Amed

Rosario

With left-hander Jeffrey Springs on the mound, the Yankees will give Jazz Chisholm the day off and let Rosario play second base and lead off. Rosario has been playing well to start the season and could push Ryan McMahon for playing time at third base if he keeps hitting well.

Rosario picked an opportune moment to record his first multi-homer performance since August 31, 2021. The 30-year-old utility specialist took Athletics starter Aaron Civale deep in the second inning before slugging a go-ahead three-run blast off reliever Mark Leiter Jr. in the eighth. He was responsible for manufacturing four of New York’s five runs on a frigid 40-degree evening at Yankee Stadium.

McMahon has been awful to begin the season, going 2-for-23 with an OPS of just .363. He’ll get a break even with right-hander Aaron Civale on the bump for the A’s, and Amed Rosario will get the start at third while hitting seventh.

McMahon is off to a rough start to the season, going 1-for-14 with seven strikeouts and two walks. McMahon also had a poor season last year, but had spent the offseason working on tweaking his stance and swing mechanics. So far, it has not worked. The Yankees will keep him in the lineup regularly because he plays good defense, but you have to wonder if Jose Caballero plays more third base once Anthony Volpe returns. Amed Rosario will start at third base on Wednesday and hit seventh.

No word yet on the reason for the move. Rosario is slated to open the season in a multi-faceted reserve role on New York’s bench. There should be an update on his status after the contest.

Rosario, who agreed to the deal over two weeks ago, is again signing very cheap at $2.5 million, but at least that’s $500,000 more than last year. He made $7.8 million in his final year of arbitration in 2023 and now a total of $5 million the three subsequent years. Rosario wound up hitting .276/.309/.436 in 191 plate appearances for the Nationals and Yankees last season. That was good for a 109 OPS+, the best mark of his career. The Yankees will likely primarily use him to spell corner infielders Ben Rice and Ryan McMahon against lefties. He’ll also be an option at shortstop while Anthony Volpe is out, but José Caballero figures to be the main guy there.

Rosario returns to New York in a bench role after slashing .276/.309/.436 with six homers, 23 RBI and one steal in 62 games between the Nationals and Yankees this past season. The 30-year-old veteran offers ample defensive versatility, logging time between four different positions last year, but he’s strictly a lefty-mashing platoon option at this stage of his career. He’ll presumably split time at the hot corner with Ryan McMahon next season. There’s minimal mixed-league fantasy appeal, though he retains some usefulness in AL-only formats — particularly daily leagues where his matchups against southpaws can be exploited.

Rosario broke a scoreless tie with an RBI single off of Connelly Early in the fourth inning after Cody Bellinger had reached on a bloop “double” that was really a routine fly ball that dropped due to miscommunication in the Red Sox’ outfield. He then came around to score on an error by Nathaniel Lowe. The next time Rosario takes the field it will be against the Blue Jays in the ALDS.

Rosario plays against most southpaws so it’s not surprising to see him manning the hot corner against Red Sox’ rookie left-hander Connelly Early. What is more surprising is that Paul Goldschmidt is not in the Bomber’s lineup against a left-hander, as Yankees’ skipper Aaron Boone has opted to stick with the hot-hitting Ben Rice at first base. Here’s how the Yankees will line up in full as they play for their postseason lives: Trent Grisham (CF), Aaron Judge (RF), Cody Bellinger (LF), Giancarlo Stanton (DH), Ben Rice (1B), Amed Rosario (3B), Jazz Chisholm Jr. (2B), Anthony Volpe (SS) and Austin Wells (C).

Chisholm will get a rare night off with left-hander Cade Povich toeing the slab for the Orioles. Amed Rosario will start in his place at second base and will bat fifth for the Bombers on Thursday evening in Baltimore.