TAMPA — The horse race is ongoing inside Aaron Boone’s head as well. He knows spring training is long and will twist and turn with performance and, most problematically, injury.
Still, the Yankees manager is not unlike a fan base. He, too, is taking inventory and shaping and reshaping what his 26-man roster will look like come March 25 against the Giants. Playing the “What if I had to decide today?” game.
A re-shape came Wednesday as Randal Grichuk agreed to a minor league contract, adding the most stark missing piece in camp — a veteran righty-hitting outfielder with a strong track record against lefties.
He will join the Yanks two-plus weeks into what has been a positive camp. Now, that is a dangerous sentence. Because every team knows trouble is coming. But to this point, the Yanks’ four rehabbing players — Gerrit Cole, Clarke Schmidt, Carlos Rodon and Anthony Volpe — are progressing well. And overall, the Yanks look like a confident, contending team prepping for a season with indicators of depth to withstand some blows.