Three key Yankees hitters are absent from Tuesday's lineup against the Angels, including two former All-Stars and the player with the highest OPS in the league. Paul Goldschmidt, Amed Rosario, and Randal Grichuk are set to play instead.
Three Yankees hitters who are strangely absent from Tuesday's lineup against Angels originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The New York Yankees are running out an interesting lineup on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Angels.
There are three notable names missing from the batting order. Two of them are former multiple-time All-Stars, and the other leads the Majors with a 1.253 OPS.
Against Angels left-hander Reid Detmers, Paul Goldschmidt will start at first base in place of Ben Rice. The struggling Jazz Chisholm Jr. takes a seat on the bench as Amed Rosario will handle second base duties.
Lastly, Cody Bellinger gets a day off as Randal Grichuk starts in left field.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone is clearly prioritizing right-handed hitting against a lefty. The only problem is that Detmers performs worse against lefty bats compared to those who swing from the right-handed side of the batter's box.
"Lefties have a career .764 OPS vs. a .740 OPS for righties against Reid Detmers." The Athletic's Chris Kirschner wrote on X. "But no Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger, or Jazz Chisholm Jr. today."
There's an argument to be made that Rice should be playing as much as possible. He's a blossoming star, and Goldschmidt, though a potential future Hall of Famer, is nearing the end of his illustrious career.
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Chisholm has struck out in 29.2% of his plate appearances, but roped a leadoff single in the bottom of the ninth of last night's 11-10 comeback victory. He may not be turning a corner with one hit, however.
Bellinger is arguably one of the best left-handed hitters against southpaws in the Majors, collecting more walks (18) than strikeouts (17) with a 1.016 OPS in 153 at-bats in 2025.
It's just one game, but Yankees fans will have to live with the fact that their star players are going to get a day off their feet once in a while. Still, given Detmers' career splits, it's an interesting day to make these decisions.
The article does not specify the reasons for their absence, but it highlights that two are former All-Stars and one leads the league in OPS.
The players absent from the lineup include Jazz Chisholm Jr., Cody Bellinger, and Ben Rice.
The changes are notable as they involve key players, including those with strong performance records, which could impact the team's competitiveness in the game.
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