Josh Donaldson was on the Yankees bench for a third straight game on Sunday, so when manager Aaron Boone was 30 minutes late to his pre-game press conference, many began to speculate if Donaldson’s days in New York were numbered.
Quite the contrary.
Boone said he had a lengthy conversation with the struggling third baseman and reiterated his faith in Donaldson despite giving him yet another day off.
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“It was just a tough decision that I was wrestling with, kind of all day yesterday,” Boone told reporters. “This is just a stretch of, I felt like I wanted to give him a couple days. To kind of work through, that was kind of just my decision, through this stretch, but I expect him to get consistent at-bats.”
Donaldson, 37, entered Sunday with a .125/.197/.406 slash line with six home runs and eight RBI through 21 games this season and has drawn the ire of Yankees fans, hearing loud boos every time he makes an out.
But Boone was unwavering in his support of Donaldson.
“He’s going to play a lot,” the manager said. “I know there’s a lot in there. I just want him to get him going because I know he can be a key figure for us. … [We were] in a long conversation. Just him and I talking. I’m sorry it spilled over. We’re good. We’re on the same page.”
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