Aaron Boone on Yankees' 'personalized' torpedo bats; Adam Ottavino having 'a lot left in there'

Ahead of the Yankees opening a three-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night in The Bronx, manager Aaron Boone, in answering questions about the hot topic of the torpedo bats, discussed the level of organizational thought that went into the equipment change and discussed the signing reliever Adam Ottavino on a big league deal.

Run (not so) silent, run deep

Over the last three days, the shape of lumber has become the main story of the new season.

“I’m kinda starting to smile at it a little more,” the manager of the team at the center of the new controversial but MLB-approved bats said.

“It’s taken on a life of its own. A lot of things that aren’t real,” he continued. “I really just look at it as the evolution of equipment, and I think I said the other day, I went and got fitted for golf clubs 10 years ago. This is essentially that. This is all within regulations.”

In keeping with the analogy of golf clubs to bats, Boone indicated that there is “a lot more to it” than just, say, selecting the “torpedo bat off the shelf over there, 34-32."

“Our guys are way more invested in it than that,” he added. “Really personalized, really work with our plays in creating this stuff. But it’s equipment evolving.”

Boone said it is “to each their own” when it comes to the club recommending a certain bat to a player, but he seemed to indicate that the organization is involved in working with the players on figuring out what bat would work best for them.

“We want to create an environment where we’re not missing anything, we’re not missing any chance to help a player become their best or optimize a player,” he said. “Ultimately, it's up to the players. How much information do you want? That’s on individual players and us to help educate. But, ultimately, it comes down to what works for you.”

While the league is now aware of the new bats, the manager "doesn't necessarily know that everyone 'knows about it,'" he said while adding air quotes around the final three words. When asked about the distinction, he seemed to imply that awareness of the torpedo bats is "different than knowing about it," he said while pointing for emphasis.

“I think there’s just a lot more that goes into it” than just deciding to use the torpedo bat, the manager added. “A lot went into doing that for our individual guys, and it’s a lot more than just the look of the bat.”

He added: “I think there’s a lot more to it. That even I don’t know all about it, I’m not smart enough to know all of that stuff, but I think there’s more to it.”

But with that being said, how much of an impact do the new bats have? The manager isn’t sure.

"Hopefully what doesn’t get lost in this: It's about the player. It’s about the hitter. It's about the person swinging it,” he said. “Understandably, I get it. It's getting a lot of attention right now. But yes, ultimately, when the dust settles here, it's about players performing.”

Boone stressed he doesn’t see this as giving any player a big advantage: “You’re trying to just, where you can on the margins, move the needle a little bit. And that’s really all you’re gonna do. It’s not like this is some sort of revelation… It’s not related to the weekend we had. I don’t think it’s that.”

He said for some players in some cases it “may help them incrementally.”

In discussing how the bats work, Boone wanted to dispel a notion, saying that it was “wrong to say we’re moving the sweet spot” with the torpedo bats.

“It’s no moving. Big leaguers don’t not hit the ball off the barrel. The worst of big leaguers they hit the ball off the barrel more than they [don’t],” he said. “You’re trying to just optimize the weight of the bat and take out wasted spots that you don’t use.”

Boone said he was aware Giancarlo Stanton and Jose Trevino were using torpedo bats last season. Stanton was asked if the new lumber was the "bat adjustments" he said earlier this year that may have contributed to his elbow injuries.

"You're not going to get the story you're looking for, so if that's what you guys want, that isn't going to happen,” the slugger said, via MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. Stanton added that he will use a torpedo bat when he returns from the IL.

Ottavino has chance to stick

Reports of Ottavino throwing the ball much better during the end of spring training with the Boston Red Sox helped nudge the Yankees to sign the veteran reliever for a second stint with the club, the manager said.

“He’s kinda been on our board a little bit. I know the front office [has] been talking about him the last couple weeks as a potential,” Boone said. “Felt like what he was doing back-end of spring training was in-line with who Otto is.”

And with closer Devin Williams going on the paternity list, Boone said the club “felt like it an opportunity to get him in here and excited to have him back.”

Ottavino regained his form after back-to-back down seasons during his first year with the Mets in 2022, pitching to a 2.06 ERA and 0.975 WHIP over 65.2 innings. But the veteran saw his effectiveness decline over the following two years and his ERA climb to 4.34 and WHIP to 1.286 over 56 innings.

“I think he’s got a lot left in there,” Boone said. “He’s still been very effective, really, throughout his entire career.”

While the Yanks will have a decision to make on the roster when Williams returns, the skipper left the door open for the 39-year-old to stick around.

“We’ll see, we’ll see,” he said, before adding that his two seasons in The Bronx during 2019 and 2020 provide a level of familiarity.

“When we first got him, we brought him in to kinda be that righty killer, high-leverage, set-up [man,] and he delivered on that,” Boone said. “And, obviously, very familiar with what it takes to play here… and he’s played [with] the Mets and Boston. This [pressure environment] is what he knows.

“This is a chance to get a quality pitcher in here, and hopefully it can help us. And where it goes, we’ll see.”