German

Rosario

Rosario, who agreed to the deal over two weeks ago, is again signing very cheap at $2.5 million, but at least that’s $500,000 more than last year. He made $7.8 million in his final year of arbitration in 2023 and now a total of $5 million the three subsequent years. Rosario wound up hitting .276/.309/.436 in 191 plate appearances for the Nationals and Yankees last season. That was good for a 109 OPS+, the best mark of his career. The Yankees will likely primarily use him to spell corner infielders Ben Rice and Ryan McMahon against lefties. He’ll also be an option at shortstop while Anthony Volpe is out, but José Caballero figures to be the main guy there.

Rosario returns to New York in a bench role after slashing .276/.309/.436 with six homers, 23 RBI and one steal in 62 games between the Nationals and Yankees this past season. The 30-year-old veteran offers ample defensive versatility, logging time between four different positions last year, but he’s strictly a lefty-mashing platoon option at this stage of his career. He’ll presumably split time at the hot corner with Ryan McMahon next season. There’s minimal mixed-league fantasy appeal, though he retains some usefulness in AL-only formats — particularly daily leagues where his matchups against southpaws can be exploited.

Rosario broke a scoreless tie with an RBI single off of Connelly Early in the fourth inning after Cody Bellinger had reached on a bloop “double” that was really a routine fly ball that dropped due to miscommunication in the Red Sox’ outfield. He then came around to score on an error by Nathaniel Lowe. The next time Rosario takes the field it will be against the Blue Jays in the ALDS.

Rosario plays against most southpaws so it’s not surprising to see him manning the hot corner against Red Sox’ rookie left-hander Connelly Early. What is more surprising is that Paul Goldschmidt is not in the Bomber’s lineup against a left-hander, as Yankees’ skipper Aaron Boone has opted to stick with the hot-hitting Ben Rice at first base. Here’s how the Yankees will line up in full as they play for their postseason lives: Trent Grisham (CF), Aaron Judge (RF), Cody Bellinger (LF), Giancarlo Stanton (DH), Ben Rice (1B), Amed Rosario (3B), Jazz Chisholm Jr. (2B), Anthony Volpe (SS) and Austin Wells (C).

Chisholm will get a rare night off with left-hander Cade Povich toeing the slab for the Orioles. Amed Rosario will start in his place at second base and will bat fifth for the Bombers on Thursday evening in Baltimore.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone will roll with a righty-heavy approach against Red Sox lefty ace Garrett Crochet during Saturday afternoon’s matinee with Chisholm in addition to fellow lefties Ben Rice and Ryan McMahon on the bench. It’ll be speedster José Caballero and veteran Amed Rosario on the infield with Giancarlo Stanton heading out to right field.

It was a minimum stint on the injured list for Rosario after he suffered a left SC joint sprain. He should see playing time against southpaws at a variety of positions now that he’s healthy enough to play them.

Amed Rosario is set to come off the injured list on Tuesday. Escarra got one at-bat in nine days with the Yankees and produced an RBI groundout.

Rosario becomes the latest of New York’s trade deadline acquisitions to hit the shelf after running into the outfield wall during Friday’s series opener against the Astros and suffering a shoulder sprain. The 29-year-old’s absence is a hit to the Yankees bench depth as he provided a ton of defensive versatility. He told reporters he expects to be activated following a minimum stay on the injured list, which puts him back at some point in late August.

It’s a bizarre lineup from Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who appears to be trying to shake things up on the night before Aaron Judge is eligible to be activated from the injured list. Not only is Rosario near the top of the order behind veteran leadoff specialist Paul Goldschmidt, but Austin Slater is batting fifth behind Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton with lefty Patrick Corbin on the hill for Texas.