The Yankees’ Opening Day lineup card has gained a bit more clarity.
During an appearance Tuesday on WFAN, Aaron Boone shed light on several configuration questions, notably:
— Jasson Dominguez likely will shift from his natural center field to left field, leaving Cody Bellinger to predominantly play center.
— There is more uncertainty concerning the club’s infield arrangement — they still can add a piece — but the Yankees manager said “right now” Jazz Chisholm Jr. would be his second baseman, leaving a competition at third base.
— A “number of guys” could hit leadoff — which is another way of saying the team at the moment does not have a true leadoff hitter — and Boone is open to using multiple No. 1 hitters depending upon the matchup.
The Yankees, who are in a holding pattern with Marcus Stroman and the $18 million he is due next season, still have a couple of weeks of the offseason and all of camp to tinker, but the most significant development Tuesday entailed the outfield layout.
“We’ll try and get Dominguez up to speed in left,” Boone said on the “BT and Sal” show. “Bellinger probably in center, with [Trent] Grisham in the mix there, too.”
Dominguez came up through the Yankees system as a promising center fielder and has added some experience in left over the past few years.
He predominantly played left in his September audition last season and looked lost, several mishaps making the club’s decision to stick with Alex Verdugo in the postseason an easy one.
Dominguez had played 58 total games in the minors as a left fielder (compared with 239 as a center fielder), and the Yankees are hoping more reps during camp will help his transition.
Planting Dominguez in left field essentially grants him a position and lineup spot and leaves center for a rotation of defenders.
Bellinger, a veteran and strong athlete who has bounced from center to right to first base in his career, is better suited to move around, Boone said.
If Aaron Judge is serving as designated hitter in a game Giancarlo Stanton is sitting, Boone would prefer moving Bellinger to right, inserting Grisham and leaving Dominguez in left.
“Ideally not like to move Dominguez as much,” Boone said. “But we’ll see how it all shakes out.”
There is still plenty that needs to shake out in the Yankees infield.
They have subtracted Gleyber Torres (who left in free agency) and prospect Caleb Durbin (in a trade) and have not added a surefire starter.
They have been linked with free agents Jorge Polanco and Brendan Rodgers, among others, and the Cardinals seem intent on moving Nolan Arenado.
Without a further addition, Boone said he would move Chisholm back to second base — where he played his best defensively with the Marlins — after Chisholm learned third base on the fly after the deadline trade last season.
Boone identified Oswaldo Cabrera, DJ LeMahieu and Oswald Peraza, in that order, as the potential third basemen.
Cabrera took steps last season, posting a .742 OPS in the second half and looked more comfortable against major league pitching, but part of his use to the team has been an ability to play everywhere. His winning the third base job might require the Yankees to find another super utility guy.
LeMahieu is coming off his worst season as a pro and among the worst seasons in the majors, finishing with a .527 OPS and two home runs in 67 games. The two-time batting champion is 36, but the Yankees hope his problem has been injury rather than aging.
“DJ has been an amazing hitter. He’s just been hurt,” Boone said of LeMahieu, who missed about two months with a fracture in his foot then saw his season end early due to a right hip impingement. “Hopefully with some health, some of that bat can return because he can still really defend. … Whether it’s on an everyday level or if it’s against a [lefty], I do think there’s a role for him.”
Peraza has yet to hit well in the majors and might be facing his final chance to stick with the Yankees because he has no more minor league options.
With Torres in Detroit, the Yankees do not have a natural leadoff man. Boone acknowledged plenty of hitters could step up, and he mentioned lefty-hitting Chisholm and the switch-hitting Dominguez as possibilities. Righty-hitting Anthony Volpe saw some time in the slot last year.
“It depends who solves that leadoff spot,” Boone said. “Is it one guy? Or is it one guy versus a righty, one guy versus a lefty?”
