineup. George A. King of the New York Post believes the Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez should hit second because he is the best all-around hitter for New York.
Despite King's thoughts, look for Yankees young slugger and AL Rookie of the Year in 2017 Aaron Judge to hit second. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said it's still too early to make a choice on who will be batting second behind Brett Gardner, but Boone hasn't hidden his feelings for a lineup with Gardner and Judge at the top.
Learn more about Chat Sports' live programming here: Welcome to Chat Sports - the leading post-cable live sports channel
“Just the ability to get on and the power,’’ Boone said on Thursday. “I do like having one of our premier hitters in that spot, but it could be Giancarlo Stanton, too. But I do like Aaron there.’’
Boone also added that it is was "possible" for Sanchez to hit second since that's what he did for the first five games of last season, but it appears that Judge is the likely two-hitter. Last season Judge batted second in 28 games posting a .465 on-base percentage.
Brandon Drury Not Competing With Miguel Andujar?
The Yankees have been looking for infielders all offseason due to their concerns surrounding their young prospects being able to handle the long 162 game season. On February 20th, the Yankees acquired starting infielder Brandon Drury from the Arizona Diamondbacks in a three-team trade.
After the trade people wondered who would win the starting job at third base between Drury and infielder Miguel Andujar. Andujar is one of the Yankees top prospects who has been hitting well this spring slugging two home runs already. Most of Andujar's critics look at his fielding struggles as he had 17 errors in the minors last season. Drury doesn't think he is competing against Andujar this spring.
"I'm here competing against myself," Drury told reporters on Thursday. "I'm doing everything I can do to, like I said, be ready for Opening Day to help this team win ballgames. Just going to get my work in the same, no matter where I am or what I'm doing. I'm here to get better and that's what I'm using the spring for, to get myself prepared for the season."
Drury's comments were more about him believing in his personal ability rather than shaming Andujar. In fact, Drury spoke very highly of Andujar.
"Kid's a stud," Drury said. "He's a really good player. Playing really good right now."
Last season in 133 games Drury hit .267 with 13 home runs and 63 RBIs. The 25-year-old is under Yankees control through 2021 and made only $560K in 2017.
Pete Carroll's Scouting Report On Russell Wilson
Russell Wilson may be suiting up for the Yankees soon and Pete Carroll is playing is cool. Carroll was asked at the NFL Scouting Combine on Thursday if he would allow Wilson to play in a Grapefruit League game with the Yankees. Carroll didn't give a straight answer instead, he provided the media with his scouting report on Wilson.
“So far he's not doing a great job going with the pitches away from him, and we're hoping that he's going to start putting the ball into right field a bit more and going with the pitch,” Carroll said. “Aside from that, the curveball is still giving him a problem like it always did back in the day, so we'll see what happens.”
Carroll didn't answer the original question, but did say he didn't see an issue with Wilson training with the Yankees in the offseason.
“He's going to be working out and doing something anyway," Carroll said. "He reports in impeccable condition. He's extraordinarily dedicated to doing everything he can to be right, I don't think at this early stage right now, they're not in the program here, there's a lot of free time and guys have to do their thing,” Some guys are maybe traveling around the world, he's playing baseball. I don't think there's anything wrong with that at all.”
Follow our New York Yankees team page for all the latest Yankees news!
FOLLOW: Mitchell Renz is the Senior Writer & On-Air Host at Chat Sports. Check out his article archive and live videos on Chat Sports Facebook page. Please follow him on Twitter @MitchellRenz365.
Back to the New York Yankees Newsfeed