Deivi delivers in latest bid for rotation spot

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Deivi García’s first outing of the spring was marred by two mistakes, both of which landed beyond the outfield walls. This time the Yankees right-hander returned to the clubhouse satisfied by each of his 37 pitches.

“I felt really good today,” said García, who struck out five over three scoreless innings in the Yankees’ 6-5 loss to the Tigers. “All of my pitches were working exactly how I wanted them to work. There were a couple of situations where I was able to execute a certain pitch in a certain count. That’s something that I wanted to do.”

Improving upon his March 4 effort against the Phillies, García appeared to be in command of Detroit’s lineup on a breezy afternoon at Publix Field, scattering two hits without a walk. He induced double-play grounders in each of his first two innings, then finished strong by striking out the side in the third.

“He was so pitch-efficient, we had him go down to finish up in the bullpen,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I thought it was really good use of all his pitches; he changed speeds so well. He used the changeup in some big spots where he needed to, dialed up the fastball at the top of the zone and really spun it well. I thought it was a really good day for Deivi.”

Ranked as the Yankees’ No. 3 prospect by MLB Pipeline, the 21-year-old García (born in 1999) said that he got a kick out of facing Miguel Cabrera, who made his Major League debut in 2003. Cabrera reached on a single in the second inning, then was erased by a double play.

“It was fun to see a guy like [Cabrera] and have the opportunity to face him,” García said. “Then you’ve got to execute and do your job. It gives you confidence to execute against a player with that many years in the big leagues.”

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With the first four spots in the rotation assured, García is battling Domingo Germán, Michael King and others for the No. 5 slot. Boone is not interested in a six-man rotation, though he expects that the club will use more than five starters, slotting in additional arms when needed.

“There are spots where we build in some protection, whether it's inserting a sixth starter at different times or getting creative with off-days,” Boone said. “Not only Domingo and Deivi, but really the entire staff. … It's something that we'll be paying very close attention to all year.”

Wall banger

Clint Frazier crashed into the left-field fence in pursuit of Willi Castro’s homer off Luis Cessa in the fourth inning, prompting concern, as he appeared to be shaken up.

Frazier’s back hit the wall and he fell to the warning track, drawing Boone and athletic trainer Alfonso Malaguti out for a chat. Frazier remained in the game, then batted in the next half-inning.

“He hit the wall pretty well right there,” said Aaron Hicks, who was playing center field. “I ran over just to see how he was feeling. I’ve had concussions, and it took a while to be comfortable being around the wall again, so I wanted to see how he was feeling. He seemed like he was doing OK, so hopefully that continues.”

In February 2018, Frazier sustained a concussion after colliding with a fence in pursuit of a fly ball. The effects of his post-concussion syndrome lasted into 2020, when he said that he was finally free of any lingering sensitivity. Boone said that Frazier indicated Tuesday’s play was not nearly as violent.

“He was very clear-eyed and he said he was fine,” Boone said. “[He] knows what it feels like when you hit the wall, and he said it was nothing like that. He actually was good to stay in; I just decided to err on the side of caution instead of having to stick around for a third at-bat potentially as late as the seventh or eighth inning. He checked out here before he left; everything was good.”

Aces high

Gerrit Cole enjoys speaking the language of pitching, and that especially holds true with someone of Corey Kluber’s caliber. The two-time Cy Young Award winner said that he and Cole have had the opportunity to compare notes during this camp.

“It’s been fun,” Kluber said. “Whether it's him talking to me about my stuff or vice versa, I think there's been some good conversations there. It can open your eyes to other things or make you think about something in a different way than maybe you have previously. Especially with teams in the division that you face all the time, we’ll learn from each other.”

Kluber has also enjoyed tinkering with the Yankees' high-tech equipment behind the scenes, including the "gas station" area at the player development complex, where he has been intrigued by data that shows the shape of his pitches and the separation between speeds.

“It's interesting to me, all the other different tools that they can show you, whether it's video or numbers or things like that,” Kluber said.

Bombers bits

• Tuesday was Boone’s 48th birthday. “My wife [Laura] sent me a message real early and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, it is my birthday,’” he said. “I’m getting so old, I’m starting to forget them.”

• Jay Bruce is making a strong bid for a roster spot. The veteran outfielder/first baseman slugged his second homer of the spring on Tuesday, a two-run shot off Tigers starter Spencer Turnbull in the second inning.

• Gary Sánchez cracked his third homer of the spring, a solo blast off Daniel Norris that struck about halfway up a large light standard in left field.

Up next

The Yankees will be under the lights on Wednesday, hosting the Pirates at 6:35 p.m. ET. New York’s starter is TBA; Aroldis Chapman and Chad Green are scheduled to pitch in relief. Left-hander Tyler Anderson will start for Pittsburgh. The game can be seen on MLB.TV and YES Network, and can be heard on WFAN.