Joey Gallo in a 'Good Spot' Despite Slow Start With Yankees

KANSAS CITY — Flying out to left field in the top of the seventh inning on Wednesday afternoon, Joey Gallo put his head down, slowly jogging back to the visitor's dugout at Kauffman Stadium. 

The outfielder was wrapping up his 13th game in a Yankees uniform, held hitless for the eighth time. 

It's been a challenge for Gallo to find results with his new team. Since he was acquired from the Rangers ahead of the trade deadline—the centerpiece of a six-player blockbuster that sent four prospects from the Yankees to Texas—the outfielder is hitting just .150 (7-for-47) with 22 strikeouts. 

As much as the slugger has been striking out at a particularly high rate, the highest it's been in five years, Gallo's teammates and his new skipper aren't concerned in the slightest. 

"He's gonna strike out. Along with it, you're gonna get a guy that over time is going to get on a ton, he's going to hit with authority and he's going to be a really great two-way player for us," manager Aaron Boone said earlier in the week. "I think he's in a good spot right now."

Boone's perpetual optimism will often shine through, even during a player's lowest moments. That's especially the case for a club that's been strapped in on a roller-coaster ride all season long, suddenly plummeting to new lows after promising peaks. But Boone does have a point.

Gallo has been solid in the outfield through his first couple weeks with the Yankees, he's consistently hustled and made things happen on the base paths and as a wise man once said, he gets on base.

"I wouldn't say he's struggling," Aaron Judge said Wednesday. "He's a guy that's still getting his walks, I think that's one thing that I see in there that's pretty important. When a guy is struggling usually he's not getting on base. He's getting on base, he's taking close pitches, he's had some key homers for us, some key doubles for us. And I think he's just another guy just getting in his groove."

In those 13 games with the Bombers, Gallo has worked 10 walks. In fact, he's reached base in all but one contest, adding another two base on balls Wednesday afternoon while going 0-for-2.

There was Gallo's breakout game as well. Three hits including two doubles and a go-ahead three-run home run against the Mariners that sparked an eruption in the Bronx, his first signature moment with the Yankees. 

Joey Gallo Powers Yankees Past Mariners With First Yankee Stadium Home Run

So as much as it may seem like he's struggling based on his numbers, the Yankees believe their high-profile acquisition is knocking on the door of an emphatic reversal. After all, in Boone's eyes, the outfielder has been producing quality at-bats all month long.

"The bottom line is he's in the middle of a really good season, an All-Star season," Boone said. "From what I've seen since we've gotten him, he's in the fight all the time as far as the at-bat quality. So there's going to be a stretch where I know he's gonna get super hot and you're gonna see on base and slug with him, but as far as at-bat quality, I don't see him fooled, I don't see him overmatched."

Asked about Gallo's pursuit for results, Judge allowed a smile to creep across his face, pointing out the challenges and pressures that Gallo is in the process of overcoming.

"I couldn't imagine not only changing clubhouses but changing clubhouses and coming to the New York Yankees," he said. "That's a lot of responsibility, a lot of pressure, but he's handled it so well. He's a true professional, on and off the field. So, I think he's just getting rolling, and we're gonna see a lot more out of him I think."

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