DUNEDIN, Fla. -- A sore back prompted Paul Goldschmidt to exit the Yankees¡¯ 6-5 loss against the Blue Jays after two at-bats on Monday, but the veteran first baseman says he has ¡°zero¡± concerns about being ready for Opening Day.
Goldschmidt went 0-for-1 with a walk and made a sprawling catch in the second inning before manager Aaron Boone replaced him defensively with T.J. Rumfield for the bottom of the third inning.
¡°My back has just been a little sore, so he just made the decision to stop there after three innings,¡± Goldschmidt said. ¡°I can play a few innings; I could have probably played the whole game. In Spring Training, you just try to be smart. This was probably a time [when] there¡¯s no need to push through something and make it more sore.¡±
Goldschmidt said he has been dealing with the issue for ¡°four or five days,¡± adding: ¡°It wasn¡¯t really any worse today. You don¡¯t want it to get worse with a week or so to go.¡±
A seven-time All-Star, the 37-year-old Goldschmidt has been remarkably durable over his career, playing in at least 150 games in each of the last 11 full Major League seasons. He signed a one-year, $12.5 million deal with the Yankees in December.
Boone said Goldschmidt, who is 10-for-32 (.313) with three homers and 10 RBIs this spring, is expected to play in Wednesday¡¯s split-squad game against the Braves at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
¡°It was more just those first two innings were so long, too,¡± Boone said. ¡°He was like, ¡®I could keep going,¡¯ but I was like, ¡®No, let¡¯s get out of there.¡¯ It¡¯s nothing that I think is anything too big.¡±
Chicken & Rice
Ben Rice packed on about 10 pounds this offseason, which he attributes to an improved diet that centered heavily on chicken and -- yes -- rice. ¡°Lots¡± of it. The Yankees catcher/first baseman is seeing results, belting his fourth home run of the spring on Monday.
¡°It¡¯s impressive,¡± Boone said. ¡°He can hit, and it¡¯s real juice everywhere.¡±
Rice¡¯s blast came in the seventh inning off right-hander Tommy Nance, launched off his bat at 105.8 mph and traveling a Statcast-projected 415 feet to center field. Rice is tied for the team lead this spring in homers with Trent Grisham, who also went deep on Monday.
¡°[The added muscle] definitely helps,¡± Rice said. ¡°It¡¯s just putting more force in the ball, more mass behind it. You put it in the air, and good things are going to happen.¡±
With designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton beginning the year on the injured list with no set date to resume baseball activities, there may be ample opportunities for Rice to see at-bats early in the season.
¡°I¡¯ll be ready for whatever role they need me to play, whether it¡¯s catcher, first base, DH,¡± Rice said. ¡°Anything just to get in the lineup and try to make an impact.¡±
Go, go, G¨®mez
Yoendrys Gómez continues to impress in his bid to secure an Opening Day roster spot, hurling 2 1/3 scoreless innings on Monday. The right-hander did not permit a hit, walked two and struck out one in the 37-pitch relief appearance, giving him nine scoreless innings this spring.
¡°I¡¯m trying to use my legs more and get more loose with my mechanics,¡± G¨®mez said. ¡°I¡¯m continuing to work every day. The focus is to stay healthy and do my job.¡±
Boone cited G¨®mez¡¯s improved velocity as one reason behind his success; he touched 94.5 mph and averaged 93.1 mph with his fastball on Monday.
¡°I¡¯m excited about the steps 'YoGo' has made,¡± Boone said. ¡°His velo is up, probably, a good two [or] three mph from where he was even last year. That¡¯s been encouraging. He¡¯s done some things physically that have helped him, and I feel like he¡¯s looking good. He¡¯s throwing strikes for the most part, with more power to everything. So he¡¯s very much in the mix.¡±
G¨®mez, 25, is out of Minor League options, which Boone acknowledged ¡°changes the equation¡± as the Yankees consider their roster to begin the season.
There appear to be two openings in the bullpen, one of which could belong to G¨®mez, who has enticed the Yankees with a five-pitch mix (fastball, sweeper, curveball, changeup, slider) since being signed in 2017, but he has been slowed by injuries.
G¨®mez has logged a 3.38 ERA in six Major League appearances over the past two seasons. He spent most of last season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, posting a 3-5 record and 3.89 ERA in 23 games (21 starts). Even with the Yanks¡¯ starting pitching injuries, Boone said he envisions G¨®mez remaining in a relief role.
¡°Stranger things have happened, especially moving forward in his career, but certainly this is his path right now,¡± Boone said.