Spencer Jones may have just found the runway he needed.
With Trent Grisham sidelined by a hamstring strain, the Yankees are likely to have Jones in the lineup close to every day for the rest of the regular season. That opens the door for him to make a real push to claim the everyday center-field job in New York.
Grisham’s injury is the second hamstring strain he has dealt with this season, and there’s a chance it keeps him out through the rest of September. In Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller’s view, that absence could actually work in the Yankees’ favor when it comes to sorting out the outfield.
"CF Trent Grisham is back on the IL with another hamstring strain suffered on Friday. He missed about three weeks earlier this season with a similar injury, but this one might knock him out for the rest of the year," Miller wrote.
"However, he was only hitting .167/.261/.346 over his last 46 games, so cementing Spencer Jones in center while working Jasson Domínguez back into the outfield mix might not be a bad thing."
Jones has started to look far more settled in his second crack at big-league pitching. Earlier in the season, he had trouble adjusting during his first call-up. Lately, though, the bat has come around.
He’s hitting .333 in September with three extra-base hits and three walks in 18 plate appearances.
The most eye-catching number might be what he’s done against lefties. Jones is hitting .415 with a 1.186 OPS in 41 at-bats against left-handed pitching this season, which gives Aaron Boone plenty of reason to trust him in those matchups.
And with Grisham headed for free agency after the season, Jones has a real chance to turn this stretch into something bigger. A strong final month and a productive October could go a long way toward making him the center fielder of the future in the Bronx.
In Other News...
Yankees Suddenly Face An Infield Decision They Didn't Expect
Jazz Chisholm Jr. gave the Yankees a jolt in the middle of a game against the Rockies when he injured his thumb sliding into second base and had to leave after dealing with numbness. For a club that has already spent plenty of time sorting out its infield mix, the timing makes this more than a minor scare, especially with Aaron Boone saying the team will keep monitoring Chisholm and see whether more testing becomes necessary if the symptoms worsen.
The immediate concern is less about one awkward slide than what it could mean for the alignment around the rest of the roster. If Chisholm needs any time at all, the Yankees may have to adjust on the fly, and Anthony Volpe is among the names that could factor into those decisions as Boone and the front office try to protect the infield without losing too much flexibility. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Have A Gerrit Cole Concern They Can't Ignore In October
Gerrit Cole is back on the mound for the Yankees after Tommy John surgery, and the early signs have been encouraging enough to keep him squarely in the October conversation. His fastball velocity has held up close to where it was before the injury, which is the kind of baseline the Yankees needed to see as they assess what he can still give them in the stretch run and beyond.
The larger question is whether the stuff behind that fastball will play the same way when the games get tighter and the lineups get deeper. Some of the underlying numbers point to trouble, with harder contact showing up and the breaking pitches not landing with the same bite, which leaves New York with a familiar postseason dilemma: the name on the back of the jersey still carries weight, but the margin for error may not be as wide as it once was. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Needed Their Supporting Cast As Aaron Judge's Return Took A Turn
Aaron Judges return after 100 days back in the Yankees lineup came with the kind of reminder this club has been living with for weeks: the star can steady the room, but he does not have to carry every night. Judge went hitless in his first game back, yet the Yankees still left with a 5-3 win over the Colorado Rockies, getting the sort of help that has often been necessary when the offense needs a lift.
Cody Bellinger helped set the tone by scoring the first run and adding a double in the eighth inning, while Heliot Ramos delivered the biggest swing with a three-run home run. Aaron Boone also pulled Judge after six innings to keep him protected as he continues ramping up for the postseason, a small but telling sign that the Yankees are trying to balance the return of their centerpiece with the broader need to keep everyone else engaged and ready. [Read more 🡒]