Aaron Boone insists Josh Donaldson is still an ‘everyday player’ for Yankees despite ‘reset’ – The Denver Post

As Josh Donaldson declined to speak with reporters on Sunday morning, he made his way toward Aaron Boone’s office.

The struggling third baseman — out of the lineup for the third consecutive day — and manager proceeded to have a conversation that made Boone half an hour late for his daily pregame press conference. When Boone finally spoke, he had no moves to announce despite speculation over Donaldson’s future with the Yankees.

“JD and I were talking,” Boone explained. “It just spilled into a long conversation. That’s all.

“He and I have had a lot of conversations yesterday and today. We’re on the same page. I’m not going to get into it that much but it’s just more him and I talking. I’m sorry it spilled over. You have important conversations with guys all of the time.”

Donaldson, a former MVP, entered Sunday’s series finale against the Rangers slashing .125/.197/.406 with six home runs and eight RBI over 21 games. He missed time with a hamstring injury earlier this season.

Donaldson did not appear in Sunday’s win over the Rangers, but he spoke afterward. He said he and Boone talked about “baseball stuff” and “personal stories.”

“I mean, obviously, I want to play, but that’s not why we were talking, if that’s what you’re asking,” Donaldson said when asked if he was upset about being benched. “At the end of the day, I’m happy our team won. However I can help this team win ballgames or contribute in any way possible, that’s what I’m here for.

“It’s probably the first time I haven’t played three days since I’ve been here when I’ve been healthy. But at the end of the day, that’s the move that was made. I’m not questioning their moves.”

Donaldson also suggested that reporters were trying to make something out of the chat that wasn’t there.

“It wasn’t necessarily, I don’t think, as serious as what you guys are trying to make it out to be,” he said. “We’re having a conversation. It happened to go over his [press conference], which I had no idea about.”

When asked if there was a time Donaldson and Boone were not on the same page, the former replied, “We’ve been on the same page the entire time. I don’t know why you’re trying to make it something else.”

While Donaldson and Boone didn’t want to dive into specifics, the skipper continued to express faith in the third baseman, who heard increasingly loud boos against Seattle when in the lineup earlier this home stand.

“I think he should be an everyday player,” Boone insisted. “This is a little reset that I decided, a moment in time, that I felt like a couple days were worth it.”

While Boone added that he “wrestled” with the decision to sit Donaldson again on Sunday, the reboot came at an interesting time. General manager Brian Cashman said that he wanted to get Donaldson some “runway” when the home stand began on June 20.

“Well, I’d like to get him some really consistent at-bats before we try to assess what’s going on,” Cashman said when asked why he believes Donaldson can still provide an impact bat. “Obviously, last year, he had a subpar offensive season, but prior to that, he’s always been an above average offensive player.”

The reality is that Donaldson has hit well below his standards since the Yankees acquired him in March 2022. The 37-year-old has a .210/.295/.378 slash line and below-average 91 OPS+ since donning pinstripes, and he’s added just 21 homers and 70 RBI over 153 games.

Letting Donaldson go would be costly, as he is owed $27 million (some of which has already been paid this season). But the Yankees recently designated Aaron Hicks for assignment despite a similar price, and they’ve parted with other sunk costs in recent memory, such as Jacoby Ellsbury and Alex Rodriguez.

Donaldson recently told The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty that he hasn’t made a decision about playing in 2024.

However, Boone believes Donaldson’s bat can still help a Yankees offense that has often looked anemic with Aaron Judge on the injured list.

“I know the batting average since he’s come back has not been great,” Boone said. “But scratch the surface, the underlying [metrics], he’s hitting the ball hard. I feel like there’s a ton in there for him offensively. Obviously, he’s tremendous defensively at third. I don’t think anyone would argue with that. I just want to get him going because I know he can be a key figure for us, and just trying to do our part in unlocking that the best we can.”

Boone also said that a “small sample” is partly to blame for Donaldson’s numbers, and that “he’s having better at-bats than at different points where he was scuffling a little bit last year.”

Donaldson hit .222/.308/.374 with 15 dingers, 62 RBI and a 95 OPS+ in 2022.

“He’s getting his swing off a lot,” Boone continued. “The impact’s there. He’s hit a lot of hard balls right at people, and when you’re going through it and not getting a lot of hits, it adds up.”

Boone has frequently defended Donaldson in emphatic terms, including in spring training earlier this year. Boone, when explaining why he thought Donaldson could rebound from his 2021 season this year, said, “We’re talking about a great player.”

“This has been a star player, and consistently for a long time,” Boone said in camp. “He’s not far removed from 2021, where he was still a wrecking ball.

“The things he did this winter to get himself ready to go, I think you’re crazy to think that a bounce back is not in there offensively. This guy still has bat speed, and is super talented. He’s in a much better place than he was a year ago right now.”

But what is Donaldson doing now to fix his swing?

The Yankees stressed that DJ LeMahieu’s load was the cause for his struggles when he received a similar benching earlier this week. However, Boone didn’t identify any particulars when asked what Donaldson has been working on lately.

Boone added that Donaldson is a “mentally tough guy” when asked if these off days were meant to serve as a physical or mental reset.

When asked if Donaldson is unhappy about this time off, Boone reasoned that no “gamer” would be. And if the veteran was understanding of what Boone said was the manager’s decision?

“He and I are in a really good spot,” Boone said. “He’s gonna play a lot. I know there’s a lot in there.”

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