Mike Tauchman will still have to fight for playing time with the Yankees given the set starting outfield of Clint Frazier, Aaron Hicks and Aaron Judge, but he cleared the first hurdle by making the Opening Day roster, which wasn’t always a given after a tough 2020 season.
You don’t want to take for granted playing in games with this team. We have a lot of grand aspirations, so I’m excited to be a part of that. It’s cool to have fans back in the stands...that was great. We’ve got 161 games left, plus some hopefully. You just have to take it a day at a time.
“You don’t want to take for granted playing in games with this team,” Tauchman said. “We have a lot of grand aspirations, so I’m excited to be a part of that. It’s cool to have fans back in the stands...that was great. We’ve got 161 games left, plus some hopefully. You just have to take it a day at a time.”
Tauchman was seemingly competing with Jay Bruce for a spot on the team, and even heard his name in some trade rumors late in spring training, but he made it a point to keep his focus on what he can control, and it paid off.
“I don’t really think too much about that,” Tauchman said. “There’s a lot going on in the day-to-day of spring training. I made it a point this year to not look at as much social media or what’s written or said and just focus on what I’m doing. I’m happy to be here. Like I said, it’s a great team. I like the staff and the guys…I’m happy to be here and I didn’t think too much about not being here.”
Now that Tauchman is on the roster, the fight for playing time begins. He might have found a temporary window with the injury to Luke Voit, who will be out four to six weeks with a partially torn meniscus. Bruce has gotten the start at first base in the first two games of the season with Voit out, but Tauchman has been taking reps at first in practice as well, and is open to getting game action in the infield if it means more at-bats.
“It was kind of in play before Luke’s injury,” Tauchman said. “I think it’s become a little more on the front burner, but I can only play four positions, so I might as well play all four. If that’s something that can lead to a couple more at-bats, then it’s something I want to do. So far, so good. We’ll see what happens.”
Wherever Tauchman ends up playing in the field this season, he is confident that 2021 will be much more like 2019 than last season, where he struggled at the plate and battled a shoulder injury.
“I feel like there’s less for me to worry about I guess internally, and it’s allowing me just to focus on pitches I want to swing at and just trying to execute my approach,” Tauchman said. “Trying to do too much in a shortened season or trying to make up for a few bad games, that can really spiral and cloud your mind. Overall, I think I feel a lot better.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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