A member of the New York Yankees' Core Four is joining the team in an advisory role for the remainder of the 2023 season.
The New York Yankees' return from the All-Star break was pretty brutal, to say the least going 1-5 against the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Angels. As it turns out, the Yankees received quite the boost by playing the lowly Kansas City Royals, as they were able to complete the three-game sweep on Sunday with an 8-5 win.
Before the break, the Yankees did make a change to their coaching staff, firing hitting coach Dillon Lawson following the team's struggles at the plate once Aaron Judge went down with his toe injury in early June. Replacing him was Sean Casey, former Cincinnati Reds teammate of manager Aaron Boone, and coming from the MLB Network studio. As it turns out, the Yankees weren't done giving Boone some help for the final stretch of the season.
According to Bob Klapisch of NJ Advance Media, the Yankees have brought in former pitcher and "Core Four" member Andy Pettitte as an advisor to Boone. Specifically, Pettitte will be working with the pitchers.
Yankees bring in former pitcher Andy Pettitte as advisor to Aaron Boone
MLB.com's Bryan Hoch wrote in his article regarding this news that "it is believed that Pettitte will attend some — but not all — of the big league club's games."
Pettitte joined the team for the weekend series against the Royals. Before Sunday's game, he was spotted talking with relief pitcher Jonathan Loaisiga, who threw a simulated game against Aaron Judge. Loaisiga is working his way back from surgery to remove a bone spur in his right elbow.
This will be a popular move for the fanbase. Pettitte had spent the better part of 15 years pitching for the Yankees across two stints. Notably, he was a member of the aforementioned "Core Four" alongside shortstop Derek Jeter, catcher Jorge Posada, and closer Mariano Rivera, who rose from the team's farm system and helped create the dynasty in the late '90s that helped bring four World Series titles to the Bronx.
Pettitte did serve in a coaching role earlier this year, before the start of the MLB season. Pettitte was the pitching coach for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic under manager Mark DeRosa.
Even with the brutal play at points since Judge's injury, the Yankees are still not far behind for a postseason berth, just 1.5 games back of the Toronto Blue Jays for the last AL Wild Card spot immediately following their win over the Royals. But with two months remaining in the season, the Yankees brought in Pettitte to help out the team to ensure they don't miss out on the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
