Aaron Boone isn’t giving up on Josh Donaldson just yet.
And the Yankees manager is confident he knows how to get the polarizing third baseman back on track.
Donaldson was not in the Yankees’ starting lineup for the third straight game for the team’s series finale against the Rangers on Sunday afternoon as he – much like the rest of the Yankees’ lineup at the moment – struggles through brutal hitting woes.
Boone revealed prior to Sunday’s game that he’s giving Donaldson a break of sorts to reset his approach at the plate.
The decision didn’t come easily to Boone, but the Yankees manager believes it will help Donaldson in the long run.
“It was just a tough decision that I was wrestling with, kind of all day yesterday… This is just a stretch of, I felt like I wanted to give him a couple days,” Boone said. “To kind of work through, that was kind of just my decision, through this stretch, but I expect him to get consistent at-bats [after the break].”
Boone was over 30 minutes late to his pregame press conference, claiming that he was having “a long conversation” with Donaldson.
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In the clubhouse prior to Boone’s comments, Donaldson answered, “No, I don’t,” when asked if he had a few minutes to speak about his struggles, and then walked toward Boone’s office.
After the lengthy discussion, Boone said he and Donaldson are “in a good place” and on the same page going forward.
Donaldson is slashing a woeful .125/.197/.406 with a .603 OPS, six homers and eight RBIs this season.
It’s reached a boiling point recently, as Donaldson has just one hit in his last 29 at-bats and has started to hear consistent boos from Yankees fans.
But Boone is steadfast in his belief that Donaldson is still a critical player for the Yankees and expects him to “play a lot” and return to being an everyday player for the Yankees after the break is over.
“I feel like there’s a ton in there for him offensively,” Boone said.
