Alex Rodriguez back taking grounders at first base

New York Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez swings and misses during his first at-bat during the second inning of a baseball game, Friday, July 15, 2016, in New York. The season was off to a rough start from the beginning, as Chapman was suspended the first 30 games of the season under MLB’s new domestic violence policy, and rookie first baseman Greg Bird, who batted.261 in 46 games, underwent surgery to fix a Labrum tear in his right shoulder and was ruled out for the entire 2016 season. “But I think it’s more mental for him, because he is an infielder who knows how to catch the ball and knows how to throw the ball, so it’s just feeling comfortable around the bag”.

So the decision for A-Rod to revisit the possibility of playing some first base is clearly meant to eke out a few more at-bats for Rodriguez, who is five home runs short of 700 and 12 days shy of 41 years old. “[But] he wants to try it again”.

Rodriguez is hitting.221 with eight homers and 28 RBIs in 190 at-bats, including.202 with five homers and 17 RBIs in 129 at-bats against righties. “I thought his split was more consistent. He gets fairly sore”, Girardi said.

That dropped the Yankees to 44-45 and 5.5 games back of the Blue Jays (51-41) for the second Wild Card in the American League. The Yankees bullpen has also been dominant, featuring relievers Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, and Chapman. “He’ll have to work there a little bit, and then you go from there”, Girardi said. “He came to us, and I’m not going to deny a player a chance, in that sense, so the fact that he wants to try to get comfortable is a good sign”. “I don’t know, but we’re going to put him through some of the work to see where he’s at”. Hitting in the third spot in the Yankees’ batting order tonight, Beltran does not look to be set to retire after the season, so it’s a near-certainty the veteran will move into the top 50 all-time in this category.

“It’s just not executing when he needs to execute”, Girardi said. Every loss increases the sense of urgency. Of course, he’ll ultimately have the final say in the matter – his full no-trade clause allows him to determine his immediate future in pinstripes.

The downs of the season include Yankees having a weak first month, going 8-14 in April and starter Luis Severino starting the the season 0-6 in seven starts with a 7.46 ERA before going on the 15-day disabled list due to right triceps inflammation, and being opted to Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, announced by Donald Trump as his pick for Republican vice presidential nominee, was in the crowd of 47,459, the Yankees’ fourth home sellout this season.