There was a time when Yankees’ Isiah Kiner-Falefa drew the same amount of ire as Josh Donaldson from fans. Now, he’s threatening to overtake Donaldson as the team’s everyday third baseman.
The 28-year-old super-utility started at third base in the Yankees’ 8-4 win over the Orioles on Tuesday. Donaldson and D.J. LeMaheiu, who have started a combined 66 of the team’s 86 games at third base, sat on the bench.
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Kiner-Falefa has played formidably at third, sporting a decent .963 fielding percentage. He’s also wielding a hot bat as of late.
In his last 11 games, he’s hitting .406 with a 1.118 OPS behind two doubles, two homers and eight RBIs.
Can IKF be the team’s go-to guy at the hot corner? Aaron Boone isn’t writing off the idea.
“We’ll see,’’ he said via Dan Martin of The New York Post. “[Kiner-Falefa] has played really well at a lot of different positions and played a lot of outfield. It’s just a good brand of baseball: good at-bats and he brings a speed element to the game. We’ll see [where he plays] as we move forward.
“He’s earned himself a lot of playing time.”
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Boone doesn’t have many options at third base. Donaldson, who is owed $27 million – $21 million salary plus a $6 million buyout for next season – is struggling. His .131 batting average is the worst in the AL among hitters with at least 90 plate appearances.
LeMahieu, who’s under contract through 2026, hasn’t been much better. He’s hitting just .221 with a .650 OPS.
It appears Boone doesn’t have many more options. Expect to see more of Kiner-Falefa at third base.
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