About The Off-Day: Thoughts and Observations

About The Off-Day: Thoughts and Observations

By Tim Kabel

March 29, 2025

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The Yankees won on Opening Day and had yesterday off. They are back in action today against the Brewers, with Nestor Cortes pitching against Max Fried. Since there is no game to recap, I will share some thoughts regarding Opening Day, the roster, and other matters. Let's get to it.

·      I seem to have stirred up a hornets’ nest with my observations about the defensive substitution for Jasson Dominguez on Opening Day. Some folks felt that due to Dominguez’s perceived defensive liabilities and deficiencies, it was a warranted and prudent move by Aaron Boone. Others wondered if Boone had prepared Dominguez for such a possibility. First, it had been noted by many reporters covering Spring Training and the announcers who were broadcasting the games that Dominguez made significant progress regarding his defensive abilities in leftfield. Even Boone indicated that it was no longer a pressing issue. Therefore, it seemed that it was more a case of Boone doing what he always does and that is favoring veterans, even mediocre ones, over younger players. I suspect that Boone did not give Dominguez advanced warning of this because, for someone who is lauded as being a “great communicator”, Boone never seems to say much to his players, especially the younger ones. It is true that Grisham is a good fielder, but I recall at least one occasion last season when his lack of effort allowed a ball to fall in. This was noted by the announcers covering the game that day. My concern is that if Boone is doing this on the first day, is it a pattern he's going to follow throughout the season? Because if it is, it could have negative results. It could create the impression that Dominguez is is not a good fielder or is not working on his fielding. Neither of those seem to be the case based on statements made by many people, including Boone himself. If you have a 22-year-old outfielder whom you do not trust enough to finish the game, the question is when will you reach a point when you do trust him? I also think it is setting the stage for Dominguez being pulled from the lineup if he experiences a slump or has a misplay in the outfield. Even the greatest fielders make errors once in a while. The fact that this happened on Opening Day, at home is what raises some flags. So, if it is more or less an isolated incident, that is one thing but if it becomes an everyday occurrence, that could be problematic on many levels. Remember a few years ago, when Aaron Hicks had a horrendous game in the outfield on Derek Jeter day? He stood there and watched a ball land fair that resulted in runs scoring for Tampa Bay. On the next play, Hicks misplayed a ball completely. The first one was just a lack of effort, because not only did the ball land in front of Hicks, but it also rolled around for quite a while before Hicks even attempted to pick it up. After that debacle, Hicks was removed from the game, but only to protect him from verbal abuse by the fans. Hicks returned to the lineup and the field a few days later. Hicks did not require a defensive replacement at the end of the games. In fact, I would bet that if Hicks were still on this team, he would have been put in to replace Dominguez on Opening Day.

·      My sister, who has converted to being a Mets’ fan in her later years, complained to me about Clay Holmes after Opening Day. I told her that she should get used to it and that there was a reason the Yankees did not bring him back. In addition, I don't know that making him a starter was the wisest decision. It would be like taking a pastry chef who left one restaurant because he had trouble making desserts and putting him in charge of your dinner service on the busiest day of the year. Apparently, the Mets will continue to try to mold Clay into an effective starting pitcher. Good luck with that.

·      Speaking of the Mets, Juan Soto, the self-proclaimed greatest hitter in baseball history, did not have a particularly great day yesterday. It will be interesting to see how Soto adjusts to his new team. One thing is certain, he will be there for a very long time.

·      I suspect that Ben Rice will have a big season for the Yankees. His added strength should translate into more power, and he already demonstrated flashes of power last season. It seems that he added strength without becoming muscle bound, which would have been a problem. The shot he hit off the top of the wall on Thursday was very impressive.

·      Speaking of Rice, I have some questions. It has been reported that recently, Giancarlo Stanton began swinging a bat. I did not see anything more detailed than that. That is about as vague as you can get. Was he just swinging a bat or was he hitting off a tee? With the elbow pain that he has, there could be a very big difference between swinging a bat at nothing and hitting a ball, as far as the pain goes. How often is he swinging a bat? For how long? How is his calf injury? Let's say that Stanton makes progress in his recovery and is able to appear in games at or around the All-Star break. Would he go on a minor league rehab stint, which he has been unwilling to do in the past? If Stanton announces that he is able to return to the lineup, and Ben Rice is excelling, hitting home runs and driving in runs, what will happen? We all know that Aaron Boone would almost immediately banish Ben Rice to a galaxy far, far away to facilitate the return of Stanton even if he had not completed a minor league rehab stint. At what point, would Rice’s performance block the return of Stanton? Is there such a point? Now, that is most likely very far away from now. Stanton has a lot of steps he has to take and bridges he has to cross but, I suspect Aaron Boone is already contemplating his return to the lineup this year and would insert him into the lineup in a heartbeat regardless of what Rice was doing.

·      The same scenario applies to DJ LeMahieu. I don't believe that Oswaldo Cabrera has the same offensive upside as Ben Rice, but it would not be hard for Cabrera to surpass what LeMahieu did last season. Remember, LeMahieu couldn't make it through a single game in Spring Training and he wasn't even playing the field in that game. I suspect that if DJ LeMahieu announces that he is ready to return, Boone will immediately write his name into the lineup. When LeMahieu struggles, which is almost inevitable, Boone will come up with one oddball excuse after another. I think the only way to prevent the above scenarios from occurring is to remove them as possibilities. In other words, if LeMahieu and Stanton are not on the roster, they won't be options for Boone. Of the two of them, I suspect but that LeMahieu would be the more likely to be released. However, they may both just stay in limbo and never be returned to the active roster. A lot depends on the performances of Rice and Cabrera but with Boone in charge, even that might not matter. 

·      The Yankees will be facing a left-hander today in our old friend Nestor Cortes. I'm very curious to see what the lineup will look like. Will Paul Goldschmidt be batting in the leadoff spot? Will Pablo Reyes be in the lineup? I can imagine multiple possibilities regarding the lineup. There is almost nothing that would shock or surprise me. I could even imagine a scenario in which Aaron Judge is the designated hitter and Trent Grisham of all people, is in the outfield. We will know in a few hours.

·      I'm very excited to see the debut of Max Fried. I believe he will be one of the keys to the Yankees having a successful season this year, particularly with Gerrit Cole being out for the year. Obviously, this is just one game so, you don't want to read too much into it one way or the other but, it could be a lot of fun today.