At some point, someone other than Aaron Judge and Juan Soto is going to have to step up in the  New York Yankees’ lineup. Manager Aaron Boone still thinks Alex Verdugo is the best option to protect Judge, despite the outfielder’s recent struggles.Boone admitted he’s “counting on” the former Boston Red Sock to heat up again with Giancarlo Stanton injured, via SNY.

“Somebody’s gotta grab that, you know,” Boone said about New York’s cleanup spot. “With “Dugie”…and I feel like since May where those numbers are, there’s been a lot of good in there where he’s been I feel like a little unlucky, where he’s getting his swing off, where he’s just missing pitches. So look, really with Giancarlo going down, we’ve just been a little thin, and you’re kind of betting on and banking on him.”

Verdugo started the season hot, slashing .279/.379/.488 with four homers and 12 RBI in April. The 28-year-old has steadily declined since then, though, hitting .245 in April, .219 in June, and .184 thus far in July.

“I think he’s gonna hit, like, he’s gonna hit like Alex Verdugo moving forward,” Boone continued. “You know, that’s what I’m counting on. But you know, if somebody grabs that spot and takes that spot, so be it. But you know, I feel like Alex is the best one going into tonight to hit in that spot against a righty and we’ll continue to pay attention to it.”

Which other Yankee could take Verdugo’s spot if he continues to flounder?

Alex Verdugo will get a few more chances as the Yankees’ cleanup hitter
© Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
One candidate to move ahead of Verdugo is catcher Austin Wells. The 25-year-old has contributed more than expected, slashing .222/.323/.556 with three homers and seven RBI in July so far. He also hit .238 in June.

Boone, though, isn’t ready to swap the two just yet.

“Not yet, although I’ve moved him up to sixth now, he’s been hitting sixth a lot lately,” he said. “But again, we’ll see.”

Rookie phenom Ben Rice, who has six homers with 19 RBI and a .809 OPS since getting called up in June, also moonlighted at cleanup before replacing Anthony Volpe at leadoff.

However, Verdugo has the most extensive track record of any of those players. The six-foot, 209-pounder has a career slash line of .275/.331/.422 across 2,684 at-bats since he first got called up for the  Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017.

Verdugo thinks he’s on the cusp of another breakthrough, via The Athletic’s Brandon Kuty.

“It’s one of those things — it feels weird,” he admitted. “It doesn’t feel like normal. But we’ve got a good thing of what we’re kind of doing. How we’re cleaning it up. How we’re working. Feel like in the second half it will show. Obviously, you want it to show now. I feel like it’s showing glimpses of it again, but it’s not to the caliber of where I like it to be, where it feels like three to four at-bats a day having quality plate appearances. Really just take your mind out of it, go up to the plate, trust my ability and we’ll be right back.”

The Arizona native’s first chance to rebound will be against Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Zach Eflin on Friday. Verdugo is 4-for-17 all-time against the veteran hurler, with one homer, one RBI, and four strikeouts.