New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone was delayed from getting to his pregame press conference for 30 minutes because he was having a conversation with third baseman Josh Donaldson, and Donaldson explained what the meeting was about after the Yankees' 5-3 win over the Texas Rangers on Sunday.
“A lot of baseball stuff,” Josh Donaldson said about his conversation with Aaron Boone, via Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. “Personal stories and stuff like that. I don't think it's as serious as what you guys are trying to make it out to be.”
Boone has left Donaldson out of the starting lineup for three games in a row. He pinch hit in Friday's extra-inning loss to the Rangers, but other than that, he has not played.
Despite sitting out for multiple days, Boone said that Donaldson is still going to play a lot during his pregame press conference, according to Kirschner.
Article Continues BelowBoone's late arrival to his press conference spawned a lot of speculation from Yankees fans about Donaldson being designated for assignment. With being out of the lineup for three games in a row, it seemed like the perfect storm. Donaldson is hitting .125 with a .197 on-base percentage this season, according to Fangraphs.
Recently, Boone gave infielder DJ LeMahieu multiple days off in the first two games of the Seattle Mariners series. He wanted to give DJ LeMahieu some days off to work on some things to help with his struggles.
It remains to be seen how much longer Donaldson has left with the Yankees. If his production does not improve, his days might be numbered.