Key Highlights

• Gleyber Torres hits a leadoff home run in his return to the top of the order.
• Aaron Boone provides insights on lineup decisions involving J.D. Davis and Ben Rice.
• The Yankees’ struggles against left-handed pitching continue in the Subway Series.
• Trade deadline approaches with potential roster adjustments on the horizon.

(NicePlay Sports) – In a season marked by inconsistency and lineup experimentation, the New York Yankees are striving to find a winning formula. With the return of Gleyber Torres to the leadoff spot, manager Aaron Boone is exploring all possible combinations to jumpstart his team’s offense. The Yankees have faced significant challenges, particularly against left-handed pitchers, and Boone’s strategic decisions reflect the urgency to address these weaknesses. Torres, who showed promise early in the season, has been reintroduced to the top of the order in hopes of catalyzing a more productive lineup. Meanwhile, Boone’s choices regarding J.D. Davis and rookie Ben Rice reveal a tactical approach to maximizing the team’s potential, especially with the MLB Trade Deadline looming. As the Yankees navigate these turbulent times, the focus remains on finding the right mix to secure victories and make a strong push in the American League.

Gleyber Torres’ Return to the Leadoff Spot

In searching essentially for a third effective hitter, the Yankees circled back to their original leadoff man. Gleyber Torres, who was atop the lineup for the first couple weeks of the season but had not been at the spot since April 9, batted in front of Juan Soto and Aaron Judge for Wednesday’s Subway Series finale in The Bronx. The gambit worked, as Torres smoked a leadoff homer off lefty Sean Manaea as part of a 2-for-5 night. Little else worked in a 12-3 loss. Virtually no one outside of the Yankees’ superstar duo has hit for nearing six weeks now, but Torres had shown encouraging signs recently — at least more encouraging than Aaron Boone’s other options. “Just trying to find a little combination right now,” the Yankees manager said before hitting Torres in front of Soto, Judge and lefty-hitting cleanup hitter Austin Wells against the southpaw Manaea. “We haven’t faced lefties in a while, so not wanting to go three out of four lefties right out of the chute to open the game. Just trying to mix it up a little bit as we try and kind of find that combination right now to score runs.” The Yankees entered play having scored the 15th most runs in MLB since their funk began June 15 — a middle-of-the-pack total for a club that contains arguably the two best hitters in the game. Torres began the season at the top of the order before scuffling — and Boone acknowledging that he believed his second baseman sometimes was pressing — which led to Anthony Volpe rising. The shortstop, who had begun hot, went cold and posted just a .242 average and .650 OPS from April 10-July 3, all at No. 1. Ben Rice got his first look in front of Soto and Judge on July 4, but the rookie has severely chilled recently, just 4-for-46 in his past 13 games. The Yankees have struggled against just about everyone but particularly against southpaws, which prompted Boone to try righty Jahmai Jones at leadoff and J.D. Davis at cleanup Tuesday, moves that backfired and moves that showed just how threadbare the lineup has become. When all else had failed, Boone tried a tactic that already failed once. Torres, who is in a contract season that has gone poorly, hit just .200 with a .521 OPS in 12 games before he fell down the lineup. He has shown life recently, though, and has boosted his average from .215 to .232 in his past 18 games. Boone wanted Torres to bring the same swing to the top of the order and not feel any additional pressure. “I’ve talked with Gleyber a little bit here over the last week and just reminded him who he is and things like that,” Boone said of the 27-year-old, who repeatedly has said he wants a long-term deal with the club. “Thought he put some good at-bats together [Tuesday] night. I feel like he’s had some good at-bats even over the last week or two weeks and had some at-bats where he’s pressing for a result intermixed with those. “He’s very capable, as we all know.” There might not be a more underperforming member of the lineup than Torres, which means there might not be a better bounce-back candidate than Torres. DJ LeMahieu has not performed like the DJ LeMahieu of old in several years. Volpe has proven little offensively in the majors. Torres, conversely, should be in the prime of his career, is a two-time All-Star and was the club’s most consistent hitter last season — a season in which he played far better in the second half than the first. There is hope with Torres, whose OPS (.671) would easily be the worst in a season in his career — but also has been on the rise after falling to .628 on June 25. “You’re trying to get some guys rolling, you’re trying to piece together the middle of the lineup,” Boone said. “It’s been a little challenging. But also feel like we have some good things happening with a couple guys, too.”

Aaron Boone’s Roster Strategy with J.D. Davis and Ben Rice

Going into Wednesday’s game against the New York Mets, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone put JD Davis in the lineup at DH while putting DJ LeMahieu at first base and having rookie Ben Rice on the bench. Many Yankees fans have questioned Boone’s decision to not have Rice in the starting lineup in the two games against the Mets, and he went into that, specifically in relation to JD Davis. “The reality is, we brought JD Davis in – especially when Rizz went down – to be this kind of [contributor],” Aaron Boone said, via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. The Yankees brought in Davis in a trade with the Oakland Athletics. They acquired him after the Athletics had designated him for assignment. The hope for Davis, with Rizzo going down due to an injury, was to potentially fill in at first base, maybe as a platoon with Ben Rice, or as a full-time player. Rice has taken up most of the playing time since then. Boone elaborated on that dynamic. “Not necessarily,” Boone said when asked if he plans to platoon Rice and Davis, via Hoch. “We’ll see what happens here over the next week.”

Yankees’ Struggles Against Left-Handed Pitching

The Mets are throwing two lefty starting pitchers against the Yankees this series in Jose Quintana and Sean Manaea. The Bombers have struggled against left-handed pitching this year, having a team OPS of .695 against lefties in comparison to a .779 OPS against right-handed pitchers, according to ESPN. It is an interesting phenomenon, because the 2023 Yankees were better against lefties, with a .777 OPS against them and a .683 OPS against righties, according to ESPN. It is possible that acquisitions of players like Alex Verdugo could be contributing to the drastic change from 2023. Due to the struggles against left-handed pitching, Boone has thrown a lot of different lineups against those types of starting pitchers this season. For example with Tuesday night’s game against the Mets, Jahmai Jones was leading off because he has good numbers against lefties this year, while Davis was cleaning up and playing first base for similar reasons. Carlos Narvaez also was in the lineup as opposed to a lefty hitter in Austin Wells. When the Mets went to the bullpen, Boone immediately pinch hit Trent Grisham for Jones, Rice for Davis, and Wells for Narvaez. The good news is that the Yankees have a chance to mitigate this problem at the MLB Trade Deadline, which is on Tuesday, July 30 at 6 p.m. ET. Brian Cashman likely will not be able to completely fix this flaw, but a few additions could go a long way toward making the Yankees the team to beat in what is a wide-open American League.