On the surface, it seemed like a no-brainer. Neil Walker’s career numbers against righty Lance Lynn impressed: 40 at-bats, 15 hits, including three homers, a .375 average.
Lynn started for the Twins against the Yanks Wednesday at the Stadium.
Walker sat.
Sometimes, there’s stuff below the surface.
“It was actually a really tough decision for me. I grinded over it most of the day,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “Obviously, he’s had good success against Lance. I like the matchup.”
So why did Boone go with Tyler Austin? Well, there’s the below-the-surface stuff.
Austin is awaiting MLB’s decision on his appeal of a five-game suspension for charging the mound against Boston on April 11. Even if the sentence were reduced, Austin would start serving it immediately, possibly as soon as Thursday.
“I think he’s anticipating me playing a lot coming up so he didn’t want me to play too much. But I’ll be back in there [Thursday],” said Walker who insisted he was healthy, though Boone offered the veteran was a bit “banged up” with “a little hip stuff.”
Boone looked even smarter for the decision as Austin hit a big three-run homer in the Yankees’ 7-4 win over the Twins on Wednesday night. The Bombers finish their series with the Twins Thursday and then head west for series with the Angels, starting Friday, and then on to Houston. They play seven straight days on the trip without a scheduled off-day. So the Yankees want to keep Walker fresh.
“I like the matchup with Tyler as well, but I just felt not knowing the suspension situation — let’s say it came down [Thursday] for example,” Boone said. “Then all of a sudden I got [Walker] playing [Tuesday] night, [Wednesday] night, day game after a night game [Thursday], flying across country for three games. I just felt like I need to grab a day for [Walker] when I can, but it was hard because of that.
“He’s had a [injury] history. He was a little banged up last week. If a suspension came down [Thursday] it would be … six days [in a row] and starting spring training a little bit late, I don’t want to run him into the ground.”
Walker signed a one-year deal with the Yankees on March 12 and that also factored into Boone’s decision, the manager said. There was not a full spring training. Walker, 32, admittedly is still getting his timing down. He brought a .172 average into Wednesday and Boone said he wanted to get him on track. Walker claimed he just needs to work through his early struggles in his first American League season.
“It’s presented some challenges but I’m certainly not going to use anything as a crutch for where I am right now,” Walker said of the transition between leagues. “But from a preparation standpoint, playing in the NL Central for so long and then playing in the East for two years and being familiar with a lot of the same guys, you get into an ebb and flow of approaching your at bats so that’s been kind of a whole new kind of system to take in.”
Boone said he believes it is just a matter of time for Walker. In the short-term, he needs it to be. Walker played first base in Triple-A years ago before becoming a second-base staple in Pittsburgh. But when Austin serves his suspension, the first-base options are limited. Boone said the team has worked Miguel Andujar at first, but backup catcher Austin Romine “can be an option for us in the short-term.”
So the preference is to get Walker going.
“I want to get him rolling a little bit. I thought his last two at-bats [Tuesday] he was a lot closer to getting locked back in,” Boone said. “He is such a good hitter, especially from the left side that once he gets locked in, he’s usually really consistent with his swing. That’s why it’s tough to keep him out of there.”
