The New York Yankees offense has been tough to watch lately — scoring just one run in three of their last four games and more than three runs just once in their last eight games.
Aaron Judge carried the Yankees the second half of last season when the lineup went into a tailspin, but the captain has had a recent cold streak at the plate himself, coupled with the team missing some important pieces, such as Giancarlo Stanton, Josh Donaldson and Harrison Bader.
Which is why Aaron Boone believes it is a key for some of the non-regulars to take advantage of more playing time.
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“You gotta have people, even at times, unexpected people step up and play a role for you to be the team you want to be,” Boone said on the “Talkin’ Yanks” podcast on Tuesday. “[Look at] Franchy Cordero and the start he got off to — there were impactful moments and plays and big home runs in there that were significant parts of us winning ballgames. That’s what we got to have.”
One of those bench players who might give the Yankees a spark is Willie Calhoun, whom Boone said will be in the lineup on Tuesday.
“No doubt in my mind Willie Calhoun can bang and is going to hit,” Boone said. “[We] gotta get him rolling. Franchy has to get going — he had that stretch early where he was really impactful, fallen off a bit here, now, we gotta work to get those guys consistent as possible when they are getting those opportunities.”
It has been a common theme in recent years for the Yankees where someone unexpected emerges to become a key contributor on the team. Last year it was Matt Carpenter and in 2019 it was Cameron Maybin.
Boone said that is always an ongoing process to find the next guy like that.
“That’s why at the last minute to start the season you saw Franchy Cordero, or you saw Willie Calhoun,” Boone said. “We’re always looking for those things – [Brian Cashman] and the scouts and analysts are always looking to find that little piece that can be a little bit of a spark or little bit of a fit for us. That’s ongoing.”
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