Aaron Boone’s comments on Yankees LF situation reveal absolutely nothing
Somehow, the New York Yankees left field “vacancy” conversation has trended just as hard as Aaron Judge’s free agency. That’s life in the Bronx. Onto the next topic, and fans will be as loud as they can possibly be about it.
On the position player front, left field remains a point of contention, because it appears not many are on board with Aaron Hicks, Oswaldo Cabrera and Estevan Florial battling it out in spring training. Nope, simply need an All-Star in that spot, or else the Yankees will be “running it back” for 2023 (never mind Rodón, Peraza, Volpe, et al).
In defending that opinion, however, Hicks inspires no confidence; it’d be much more satisfying to see Cabrera roving around the infield where he belongs; and Florial probably only has one more chance to prove he’s worth a 40-man roster spot.
Then again, the Yankees can afford to have a less desired option play left field for the first few months of the 2023 season before they either make a deal at the trade deadline or elevate another promising prospect (Everson Pereira, Elijah Dunham, Spencer Jones?!).
Based on the answers we’re getting from insiders like Jeff Passan, the YES Network, and manager Aaron Boone, you should probably be prepared for no major changes between now and Opening Day, unless something drastic changes on the trade market.
Aaron Boone’s comments on Yankees’ center field situation reveal nothing
“Our front office is hard at work trying to potentially make different things happen,” Boone told MLB Network over the weekend. Ah, yes, thank you for the insight on the inner workings of the baseball world.
It’s your classic, buttoned-up Yankees response. But what else can you expect? Boone isn’t going to reveal New York’s hand, and the trade market has yet to materialize. There’s legitimately no clear path/answer to the Yankees “solving” this “problem.”
Considering Boone’s words came just a day before YES Network’s Jack Curry and John Flaherty shot down Bryan Reynolds trade rumors and essentially tried to sell the fans on Hicks, let’s just say it’s better to remain indifferent on this topic moving forward.
Just like Carlos Correa coming to the Bronx, a high-profile left field addition when there are multiple outfield options on the roster/knocking on the door of the MLB roster was probably never on the front office’s mind, based on the available options, as well as the elevated cost in free agency.
Might be best to focus on a couple bullpen additions at this point. Did we forget about that area of the roster?