ANAHEIM, Calif. — Joe Girardi took some of the blame for Brian Roberts’ slow start as a Yankee, the manager saying it’s possible he played the second baseman too much.
Roberts admitted he might have put unnecessary pressure on himself, the cause of playing for his first team other than the Orioles and replacing Robinson Cano.
Whatever the reason, the Yankees are hoping a recent 12-game surge in which the switch-hitting Roberts hit .364 (16-for-44) to raise his average from .180 to .250 is a sign the 36-year-old can contribute from the bottom of the order, which is a new lineup address for a hitter used to residing a lot higher.
“I haven’t been on the DL, I am happy with that,’’ Roberts said after his eighth-inning homer Tuesday night carried the Yankees to a 4-3 win over the Angels at Angel Stadium. He also had a run-scoring single.
The disabled list was Roberts’ main residence in recent years. He played in 187 combined games from 2010 to 2013, and his 77 appearances last year were his most since 2009.
A career .278 hitter and two-time All Star, Roberts signed a way-under-the-radar, one-year, $2 million deal because the Yankees needed somebody to play second base after Cano bolted for Seattle.
Through April 20, he was hitting .156, and it appeared at some point the Yankees would be looking for Roberts’ replacement.
“Take away the first two weeks when he got into a little bit of a slump, he has been swinging the bat really well,’’ Girardi said. “Early on, I might have played him a little too much. There were situations where we had to, but his at-bats have been good.’’
Now, well, you don’t know, considering the injury history in the past four seasons, but there is a different look about Roberts.
“I feel a lot more comfortable,’’ Roberts said.
It wasn’t as if Roberts was an untested rookie trying to replace one of baseball’s best players in Cano. And the Yankees’ free-agent haul was highlighted by the signing of Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran, Jacoby Ellsbury and Masahiro Tanaka for a total of $438 million.
Roberts $2 million salary tied him with fellow infielder Brendan Ryan for 17th on the Yankees’ 2014 payroll list. Even the suspended Alex Rodriguez makes $3 million this year because of a signing bonus that was paid in January.
Of the three big position player signings — Ellsbury, McCann and Beltran — Ellsbury has hit the best. He’s riding a 0-for-12 skid, but was hitting .311, tops among Yankees regulars. McCann is scuffling at .209. Beltran is at .248, but was tied for the team lead in homers (five) and tied for second in RBIs (13).
While Roberts has surged, the Yankees lineup as a whole has gone into a 10-game dip: a .237 average (.141 with runners in scoring position) and 3.3 runs per game during a 4-6 stretch .
Roberts’ injury history can’t be ignored, especially at 36. Yet, considering Yangervis Solarte is really the only other second baseman on the roster and he has been used a lot at third, the Yankees need Roberts not only on the field but producing.
“Except for a minor hiccup for a couple of days, it’s nice to come to the park almost knowing your name is in the lineup,’’ said Roberts, who has started 24 of the 32 games and missed a few with a lower back issue in mid-April. “It’s good. I can’t put into words, just not being on the field but life in general with concussions. For the Yankees to give me the opportunity, it was huge for them to go out on a limb.’’
Since the Yankees’ scouts looked hard during spring training for infield help, the Yankees weren’t all the way out on the limb. Lately, however, signing Roberts for what they did appears to be a solid move.