Alex Verdugo's timing was certainly ironic.
Competition may indeed breed excellence, or at least improve outcomes.
The controversial left fielder gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead with a two-run homer in the fourth inning of the Yankees' 10-4 win over the Royals in the Bronx on Monday night.
Verdugo had been at bat 52 times since his last home run.
But it was just Verdugo's second at-bat since Yankees top prospect Jason Dominguez was called up to the major league roster.
Verdugo, who hit the game-winning single for the Yankees on Monday, started in left field with Dominguez in center field, but it's likely that Dominguez will take the most of Verdugo's minutes.
Center fielder Aaron Judge served as the designated hitter for Monday's game after manager Aaron Boone rested regular designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton.
“[Dominguez] “He's going to come here, play and help the team win,” Verdugo said after the game. “I don't know what that means, but right? If I lose some playing time, I just lose some playing time. At the end of the day, I want to win. The only thing that matters is getting to the playoffs and winning there.”
On Friday, general manager Brian Cashman backed Verdugo to continue in left field, saying “he's playing well right now” and gives the team the best chance to win.
He also defended the decision not to immediately call up Dominguez, who drew heavy criticism when rosters were expanded on Sept. 1.
From now on, the daily conversation will be whether Boone will pitch to Verdugo, who was 1-for-4 on Monday, or Dominguez.
Boone said Monday that Dominguez will generally play “a lot.”
Boone and Verdugo said after the game that they hadn't yet discussed what Dominguez's addition means for Verdugo.
“I feel like his at-bats have been getting better the last few weeks,” Boone said after the game. “That was a big home run. … It's important to be professional at this time of year and he definitely had a professional at-bat tonight.”
Verdugo, who the Yankees acquired from the Red Sox last offseason and is in the final year of his contract, entered Monday's game with a dismal batting average of .235/.295 on-base percentage/.356 slugging percentage with a .651 OPS and an OPS-plus of 83.
And since the All-Star break, his form has worsened, with his OPS in the second half of the season being .609 as of Monday.
But there's reason for optimism these days. Verdugo has had 18 hits in 54 at-bats (.333) since getting new gloves on Aug. 24 after discovering he was allergic to his old ones.
“I'm feeling better,” Verdugo said. “I'm just trying to pace myself, get a little bit more balanced and just focus on getting my at-bats again. I'm not trying to force results.”
