Aaron Boone has been criticized throughout his managerial career with the New York Yankees, whether it was for his decision-making or defending underperforming players. The criticism died down after the Yankees made it to the World Series for the first time since 2009. But since, the criticism returned in Game 1 after Boone's decisions to pull Gerrit Cole after 88 pitches and put in Nestor Cortes in the 10th inning, who surrendered a walk-off grand slam to Freddie Freeman, backfired.
Now, the Yankees return to the Bronx, down 2-0 in the World Series, with hopes they can either tie things up or take a 3-2 lead when all is said and done. The thing is, they need more than just Juan Soto, Giancarlo Stanton, and Gleyber Torres to hit the baseball. Some were calling for Boone to make changes to the lineup, whether it was to move a struggling Aaron Judge down the lineup or replace Alex Verdugo for Jasson Dominguez.
There was only one notable change that Boone made, and that was to start Jose Trevino at catcher over Austin Wells. This decision is a case of overthinking on Boone's part.
Let's start by saying this — Wells is struggling at the plate this postseason. Wells recorded a .098 batting average, a .159 on-base percentage, a .171 slugging percentage, one home run, one run, four RBI, four hits, and 18 strikeouts in 41 at-bats.
Trevino hasn't played much this postseason, but he made the most of his limited at-bats. Trevino did record one hit — an RBI single in Game 3 of the ALCS against the Cleveland Guardians. But there is one downside to playing Trevino, and that's his arm strength.
Throughout the season, opposing teams have stolen bases at will when Trevino is behind home plate. According to Baseball Savant, Trevino's arm strength measures at 72.9 mph, the lowest among all catchers in the majors. In 71 games as a catcher this season, baserunners stole 57 stolen bases, while catching just 13 stealing. Not ideal.
As Baseball Prospectus editor-in-chief Craig Goldstein pointed out, the Dodgers are not much of a base-stealing team (despite Shohei Ohtani recording 59 stolen bases), but he wouldn't be shocked if they decide to be a bit more aggressive on the basepaths in Game 3 on Monday.
they're not really a base-stealing team but they are pretty opportunistic. I agree Ohtani is probably not risking anything, but it wouldn't surprise me if most of the rest of the team was willing to run. https://t.co/eXkcGVjV2A
— crongstantinople (@cdgoldstein) October 28, 2024
The Dodgers as a team have 136 stolen bases in the regular season, the 10th most in baseball. Yet, this postseason, the Dodgers have 12 stolen bases, the most out of any team.
Yes, Trevino could provide a bit of spark into a Yankees batting order that desperately needs it. However, don't be surprised to see the Dodgers do what other teams have done this season, and that's steal bases on Trevino.
