The Yankees suffered a tough loss against the Rangers on Wednesday night, marking their sixth defeat in eight games.
Trent Grisham’s grand slam in the ninth inning made the final score look closer than it was (TEX 10, NYY 6). By the fourth inning, they were already down 5-0 and trailed 10-2 heading into the ninth.
Alex Verdugo, who remains in the lineup over Jasson DomÃnguez, went 1 for 3. His season stats are now .235/.293/.359. This isn’t what he or the Yankees hoped for when they got him from Boston.
In the fifth inning, Verdugo hit a ground ball to second base and jogged to first. Here’s what happened:
Run it out they say
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks)
If you’ve watched Verdugo before, this isn’t new. He’s been benched before by Alex Cora for not hustling . Aaron Boone defended him after this game though, saying he’s “playing his ass off.”
“He’s OK. He’s beat up. He’s playing his ass off,” Boone said via New York Post. “He picks his spots to where he needs to beat out plays but sometimes it doesn’t look great.”
Verdugo told reporters he’s “fine.” But it’s September; no player is really at their best now.
Boone’s Benchings:
Earlier this year, Boone benched Gleyber Torres for jogging out of the box on what he thought was a home run but ended up being a single off the wall. “I just felt like I needed to do that,” Boone said about pulling Torres from that game.
Fans might wonder why Verdugo gets away with jogging while others get benched .
The real issue with Verdugo isn’t just jogging; it’s his overall performance. With an OPS+ of 83 and only a 0.8 WAR, he’s one of baseball’s least effective outfielders right now.
Wednesday’s loss put the Yankees at 80-60 for the season and just one game behind Baltimore in AL East losses. Playing DomÃnguez instead of Verdugo could help them catch up, but so far they haven’t made that change.
What do you think? Should DomÃnguez replace Verdugo?
