The news broke on Twitter, shortly after Yankees manager announced it in his Sunday pregame press conference: Jay Bruce is retiring after Sunday’s game, a decision Bruce came to Boone with on Friday.
“He texted me early on Friday asking to meet in my office, so I wasn’t totally caught off guard because I was picturing a lot of different scenarios,” Boone said. “We had a good, long conversation about it, and we were able to reflect and look ahead. He wanted to see it through this weekend, and in the end, it was just congratulating him on a really good run.”
Boone had no special plans to get Bruce into a game this weekend, especially today, noting only that he was “an available bench player” and that at day’s end, Bruce’s career was over.
“I’m treating it straight up. He’s an available player for us on the bench, and if a situation arises, I wouldn’t hesitate to put him in,” Boone said, “but I’m not looking to send him out in any particular way.”
That said, whether Bruce’s final appearance is Sunday, or ends up being his appearance in this past Wednesday’s loss to Toronto, Boone congratulated him on an “awesome” career.
“Just want to congratulate him on what’s been an awesome career.
Obviously, starting in Cincinnati and finishing here, it’s been a great run for him,” Boone said. “He’s been a real pro for us. I’m grateful to have been around him these last several weeks, and I really wish him the best moving forward. Today should be a proud day for him celebrating what’s been a special career for him.”
So what do the Yankees do now, with an open spot on both the 25-man and 40-man roster?
“We’ll see. We have the off day tomorrow and a couple guys in consideration that also have to have their days,” Boone said. “We’ll have those conversations at the end of today and into the off day and see where we’re at.”
Boone did say Saturday that DJ LeMahieu would likely see a lot of time at first base going forward, and with Bruce retiring, the Yankees do not have a true backup at first. Mike Ford is eligible to be recalled on Tuesday, as is Tyler Wade – whose utility would give the Yankees a backup shortstop, but still no true first base option – but there’s one name still to consider: Mike Tauchman, who has been taking reps at first base in pregame workouts.
“He’s an option there now if we get in a situation. I don’t think I’m quite ready to start him there quite yet, but if something came up within the course of a game, he could be pressed into duty,” Boone said. “He’s worked really hard over there and it’s been good work, but there’s been no game reps yet. For now, it’s just continuing to at least do the work to get him as comfortable as we can, so if something comes up, he’s an option for us.”
The Yankees also have Chris Gittens, who was the Eastern League MVP in 2019, at the Alternate Site, as well as Derek Dietrich, a non-roster invitee to spring training who has played 88 career games at first.
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