One of the biggest roster questions for the Yankees that will be answered in the next week comes from outfield depth, and whether Mike Tauchman or Jay Bruce will be on the team’s Opening Day roster.
Bruce has cooled off after a fast offensive start to his spring, while Tauchman went 2-for-2 with a home run on Tuesday night, boosting his spring OPS to .960 in 26 at-bats. The shortened 2020 campaign was a difficult one for Tauchman, who dealt with shoulder issues and admittedly “developed some bad swing patterns,” leading to a homerless campaign and a lowly .305 slugging percentage in 95 at-bats. But Tauchman feels he is now much closer to the breakout performer he was in 2019, headlining the “Next Man Up” Yankees by posting a .504 slugging percentage, 200 points higher than any of his other three big league seasons so far.
Now, Tauchman just needs a chance to prove it, and a performance like Tuesday could help land him on the Opening Day roster.
“I think no matter what you feel pretty good after a day like that,” Tauchman said. “Been feeling better at the plate and it was nice to get a handful of at-bats off left handed pitching. It doesn’t always line up in spring training, but I like hitting off lefties. I feel like it does some good things for my swing, so it was nice to have four at-bats off some high-level left-handed pitching.”
Despite being in a tightly-contested battle for a bench spot, Tauchman is much more focused on the adjustments he has made to his swing this spring and staying healthy to give himself a chance to prove himself to the Yankees, and show that his 2019 breakout was no fluke.
“I don’t think about that really,” Tauchman said. “[Wednesday] I’m not playing in the game, so I have an opportunity to get some extra work in and get my routine going and keep my body feeling good. Just looking to tighten those things up and start to get a little more length out of the games I play in and get ready for April 1.”
Tauchman’s spring has been encouraging so far, while Bruce’s spring OPS has dipped to .706 after a pair of early home runs. But Tauchman isn’t focused on the numerical results, which may not be the deciding factor in whatever decision the Yanks make in the coming days.
“I think it’s pretty much widely agreed upon that the actual results of spring don’t have that big of a bearing on the success of your season,” Tauchman said. “I feel like I’m having a pretty good spring, but in my six spring trainings in the major leagues, the only time I ever hit above .300 I started the season 0-for-19. So to me it’s more about a progression of ‘this is what I want to do early,’ and come in each day with a game plan and executing that game plan.”
Still, the coming days could play a big part in determining where Tauchman begins his 2021 season, but with his eyes solely on what he can control, he believes he’s done enough to prove himself this spring.
“I don’t have any say in that,” Tauchman said. “I’ve personally been happy with my level of at-bats. I’ve been happy with how I’ve played the outfield and how my body has felt. I feel like I’m in a position to play at a high level in the majors this year, and that’s more important to me than what people way above my paygrade are going to do. I’m focused on playing baseball, I’m focused on today, and that’s really as far ahead as I’m looking.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch