On the day the Yankees got Aaron Judge back in the lineup and right field, Trent Grisham spent pregame doing agility drills as he attempts another comeback from a strained right hamstring.
Grisham said prior to Tuesday’s series opener against the Rockies that there has been improvement in the area, but he’s not ready to put a timeline on a potential return with less than three weeks remaining in the regular season.
“I don’t have a timetable,’’ Grisham said. “Just listen to my body.”
Despite the improvement since he suffered the most recent injury Friday in San Diego, Grisham said he’s “very frustrated” to be back on the IL after missing three weeks because he strained the same hamstring in mid-June.
“I want to be out there, but especially with all the work we put in to get back and stay healthy,’’ Grisham said.
Without Grisham, Aaron Boone said he’d continue to go with Spencer Jones in center field, with Cody Bellinger occasionally sliding over from left. And he added that Jasson Domínguez has experience in center, but the former phenom has struggled on both sides of the ball throughout the season.
That likely keeps Jones in center — and in the spotlight — even more for the foreseeable future after he’d been forced into right field prior to Grisham’s injury.
“The way he’s developed since he was up earlier in the year has been eye-opening,’’ an American League scout said. “But that’s a lot to put on a guy as they get ready for the playoffs, especially with another rookie [George Lombard Jr.] at shortstop.”
But this is where the Yankees find themselves as they try to catch the Rays at the top of the AL East, and stay ahead of the Red Sox for the top wild card spot in the AL.
And with the Yankees scheduled to face five right-handed starters over this next six-game period, starting with Tuesday, Jones figures to see plenty of time. He entered Tuesday with an OPS of 1.031 in his previous 17 games, with just a dozen players posting a higher number in that stretch beginning Aug. 20.
Of course, there were also 19 strikeouts in 60 plate appearances.
As Jones worked his way up through the Yankees farm system, the nagging question was whether the slugger would hit enough to make up for the number of strikeouts.
Clearly, as the Yankees prepare for the postseason, still uncertain of Grisham’s availability, Jones is showing that he might be able to do so.
