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TAMPA – Corey Kluber kicked off his first live batting practice of the spring at the Yankees minor league complex on Sunday, with Gary Sanchez behind the plate and Aaron Boone looked delighted with what he saw.
The manager described the exit as “good”.
“ Obviously there’s been a lot of talk about it, ” Boone said of Kluber’s arrival on a one-year contract and $ 11 million after pitching just one inning in the last two seasons in due to a forearm fracture in 2019 and a shoulder injury last year.
“He came here after launching live and even being more tiring than [Sunday] was. It was good to have Gary with him in a live setting. Another good step forward in the process for him.
The health of Kluber’s right arm is key to a rotation that seeks to support Gerrit Cole after losing Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton and JA Happ to free agency in the offseason.
Aroldis Chapman showed off a slit-fingered fastball last year, but he used the court sparingly. Expect to see more of them this season.
“I think that’s definitely a pitch for me,” Chapman said through an interpreter. “I feel like I’ve incorporated this pitch into my pitch mix.”
He expects to use the separator more than he has his change, which he throws “just a few times here and there”.
“I feel really good with it,” Chapman said of the splitter. “[It’s] certainly a weapon that will be used in the future.
Austin Wells was drafted by the Yankees last June and has never been able to play a game due to the pandemic, so he’s trying to profit as much as he can by being in camp early.
“I’ve been out for over a year with distance education,” Wells said. “Anything to bat against any pitcher I get is good for me.”
Wells is just one of the minor leagues that lost as much as a development season when the minor leagues were closed last year.
Reese said the development of players without games was “interesting”.
“It has been a challenge,” Reese said. “It was difficult. You throw away the game plan for a year and adjust on the fly. “
The Yankees opted out of having an education league last fall, with Reese saying the organization decided there were too many risks associated with the increase in COVID cases in Florida at the time and that the Yankees did not have their own hotel to safely house players.
Miguel Andujar isn’t the only player showing up to camp this week hoping to prove he can deliver value in more than one position.
Boone also mentioned recently signed Jay Bruce and Derek Dietrich, as well as Andrew Velazquez, the Fordham Prep product which is also on a minor league deal.
Dietrich can play second and third, Bruce first and Velazquez short and they can all be used in corner-outfield positions.
“I feel like we have guys with pretty good defensive versatility and flexibility,” said Boone.
– Additional reporting by Ken Davidoff
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