WASHINGTON – Gary Sanchez will always be defined by his powerful right-handed bat, but on Thursday night the Yankees wide receiver spoke about how far he has come with the new defensive stance introduced by catch instructor Tanner Swanson in February.
In the first days of spring training 1.0, Sanchez seemed uncomfortable with the low squat that featured a kicked leg and designed for him to convert borderline low tones into so-called bumps.
After Thursday night’s impressive 4-1 opening day victory over Max Scherzer and the defending World Series champions, Sanchez described his progress.
“Improving, much more comfortable and getting to the point where it is second nature to me,” Sanchez said of the setup at stake working with Gerrit Cole. “I think it is the result of all the work we have been doing. It has been a lot of work dedicated to assimilating the posture and I think it is progressing. ”
As for the bat, Sanchez struck out against Scherzer in three at-bats, but that’s not a rarity against the right-hander who stoked 11 but took the loss. Brett Gardner also had the hat trick strikeout.
Tyler Wade is on the Yankees’ 30-player list for his ability to play shortstop, second, third, and run.
On Thursday night against the Nationals, left-handed hitter Wade was in the lineup at second base because DJ LeMahieu continued working from COVID-19. Although Wade is not the successful major league hitter that LeMahieu is, he did something in the Yankees’ victory that LeMahieu could not have accomplished: he scored from Aaron Judge’s first double to the left in the third inning, with the help of Third base coach Phil Nevin sending him home.
“His speed, we saw the game of touch [Thursday night], he is a special type of defender. It’s one thing to have speed, but he’s a great base runner, ” said Aaron Boone of Wade, who in a sacrificial situation in the fifth passed the ball to the mound and forced second baseman Starlin Castro to try a bare hand. play that was for a single and helped build a career. “If he can get to the base long enough, he’s a guy who can affect gameplay and versatility who has a chance to be really valuable.”
In parts of three major league seasons, Wade, 25, had 218 at-bats in 109 games and a .197 batting average entering Thursday night. However, when he regularly played for Triple-A Scranton / Wilkes-Barre in 2017, he led the International League with a .310 batting average.
“I think he has in him being a guy who controls the strike zone, which is critical to him, not chasing him,” Boone said. “The difference between him being a really great player or fighter.”
As for LeMahieu, he was slated to face Jordan Montgomery in a simulated game on Friday. If that went well, there is a chance that the All-Star second baseman could start against Stephen Strasburg on Saturday night.
The Yankees signed veteran left-handed reliever Fernando Abad on Friday and sent him to his satellite camp in Scranton. Abad, 34, missed spring 2.0 training with the Nationals due to COVID-19 and was released by the club.
Abad pitched for six major league clubs and was signed by the Nationals in February and released on July 17. He worked 21 games for the Giants in 2019 and posted a 4.15 ERA. In nine major league seasons, Abad has a 3.67 ERA in 384 games.
Right-handed hitters hit .257 with a .750 OPS versus left-handed swingers who hit .234 with a .661 OPS.
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