LAKELAND, Fla. — Though Jasson Domínguez knew before he even went to bed Wednesday night that he’d be going up against Justin Verlander on Thursday at Joker Marchant Stadium, Will Warren was blissfully unaware until after he arrived to the ballpark and saw the future Hall of Famer getting ready for his Grapefruit League start.
“I didn’t realize he was pitching today until I went to warm up,’’ Warren said. “He was doing his own thing and I just said, ‘I’m gonna move over. He’s done it a lot longer than I have.’ ”
Warren looked good in his outing, lasting six full innings as he tries to follow up on a season in which he made 33 starts — only Giants ace Logan Webb made more.
The move to the third base side of the rubber is paying dividends, with Warren saying it “opened up a lot.”
“My pitches seem sharper,’’ the right-hander said. “I’m not falling behind as much, and that gives me confidence I can get anyone out.”
Max Fried is slated to start the March 25 season opener in San Francisco, and Aaron Boone said after Thursday’s 4-3 win over the Tigers that he “had an idea” of how the rest of the rotation would look to start the season, but declined to elaborate.
But he’s been impressed with Warren’s swing-and-miss stuff and efficiency. Warren’s next step is to avoid the occasional disastrous outing that plagued him a year ago.
“To me, he looks another year along in his development,’’ Boone said.
Boone has few questions about the top relievers in the bullpen, but with less than two weeks remaining until the start of the regular season, he and his staff are still looking for answers about the final two spots.
A pair of candidates, Cade Winquest and Angel Chivilli, were acquired in the offseason and pitched Thursday.
Winquest, a Rule 5 acquisition from St. Louis, tossed a scoreless inning, and Chivilli, picked up in a trade with Colorado, allowed a run in his lone inning of work.
“He’s had some good and some struggles,’’ Boone said of Chivilli.
Chivilli’s changeup and slider have stood out, but as Boone has noted about several bullpen arms this spring, “It’s about commanding the strike zone. He’s got weapons to get you out. He’s had ups and downs.”
George Lombard Jr., Brendan Beck and Ben Hess were reassigned to minor league camp Thursday. Lombard continued to display his defensive versatility by starting at second base against the Tigers.
The Yankees remain confident Lombard’s bat will come around, especially as the 20-year-old fills out.
For the spring, Lombard is 5-for-27 with three extra-base hits, six walks and a dozen strikeouts.
And as was the case with Spencer Jones, who also is no longer with the major league team, Lombard will continue to get playing time with the big league roster.