MLB

Yankees hopeful Josh Donaldson can ‘continue to build’ at the plate

By
Social Links for Greg Joyce
Published June 19, 2023
Updated June 20, 2023, 3:28 p.m. ET

Coming into the season, had you told the Yankees that Josh Donaldson would have six home runs through his first 17 games, they likely would have been thrilled.

That it took until June 18 to play his 17th game, though, and that he only has two singles besides those home runs, clouds the outlook a little more.

Donaldson, who missed nearly two months with a strained hamstring, has been feast or famine at the plate.

The lack of any kind of consistency has left him batting .151 (8-for-53) with a .724 OPS entering Tuesday’s series opener against the Mariners.

“He’s hitting the ball hard, which is good,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I think as you dig through the at-bats, even though the average obviously isn’t good yet, he’s hit a lot of balls hard. If he continues to do that, we’re going to be in a good spot here when we look up a few weeks and months from now.”

Donaldson has an average exit velocity of 91.6 mph, which is up nearly 1 mph from his brutal 2022 season.

Josh Donaldson hits an RBI sac-fly in the 6th inning against the Mets at Citi Field.
Josh Donaldson hits an RBI sac-fly in the 6th inning against the Mets at Citi Field. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

But the 37-year-old had a tough nightcap in Sunday’s doubleheader, going 0-for-3 with a walk and three groundouts that were not hit particularly well.

He also got picked off of first base with two outs in the fourth inning of what was then a 1-1 game.

In Friday’s 15-5 loss, Donaldson went 2-for-4 with a late home run. While his defense has largely been strong throughout his offensive struggles with the Yankees, he had a bobble during that game that opened the floodgates for the Red Sox.

“It’s been good to see him hitting the ball as hard as he has,” Boone said. “Hopefully he starts to get more results with it. I feel like he’s moving great in the field. But hopefully he can continue to build on what I feel like are good at-bats he’s having.”

One of the few bright spots of the Yankees’ series in Boston was Jake Bauers, who hit leadoff in each game and went 4-for-12 with three doubles and a walk.

“I’d rather have no doubles and a couple wins,” Bauers said.

The road ahead won’t get any easier for the Yankees’ scuffling offense against the Mariners.

On Tuesday, they have to face Rye native George Kirby, who threw eight shutout innings against the Yankees on May 31 in Seattle.

And on Wednesday, they will meet Luis Castillo, whom the Yankees had interest in at last year’s trade deadline but were unwilling to part with Anthony Volpe, allowing the Mariners to land Castillo from the Reds.