How Yankees’ Amed Rosario, key in win over Red Sox, packed more punch into his swing

BOSTON — Fresh off a down year and looking for any edge he could find, Amed Rosario first sought the help of Driveline, the high-tech, data-driven player development organization, after the 2023 season.

He initially went to the company’s facility in Seattle before switching to Driveline’s Tampa, Fla., locale this past offseason. Aided by coaches Maxx Garrett and Travis Fitta — the latter also worked with New York Yankees teammate José Caballero over the offseason and has since been hired by the Washington Nationals — the group focused on adding some pop to Rosario’s bat. Monitored by Blast Motion and HitTrax, the utilityman drilled countless pitches throughout Driveline’s batting cages as exit velocity readings were relayed on a screen.

The Yankees are now reaping the benefits of that work after trading for Rosario last summer and re-signing him for $2.5 million over the offseason. The latest example came Wednesday, as the right-handed hitter crushed a three-run, first-inning homer off Boston Red Sox lefty Ranger Suarez and over The Green Monster in the Bombers’ 4-1, series-securing win at Fenway Park.

Rosario, who added a 104.4-mph sac fly in the third inning, drove the 416-foot dinger at 108.4 mph.

After totaling four RBI on Wednesday, Rosario, who was replaced by the lefty-swinging Ben Rice in the sixth inning, is now hitting .265 with four home runs, 13 RBI, an .880 OPS and a 138 wRC+ over 17 games this season. Not bad for a role player on a cheap deal.

While the sample size is still small, underlying metrics suggest that Rosario, who owns a modest .709 career OPS, could continue to produce at a high level.

Entering Wednesday, the 30-year-old’s average bat speed was a career-high 74.3 mph, up from 73.2 mph in 2025 and 71.7 mph for his career. His .578 xSLG was in the 93rd percentile, and his .387 xwOBA and .285 xBA were in the 86th and 82nd percentile, respectively.

All three numbers were above career norms, some drastically so. The same could be said of Rosario’s Barrel% (12.2), Launch Angle (11.5 degrees) and frequency of balls hit in the air (53.7%).