CLEVELAND — When Aaron Hicks arrived from the Twins, the Yankees believed they were getting an above-average switch-hitting outfielder who would hurt left-handed pitching.
Now, with the All-Star break approaching Monday, Joe Girardi is using Rob Refsnyder over Hicks in right field.
“Obviously, the better he plays, the more he is going to play,” Girardi said of Refsnyder, who started in right for a second straight game Friday night in a 10-2 loss to the Indians at Progressive Field. “I am trotting him out, and he is getting pretty consistent at-bats. I want him to stay productive.”
Refsnyder has started five of the past seven games at three positions — right field, second base and first base. During that stretch, he is 3-for-15 (.200) with two RBIs. He went hitless against the Indians’ Corey Kluber on Friday. Overall, Refsnyder is hitting .286 (22-for-77) in 28 games.
Hicks has struggled from the start of the season and is batting .199 after striking out in his only at-bat Friday night. Against left-handers, he is hitting an anemic .151 (11-for-73).
Carlos Beltran won’t need a glove Saturday and Sunday because Girardi doesn’t want to use the switch-hitter in right field.
“My preference is not to play him,’’ said Girardi, who has used Beltran in right field once since he returned from a right hamstring injury June 30. “We only have three more games and try to protect him. See about the outfield after the break.”
Beltran went 1-for-4 with a run scored Friday
Entering the final week of spring training, Bryan Mitchell had a bullpen spot locked and was considered by some an upgrade in the middle relief/spot starter role Adam Warren had filled so well last season. Then Mitchell suffered a fractured right toe, and he likely won’t return this year.
For the first two months of the season, Kirby Yates and Nick Goody handled the bridge work from the starter to Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman. However, that didn’t last, and the area has become a problem.
Nathan Eovaldi was shifted from the rotation to the pen this week, and appeared in relief Wednesday when he threw two scoreless innings in a 5-0 loss to the White Sox in Chicago.
Yankees outfield prospect Aaron Judge left the game Friday night at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with an apparent injury to his leg. He limped off the field, but there was no further news on his condition.