Aaron Boone has left no doubt Gary Sanchez will be behind the plate for the Yankees in the wild-card game, regardless of who is pitching.
Asked on Saturday if Sanchez — who has struggled defensively throughout his career — definitely would be the starting catcher for the win-or-go home game, Boone said: “Yeah.”
The manager added he didn’t anticipate replacing Sanchez with Austin Romine late in the game.
Boone did concede Sanchez needs to be better defensively.
“He continues to work on it,” Boone said before the Yankees faced the Orioles. “He needs to continue to be better at it. But I would say the vast majority of the work he’s done [defensively] has been positive.”
Boone said he believes Sanchez has been better since he returned from a second stint on the disabled list. Saturday was Sanchez’s 15th game behind the plate since coming back. He made a throwing error on a stolen base attempt on Friday and has four of his 14 passed balls this season since then.
“There have been some games where he’s had a major impact on the defensive side of the ball,’’ Boone said. “He’ll work on getting more and more consistent because we feel he can make a high-end impact when he’s right.”
Boone said he believes Sanchez has been able slow down opponents’ running games and that he calls and receives pitches well.
As for the horrific first inning Sept. 5 at Oakland, when he allowed a pair of passed balls with Luis Severino on the mound, Boone said that was more of a “sign and communication thing.”
Sanchez has been even more disappointing offensively. He entered Saturday just 9-for-54 with two homers and a pair of doubles since returning from his second groin injury.
“I still go back to just thinking he’s such a natural hitter that I think it’s hard to hold those guys down for such a long period,’’ Boone said. “That’s what I’m going on and hopefully there is that stretch in him where he really gains some momentum with some good, positive at-bats where he gets some results and it snowballs from there.”
Andrew McCutchen has started each of his past four games in left field, including Saturday and Boone said he is impressed by how well the veteran outfielder has dealt with the switch from center and right.
“I was talking to [outfield coach] Reggie Willits and we’re pleased with the transition,’’ Boone said. “[McCutchen] seems fairly comfortable and has made all the plays. It’s been a positive first few days.”
The Yankees were confident McCutchen could deal with the vast left field at Yankee Stadium, but there were some concerns.
“I wasn’t worried about his buy-in or ability to do it over the long haul,’’ Boone said. “But any time you go to a different side of the field, there’s still absolutely an adjustment that needs to be made. You never know for sure.”
Aaron Hicks had an extra-base hit in each of his previous three games.
“I think he’s one of the most underrated players in the game,’’ Boone said. “He’s overlooked with our club, which you und with some of our star players. But even when he’s in a funk and not getting hits, he’s always still getting on base.”
Hicks leads the Yankees by a considerable margin with 89 walks.
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