Aaron Boone Reveals Yankees' Leadoff Hitter For Opening Day
Opening Day for the Yankees will come a day late this year due to inclement weather. So instead, the Bronx Bombers held a workout on Thursday as they prepare for their first game with the Boston Red Sox tomorrow afternoon.
During this workout, manager Aaron Boone would not reveal what his lineup would look like on Friday, but he did say who his leadoff hitter will be.
According to Boone, newcomer Josh Donaldson will be slated in the No. 1 spot in the Yankees’ batting order in Game 1 of the 2022 regular-season.
This decision comes as a bit of a surprise given the third baseman has only batted leadoff a total of seven times in his career. In fact, all these games came in the 2015 season when Donaldson won the American League MVP Award as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Regardless, Boone has hinted at this strategy in recent weeks because of what Donaldson brings to the Yankees’ lineup.
"He is definitely someone I would consider in that spot," Boone said last month. "A guy that controls the strike zone like he does, ability to get on, power, great hitter, more at the top."
READ: Yankees Opening Day Lineup Prediction
While Donaldson is no longer considered to be in his prime, the 36-year-old still slashed .247/.352/.475 a season ago with the Minnesota Twins. Not to mention, he is known for drawing walks and wearing out pitchers in his at-bats.
Therefore, Boone has opted to replace D.J. LeMahieu, the Yankees’ primary leadoff hitter since 2019, with Donaldson at the top of the order.
"I've been using Donaldson there a lot. I like it," Boone told NJ.com's Randy Miller last week. "You want a good player hitting in that spot. You want to go with a guy that gets on base hitting in that spot. Yeah, it's great if anyone can run. It's great if the three hitter can run, the four hitter. The biggest thing is I want a good hitter that gets on base a lot."
The Yankees acquired Donaldson, shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa and catcher Ben Rortvedt from the Minnesota Twins last month in exchange for catcher Gary Sanchez and third baseman Gio Urshela. New York is now on the hook to pay Donaldson a total of $42 million across the next two season.
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