Earlier this week, Aaron Boone mentioned that Aaron Choose’s return to proper discipline might pop up “out of the blue.”
Lo and behold, the letters “RF” have been written subsequent to Choose’s identify with out prior warning when the Yankees unveiled their Friday night time lineup for a highly-anticipated series-opener towards the Blue Jays. Choose final performed protection on July 25, as he had been restricted to DH duties since coming back from a proper flexor pressure on Aug. 5.
Choose had concurrently been slowly working by means of a throwing program since coming off the injured listing.
“I’m excited to get him back out there,” Boone mentioned Friday, noting Choose restores some athleticism to the Yankees’ outfield. “Hopefully it goes effectively and he continues to construct up as we go.
“Hopefully it’s something that brings us a spark.”
Boone mentioned that the choice to place Choose again in proper discipline adopted a couple of good days of labor, in addition to conversations with the captain and workforce trainers. Nevertheless, Boone doesn’t plan on Choose taking part in proper day by day “initially.”
Requested what the plan is for Choose’s outfield utilization, Boone mentioned, “We’ll see how Aaron responds day in and day out coming out of these games.”
The supervisor added that Choose will share outfield begins with Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton, solely a DH in 2024, started taking part in protection once more whereas Choose was restricted to DH duties over the previous month.
Just a few different questions on Choose didn’t get concrete solutions on Friday, although that’s been par for the course since his throwing program started.
When requested if Choose could have any restrictions throwing-wise, Boone mentioned, “We’ll see.”
When requested if Choose was in a position to let it rip throughout his throwing program, Boone mentioned, “We’re ready to go with him in play.”
Shortly after Boone’s oblique reply, Choose needed to make his first throw again within the outfield when Nathan Lukes hit a bases-loaded single to proper within the first inning of Friday’s recreation. One run was a given on the play, however Toronto scored two as Choose flipped a brief, smooth throw to cutoff man Jazz Chisholm Jr. as a substitute of firing residence.
That allowed Daulton Varsho to attain although he had but to the touch third base when Choose, usually in possession of a deterring proper arm, fielded the ball.
Tasked with throwing for the primary time again in proper discipline, Aaron Choose flipped a brief toss to Jazz Chisholm Jr. when there was a shot to get Daulton Varsho on the plate. #Yankees pic.twitter.com/Zr2FP4p7GW
All through the course of his throwing program, Choose hardly ever appeared to method max effort or velocity when throwing in entrance of reporters, although media members didn’t see all of his periods.
On Thursday in Houston, Choose made a handful of throws from proper discipline to residence plate. He largely hit a cutoff man.
Again on Aug. 19, Boone informed WFAN that he didn’t assume Choose would throw “normally” for the remainder of the season. Nevertheless, he walked that again when he spoke to reporters later that day in Tampa, calling his radio remark overstated.
Minutes later, Choose, by no means keen to debate his accidents, took subject with Boone’s WFAN quote.
“I don’t know why he said that,” Choose mentioned. “He hasn’t seen me throw for the past two weeks, so I’m pretty confident I’ll get back to [100 percent].”
Volpe Sits
Anthony Volpe was not within the lineup for the Yankees’ opener towards the Blue Jays. As an alternative, José Caballero began at shortstop.
Boone mentioned that the Yankees’ journey plans — they returned from Houston early Friday morning — and Volpe’s numbers towards Toronto starter Kevin Gausman factored into the choice. Volpe is 3-for-24 with 10 strikeouts towards Gausman in his profession.
Volpe can also be coming off a foul sequence towards the Astros, and he entered Friday’s recreation 3-for-18 with eight strikeouts over his final 5 contests. Volpe was additionally 15-for-100 (.150) with a .469 OPS since recording a four-hit recreation on Aug. 1.
Slater Returns
The Yankees improved their bench Friday, as outfielder Austin Slater returned from a hamstring damage. Catcher J.C. Escarra was optioned to Triple-A on Thursday to make room for Slater.
Acquired from the White Sox previous to the commerce deadline, the Yankees bought Slater as a result of he’s a “lefty killer,” as Boone put it. The proper-handed swinger entered Friday with an .814 OPS towards lefties this season and a .795 mark for his profession.
Jays Shuffle Rotation
With Gausman beginning for Toronto on Friday, Max Scherzer was supposed to begin on Saturday, whereas Chris Bassitt was supposed to begin on Sunday.
Nevertheless, the Blue Jays determined to flip-flop Scherzer and Bassitt, giving the previous an additional day of relaxation following some again tightness.
Initially Printed: September 5, 2025 at 6:03 PM EDT
