:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/15120377/170890160.0.jpg)
The Yankees have released their lineup against the Rays:
Tonight's lineup: Gardner 8 nix 5 cano 4 hafner dh wells 7 ichiro 9 Overbay 3 Stewart 2 brignac 6 Pettitte 1
— Erik Boland (@eboland11) June 20, 2013
Lefty lineup warning!
Jayson Nix remains in the two hole for some reason.
Travis Hafner is DHing against a lefty, so it must mean that Joe Girardi hasn't been impressed with Thomas Neal thus far.
Vernon Wells is still hitting in the heart of the lineup, despite having a -50 wRC+ in the month of June. Apparently, Girardi still believes he is in a slump and is a better bet than Zoilo Almonte or Thomas Neal.
Reid Brignac is facing a lefty over David Adams, so it looks like the rookie has lost favor now that he has a -51 wRC+ in June.
I understand that Joe Girardi is limited to what he has in the clubhouse and that the Yankees have very limited options against lefties, but continuing to bat Vernon Wells in the middle of the order, despite having alternatives that might actually be better (wouldn't take much) is inexcusable. If the roster is bad, the lineup should at least be optimized to put together the best team possible and I don't think that is being done here.
Michael Pineda will be making his next rehab start tonight and it could be his last. He might be on a 30-day rehab assignment, but Brian Cashman recently talked about activating him and either bringing him up to the majors or assigning him to Triple-A. If the Yankees activate him and put him in Scranton for a few weeks they will be able to save a year of service time and keep him under team control for longer. This doesn't mean Pineda will be on the Yankees next week, but it could mean he'll be up sooner than expected if he does well.
First round draft pick Eric Jagielo, who injured his hamstring in extended spring training, has been placed on the disabled list on Low-A Charleston's roster. It's not unheard of for college draft picks to be sent immediately to Low-A; Rob Refsnyder debuted with Charleston after being drafted out of Arizona. If Jagielo does start in Charleston, he would be at the highest level of anyone else in his Yankees draft class and would, presumably, be in direct competition with Dante Bichette Jr.