TAMPA — The players competing to be the Yankees’ starting left fielder held their own home run derby on Saturday, with almost all of the candidates getting involved.
Aaron Hicks, Willie Calhoun, Oswaldo Cabrera and Rafael Ortega each belted home runs during the Yankees’ 14-10 loss to the Rays at Steinbrenner Field, while Estevan Florial added the hardest-hit ball of the day, a 108.1 mph line-drive single up the middle to top it off.
“It’s good to see those guys performing and playing well and keeping themselves in the mix, for sure,” manager Aaron Boone said.
Asked recently if left field was Hicks’ job to lose, Boone was noncommittal, but the veteran outfielder appears set on making sure he wins it.
“I just gotta have a good spring training,” Hicks said after going 1-for-2 with the 404-foot home run off Rays minor league right-hander Evan McKendry.
Aaron HicksCharles Wenzelberg / New York Post“Have a good spring training, play solid defense and pretty much make it to a point where I’m in there every single day and we never have to talk about this again,” Hicks added with a laugh, referring to the left-field battle.
Hicks has been encouraged in the early going by how he feels at the plate after he made an offseason adjustment to raise his hands higher in his batting stance. The tweak has allowed him to be shorter to the ball, with more time to see pitches before making a decision to swing.
“Being able to adjust to pitches a lot better than I have in the past,” said Hicks, now batting 3-for-10 through four games. “So things are definitely starting to feel good, starting to click.”
Ortega’s home run was his second in as many games, while Calhoun improved to hitting 6-for-11 through five games. Both are left-handed hitting, non-roster invitees.
Luis Severino made his second start of the spring, building his pitch count to 49 while giving up three runs on two hits — both home runs — and a walk over 2 ²/₃ innings.
Six of his eight outs came via the strikeout and he was pleased with how his slider improved from his first outing.
“Just worked a little bit more in the bullpen on it,” he said. “It got really good actually. The shape was good, location was good.
“I think for me, it was a really positive outing.”
Aaron Judge took fly balls in left field Saturday morning, part of his preparation for playing a game there next week — likely on Wednesday or Thursday.
Boone has said he will get Judge time in left field this spring in order to give the Yankees the option of playing him there and using Giancarlo Stanton in right field on occasion at Yankee Stadium.
