Yankees Opening Day lineup vs Red Sox features 1 surprise benching

The New York Yankees have weathered a one-day delay and will face off against the Boston Red Sox in the Bronx on Friday afternoon.

Look on the bright side, though. The rainstorm that washed out Thursday’s scheduled game has completely dissipated, bringing sunshine and higher temperatures in its wake. Plus, the delay gave the Yankees an additional 24 hours to botch the Aaron Judge extension!

Positive. Think positive. New year, #RepBX, etc. Be nice.

After much speculation and winking — including Aaron Boone telling the media, “Merry Christmas” on Thursday while choosing to keep his lineup secret — the first batting order of the year dropped early Friday morning.

For those concerned that DJ LeMahieu wouldn’t start, great news: he’s at second base and batting fifth, splitting Joey Gallo and Giancarlo Stanton.

For those wondering where Gleyber Torres would fit in a scenario such as that … it’s the bench! He’s the odd man out, for at least Day 1.

Yankees Opening Day Lineup vs Red Sox

Good stuff. We’ve never seen Torres spiral mentally before thanks to unexpected adjustments to his role, so this should go over fine.

Torres was scorching hot in the spring, ripping three homers with a .910 OPS while plundering the right-center field gap. While the days of 38 bombs may be behind the 25-year-old, most expected his power to rise somewhere close to expectations this year after a strong March.

Unfortunately, with the way this offensive unit is constructed, there’ll be an odd man out every day. Either Torres, LeMahieu, Isiah Kiner-Falefa or Josh Donaldson must sit every day, and it it’s IKF’s rest day, that means GT will have to play the unpleasant position of shortstop.

Of course, there’s also the Big Man Outfield, featuring Judge in right, Giancarlo Stanton in left, and Joey Gallo in center field (or Judge in center). That might’ve been a better way to go on Friday, especially considering Aaron Hicks’ career history against Nathan Eovaldi is less than impressive.

But, concerns temporarily aside: it’s beautiful in New York on Friday. And after months of labor unrest, the Yankees will play a baseball game on April 8, something that seemed impossible less than a month ago.

Savor what you can before stress takes over.

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