Girardi On WFAN: Yankees' Struggles Extend Beyond Chris Carter
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- What should the Yankees do about Chris Carter?
The first baseman is struggling, it's not clear when Greg Bird might return, and the Yanks are mired in a seven-game losing streak.
WFAN's Mike Francesa asked Yankees manager Joe Girardi about several possibilities Wednesday -- more Matt Holliday at first base, or perhaps letting Gary Sanchez or Chase Headley play there some.
Girardi said he's uncomfortable using players who don't have much experience at first base, and worries about Holliday's durability if he plays too much at first.
"The thought is you try to get Carter going, but he is what he is," Girardi said. "This is not much different than he was last year. It's a little bit, but not much different than he was last year if you equate the numbers over 600 at-bats."
Girardi noted that despite his struggles, Carter would be on target for nearly 90 RBIs if he saw 600 at-bats.
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Carter, who tied for the National League home run crown with the Brewers last season, is hitting .201 with eight home runs and 23 RBIs this season -- and he's batting just .167 during the Yankees' losing streak.
"When you're losing games, he's the guy that it's easy to point the finger at because he's striking out and he made some costly errors," Girardi said. "But there's some other issues that we've had along the way, whether it's been making some poor pitches or getting hit with a ground ball that kind of took us out of an inning."
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• Bird was given a cortisone shot for the inflammation in his nagging right ankle. "They're hoping he'll resume baseball activity in three to five days," Girardi said. Bird has been out since May 1.
• Reliever Adam Warren, who was placed on the 10-day disabled list last week with inflammation in his right, throwing shoulder, will start playing catch Saturday. "And hopefully he can move fairly quickly because he hasn't really been off that long," Girardi said.
• Aroldis Chapman returned to action Sunday in Oakland after missing more than a month with a shoulder injury, but Girardi said he still plans to use caution in managing the flame-throwing closer. "I would use him two days in a row," Girardi said. "I would not hesitate doing that. I don't know if I would use him for multiple innings yet."
To listen to the full interview with Girardi, click on the audio player above.
