MINNEAPOLIS — Concerns about difficult overnight travel to Baltimore played a role in the New York Yankees’ lineup planning for Wednesday night’s game against the Minnesota Twins, resulting in Giancarlo Stanton and Austin Wells being on the bench.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the Yankees didn’t expect to reach Baltimore until sometime around 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. ET on Thursday ahead of their 7:05 p.m. first pitch against the Orioles.
They had planned to fly into Dulles International Airport and drive 80 minutes to their team hotel in Baltimore, avoiding the more convenient Baltimore/Washington International Airport, which had scheduled runway closures.
Major League Baseball cleared the Yankees to fly directly into Baltimore early Thursday, but Yankees players preferred to arrive in the city as soon as possible, according to a team source with knowledge of the situation.
“Absurd” was how one prominent member of the Yankees described the Twins’ decision to schedule a night game Wednesday, with the team needing to play in Baltimore the following night. The Yankees also didn’t get into Minnesota until well past midnight Monday, after Sunday night’s loss to the Red Sox in Boston. They ended up losing 7-0 to the Twins on Monday, looking flat and lethargic.
A BWI spokesperson told The Athletic the runway closures planned for early Thursday morning, which had necessitated the club’s planned flight to Dulles, had been pushed to early Friday morning due to concern over the forecasted weather.
Manager Aaron Boone mentioned the commute when explaining why Stanton and Wells weren’t playing in the series finale versus the Twins, which the Yankees won 10-5.
Asked whether Stanton was healthy despite being out of the lineup, Boone told reporters: “Yeah, he’s good. I felt like he probably needed this one (off) today. And then, again, with us — another late travel day — going into two lefties with Baltimore, (I) really prefer him (to be) available in those situations.”
Stanton has a career .947 OPS versus left-handed pitching, and the Orioles are slated to start southpaws Cade Povich and Trevor Rogers on Thursday and Friday.
Regarding Wells and the decision to start Ben Rice behind the plate instead, Boone seemed to indicate he was treating the situation like a day game following a night game.
“With us getting in tomorrow morning probably sometime, it’s like, one’s catching,” Boone said. “So, I felt like this one made the most sense (to sit Wells).”
Wells ended up getting one at-bat in Wednesday’s win.
The Yankees are also starting ace Max Fried on Thursday versus the Orioles. Wells has caught 26 of his 30 starts this season. Rice hasn’t caught any.
Boone said the Yankees wouldn’t use the difficult travel as an excuse, though he added that he’s had conversations with MLB about teams scheduling night games on getaway days for the Yankees.
“It is what it is,” he said. “Everyone has to deal with it in some way, shape or form, but the bottom line is we have to go out there and perform regardless of what a getaway day looks like.”
(Photo of Aaron Boone: Daniel Bartel / Getty Images)