Yankees first baseman Luke Voit really did try his best to say all the right things Sunday after his first game since his dream world was turned upside down.
His initial reaction to the Yankees trading for Anthony Rizzo?
“I’m glad he’s a part of the team,” Voit said from the Yankee Stadium Zoom room after he was activated from the injured list and went 0-for-4 in the Yankees’ 2-0 loss to the Seattle Mariners.
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Voit wasn’t believable claiming he’s happy that his GM traded for a star first baseman just as he was finally healthy and about to return. Voit eventually admitted that the Rizzo trade was “frustrating.” He also admitted that he’ll be playing for “29 other teams” that might want him next season while “playing his heart out” to try to help the Yankees for the remainder of this season in whatever role he’s thrown into … “whether that’s on the bench or playing first or DH-ing or whatever.”
Voit rejoined the Yankees on Sunday after three Triple-A rehab games because Rizzo, a three-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner, tested positive for COVID after Saturday’s game, his ninth since being traded by the Chicago Cubs on July 29, the day before baseball’s trade deadline.
The Yankees pushed hard to trade Voit after acquiring Rizzo, and that stung.
“After the Rizzo thing … my name was getting thrown out there a lot,” Voit said. “As much as you can watch (the trade rumors), you have no idea. With all the rumblings and stuff, it was more I left my phone on the table and if something happened, it happened. Luckily, I’m still a New York Yankee.”
Voit loved starting his career with his hometown St. Louis Cardinals, but that was nothing to making it big with the Yankees. They were the ones that really gave him a shot to play, and he took it like a bull knocking down a barn door. That was fitting for a very strong and big man whose determination matches his tremendous right-handed power.
Voit was the Yankees’ iron man in 2020 playing more than anyone on his club, 56 of 60 games, and most of them hobbling on a very sore foot that was surgically repaired after the season. Voit didn’t just persevere. He led the majors with 22 homers and emerged as the vocal leader on a ballclub that had to fight and claw its way to another playoff berth.
This year, Voit showed up for spring training determined to prove to naysayers that he was no short-season flash in the pan. Confident and outspoken, Voit said that he wanted to lead the league in homers again.
Five months and a week into the 2021 campaign, Voit has as many IL stints as homers, three in 30 games.
His knee soreness in spring training supposedly was nothing, but led to a March surgery to repair a torn meniscus and then missing the Yankees’ first 33 games before his May 11 season debut. By May 26, he was back on the IL with a right oblique strain, which led to 23 missed games. He returned to the IL for a third time on July 12 with left knee inflammation and was sidelined for 21 more games before returning Sunday.
All the while, the Yankees were sputtering along barely playing .500 baseball for much of the season, and offensive struggles from a lineup overloaded with right-handed hitters often was a main culprit. Before the trade deadline, Brian Cashman balanced things out trading for two very big left-handed bats, All-Star outfielder Joey Gallo on July 28 and Rizzo the next day.
“I get it,” Voit said. “I haven’t been around a lot this year. I guess the right opportunity came up for the front office to do something. I’ve played 20-some games this year.”
Rizzo was a hit right away for the Yankees, homering in his first two games and delivering a game-tying, eighth-inning single in his third during a road sweep of the Miami Marlins two weekends ago. A week later, Rizzo is out at least 10 days and Voit is back eager to show everyone that he’s healthy and still can be a difference-making offensive force.
“I can go every day,” Voit said. “I’ve had like 100 off days this year, so I’m good.”
Voit looked rusty on Sunday. Facing Seattle lefty Yusei Kikuchi, he struck out twice, once with the bases loaded, and popped up to short with two on and two out. Against Mariners righty Drew Steckenrider, Voit scorched a grounder to short in his last plate appearance that J.P. Crawford made a good play on.
“I thought the at-bats got better as it went on,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I think he made a nice adjustment to Kikuchi by his third at-bat, but he probably left the zone a little bit more than he’d like.”
Voit was disappointed with his results, but he’s thrilled to be healthy. Going by his rehab games at-bats, he’s confident he’ll soon be back in his 2020 form.
“On my rehab I was hitting balls really good,” Voit said. “I was hitting balls like I did last year. I feel great. It’s probably the best I’ve felt in a long time. Obviously, the results weren’t there (Sunday). I let the team down in two spots — big spots to drive in runs — but overall I’m glad to be back with the guys. It’s been a really weird year for me and I’m excited for this playoff push.”
The push is Voit’s sole on-the-job focus. The Yanks started playing better baseball a couple weeks before the trade deadline, then got very hot once Rizzo joined them. Sunday’s loss, which snapped a five-game winning streak, left the Yankees with a 61-50 record that has them 6 ½ games behind the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays and 2 ½ games out of the second AL Wild Card.
For the next week and a half or so, Voit probably will be an everyday player again. After that, there’s no telling how much he’ll play. Another injury to an outfielder or designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton could open up a lot of DH at-bats. Then after the season Voit could find himself first again on the Yankees’ depth chart at first base if Rizzo uses his impending free agency to sign elsewhere. Voit, who still has three years of team control after 2021, could stay put or be traded.
“I’m just worried about (Monday night’s) game against Kansas City,” Voit said. “This year it’s worry about winning a World Series with the Yankees.”
Voit probably is thinking his Yankees’ days are about over. How could he not? But he is believable when he says he’ll be focused on being a valuable puzzle piece to a 2021 Yankees ballclub that now is looking like it’ll be a very tough postseason out if it gets in.
“I know I show my emotions when I play, but I don’t let stuff bother me too much,” Voit said. “It’s just something I got blessed with, I guess from my family. I can always move on to the next day and flush it.”
Voit still has some control. If he starts hitting homers like he did last year, he’ll probably get regular at-bats and play his way into a starting job in 2022 with the Yankees or someone else.
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