Earlier this spring I mentioned that seeing Gio Urshela at shortstop was something we should expect. Tuesday night the Yankees chose to start Urshela at short for the first time since 2017, when Urshela was playing for Cleveland. Honestly, I am thrilled. He is our best defensive infielder. And he certainly brings more to the table than Gleyber Torres, who has been struggling in the middle infield position. Will the Yankees switch things up til they get it right? I certainly hope so.
"I have a lot of confidence in Gio when he has a glove in his hand and stands on the infield," Boone said. "So I expect him to go out there and play the way he’s capable of and handle the routine play and hopefully go out and contribute to a victory for us," reported Yahoo Sports. Now to be clear, Torres is experiencing soreness after diving back to a base on Monday night's win against the Blue Jays. But it is also no secret that Torres has not been comfortable at shortstop since replacing Didi Gregorius who is lighting it up in Philadelphia.
Moving Gio to shortstop also relocates DJ LeMahieu to third and places Rougned Odor at second base. Jay Bruce is back at first base as Luke Voit remains out of the lineup until later this spring or early summer. Voit is already doing baseball activities according to reports from the Yankee skipper. This is great news for Voit and the Bombers.
Will this be a lineup we will see going forward? Will the Yankees continue to tweak things until they get it right? Yes. For Torres, he appears much more comfortable at second base, so maybe we will see him there? Bottom line, the Yankees need to protect and preserve their pitchers. Having a strong defensive infield and outfield is the only way to do this. They also need to ensure that the big bat isn't the savior—that is just not sustainable. Hoping the Yankees stay focused on putting the best team on the field, so they can have the best opportunity to win.
--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof
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