Yankees' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Emerges as main left fielder
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Kiner-Falefa will start in left field and bat seventh in Sunday's game against the Padres, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.
Kiner-Falefa is manning left for the third straight game and the sixth time in eight games. He appears to have taken over as the primary option at the position in the wake of his surprising power surge thus far in May; he's maintaining a .785 OPS on the month and has collected seven extra-base hits, including three home runs. Kiner-Falefa could be at risk of falling into more of a part-time role once the Yankees possibly bring back both Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring) and Josh Donaldson (hamstring) from the injured list next weekend.
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Yankees' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: On surprising power surge
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Kiner-Falefa went 2-for-4 with a home run, a triple, two total runs and two total RBI in Wednesday's loss to the Orioles.
Kiner-Falefa got another start in left field -- his third in four days -- and was a key cog in New York's offense, tripling and scoring in the third inning and swatting a two-run homer in the fifth. He's now gone deep three times over his past 15 plate appearances, a surprising stretch given that he homered just four times across 531 trips to the plate during the entirety of last season. However, Kiner-Falefa isn't starting Thursday against Kyle Gibson, as Greg Allen is instead manning left field and batting ninth.
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Yankees' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Another start in left field
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Kiner-Falefa is starting in left field and batting eighth in Wednesday's tilt versus the Orioles, Erik Boland of Newsday reports.
Kiner-Falefa has now started three of the last four games in left field and all of them have come against right-handed pitching. Both of IKF's home runs this season have come in his last five games.
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Yankees' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Goes deep Saturday
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Kiner-Falefa went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's extra-inning win against Cincinnati.
Kiner-Falefa plated the Yankees' second run with a solo shot to left field in the fifth inning. It was the utility man's second homer over his past two starts after failing to go deep in his first 31 games this season. Kiner-Falefa has never hit more than eight homers in an MLB campaign and went deep just four times in 531 plate appearances last season, so it's unlikely that the sudden surge in power is anything more than an aberration.
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Yankees' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Pops first homer
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Kiner-Falefa went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, a solo home run and two additional runs scored in Tuesday's 6-3 win over the Blue Jays.
Getting the start at third base and hitting eighth, Kiner-Falefa gave the Yankees a 3-0 lead by taking Kevin Gausman deep in the fifth inning. It was the first homer of the year for the 28-year-old utility player, who has a meager .200/.256/.275 slash line through 87 plate appearances.
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Yankees' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Gets first career start in LF
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Kiner-Falefa will start in left field and bat eighth in Wednesday's game against the Guardians.
Kiner-Falefa learned center field during spring training, and with Harrison Bader having returned from the injured list, Kiner-Falefa will now try his hand at a corner spot. The 28-year-old has been dreadful at the plate this season with a .421 OPS over 21 games, so he could struggle to gain traction as an everyday player in the outfield.
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Yankees' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Steals third bag
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Kiner-Falefa went 1-for-3 with a steal in Sunday's 5-1 loss to the Blue Jays.
Kiner-Falefa singled with two outs in the third inning before swiping second base, his third steal of the year. The 28-year-old utility man offers some value on the basepaths, stealing at least 20 bases in his previous two seasons. However, Kiner-Falefa can't be relied on for fantasy purposes while primarily coming off the bench in New York. He's slashing just .176/.222/.176 with two RBI and three runs scored through 36 plate appearances.
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Yankees' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Starting at third base
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Kiner-Falefa is starting at third base and batting ninth Friday as the Yankees host the Twins.
IKF has now made three starts at the hot corner this season along with two more in center field. He's managed just two hits -- both singles -- in his first 19 at-bats in 2023.
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Yankees' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Sitting Wednesday
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Kiner-Falefa will take a seat for Wednesday's series finale versus the Phillies, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.
Kiner-Falefa has been earning starts in center field this season, starting there two out of the last three games while going 0-for-7 at the plate in those contests. Aaron Judge will slide over to center field while Franchy Cordero will take over in right field and make his second start of the year Wednesday.
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Yankees' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Getting another start in CF
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Kiner-Falefa is starting in center field and batting seventh for the Yankees on Tuesday against the Phillies.
Kiner-Falefa had never played an inning in center field at the major-league level prior to this season but has now started at the position two of the last three games. He'll be flanked by Aaron Hicks and Giancarlo Stanton while Aaron Judge gets a day as the designated hitter.
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Yankees' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Transitioning to utility role
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Kiner-Falefa is slated to get a start in center field later this week as he transitions to a utility role, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.
The writing had been on the wall that Kiner-Falefa wasn't going to win the Yankees' shortstop job and now that's essentially being confirmed. Oswald Peraza is the heavy favorite to open at short for the Yanks, although Anthony Volpe is still in the mix, as well. IKF has a little bit of minor-league experience in the outfield, although he's never played there in the big leagues.
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Yankees' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Could be super utility player
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Kiner-Falefa might wind up playing all over the field -- including the outfield -- if Oswald Peraza wins the Yankees' shortstop job, manager Aaron Boone told Chris Kirschner of The Athletic on Thursday.
He's never played the outfield in the majors, although he does have a little bit of outfield experience in the minors. Kiner-Falefa has played shortstop almost exclusively in the big leagues the last two seasons, but Peraza is considered the favorite to start there for the Bronx Bombers on Opening Day.
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Yankees' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Avoids arbitration
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Kiner-Falefa signed a one-year, $6 million deal with the Yankees on Friday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Kiner-Falefa slashed .261/.314/.327 as the Yankees' primary shortstop in 2022. With the Yankees positioned to spend big in free agency this offseason, it's possible they search for another infielder that can provide more offensive production and move IKF to more of a bench role in 2023.
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Yankees' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: On bench again in Game 3
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Kiner-Falefa will remain on the bench for Game 3 of the ALCS against the Astros on Saturday.
Kiner-Falefa was the Yankees' primary shortstop during the regular season, but he's fallen out of favor recently and will sit for the fourth time in the past five games. Oswaldo Cabrera will make another start at the position in Game 3.
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Yankees' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Sitting out Game 2
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Kiner-Falefa isn't in the lineup for Game 2 of the Yankees' ALCS matchup against Houston on Thursday.
Kiner-Falefa has slashed .267/.353/.267 over 17 postseason plate appearances thus far. After a 1-for-4 performance in Game 1, he will pass shortstop duties over to Oswald Peraza, who will bat eighth.
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Yankees' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Sitting again in elimination game
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Kiner-Falefa is out of the lineup Monday for Game 5 of the Yankees' American League Division Series with the Guardians.
He'll find himself on the bench for the second straight night in an elimination game, an indication that manager Aaron Boone no longer views Kiner-Falefa as the team's top shortstop. Oswaldo Cabrera will move from what had been his usual spot in the outfield to replace Kiner-Falefa, allowing Aaron Hicks to make another start in left field.
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Yankees' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Not starting Game 4
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Kiner-Falefa isn't starting Game 4 of the ALDS against the Guardians on Sunday.
Kiner-Falefa started the first three games of the ALDS and went 3-for-11 with a run, a stolen base, a walk and a strikeout. Oswaldo Cabrera will take over at shortstop and bat sixth as the Yankees attempt to stave off elimination Sunday.
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Yankees' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Takes seat Wednesday
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Kiner-Falefa is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rangers, Erik Boland of Newsday reports.
Kiner-Falefa will stick on the bench for the second straight game to close out the regular season while the Yankees have little at stake with regard to playoff positioning. Oswald Peraza will step in at shortstop in place of Kiner-Falefa, who finishes with a .261/.314/.327 slash line to go with four home runs, 22 stolen bases, 66 runs and 48 RBI in his first season in New York.
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Yankees' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Sitting for Game 2
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Kiner-Falefa is out of the lineup for Game 2 of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Rangers.
Kiner-Falefa started the matinee and will head to the bench after he went 1-for-4. Oswald Peraza will take over at shortstop and bat sixth in the nightcap.
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Yankees' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Added to Monday's lineup
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Kiner-Falefa was added to the lineup for Monday's game against the Rangers.
Kiner-Falefa was slated to get a day off Monday, but he'll join the starting lineup after Gleyber Torres (undisclosed) was scratched. Kiner-Falefa will start at shortstop and bat seventh.
