TAMPA — The Yankees signed Randal Grichuk because of his ability to hit left-handed pitching.
But with the 34-year-old not getting into camp until recently — and with just over two weeks before the start of the regular season — they just want to get the veteran as many plate appearances as possible.
That’s why Grichuk was in the lineup Monday night with right-hander José Urquidy on the mound for the Pirates at Steinbrenner Field — and why Aaron Boone didn’t wait for a lefty starter for him to go up against.
“At this point, we’re pretty deep into camp and may not have that luxury,” Boone said of saving the righty-swinging Grichuk for lefties.
Grichuk won’t play Tuesday’s day game in Clearwater, Fla. against the Phillies and time — and at-bats — are of the essence.
“Right now, especially with his experience, it’s about building up innings and reps,” Boone said. “If it comes [versus] lefties, that’s great.”
With Grichuk seemingly likely on the Opening Day roster instead of the switch-hitting Jasson Domínguez, who has struggled against lefties from the right side, appears ticketed for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
That would leave a four-man bench of Grichuk, J.C. Escarra, Paul Goldschmidt and Amed Rosario.
Boone is also confident that Grichuk will be valuable in the outfield, where he’s had plenty of experience over the years.
“I think he can really handle left-handed pitching and we can help him in the outfield,’’ Boone said. “He’s a natural outfielder, a former center fielder and fundamentally very good. We might be able to help a little bit with some range things.”
What the Yankees really need Grichuk to do, though, as Boone said, is “really hammer” lefties.
They’re hoping for a return to his 2024 form, when Grichuk had a .913 OPS in 184 plate appearances against lefties with the Diamondbacks — and an .801 OPS against righties — before those numbers dropped to .703 versus lefties and .623 against righties last season split between Arizona and Kansas City.
He’s confident he can get back to solid performance, in particular because many of his underlying numbers last year were better than his stats would indicate.
And he continues to embrace the part-time role.
As Grichuk noted, many players in that situation might complain about not getting regular at-bats, which makes it harder for them to get into a rhythm.
“I kind of flipped the script, basically, and said ‘No one feels sorry for me,’” Grichuk said. “I’ve got to do it. That’s my role. I just changed the mindset. It doesn’t matter if it’s X amount of days without an at-bat. You’ve got to do your job and go to battle.”
— Additional reporting by Mark W. Sanchez
