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SEATTLE — As someone who grew up around Pete Rose, Aaron Boone was happy on Tuesday.
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With the news that Major League Baseball lifted Rose’s lifetime ban and removed him, among others, from the permanently ineligible list, the Hit King is now eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Rose, who died last September at the age of 83, had been banned since 1989 for betting on baseball.
Boone, who was a young kid when his father Bob played with Rose on the Phillies from 1979-81, has kept in contact with Pete Rose Jr. over the years and spoke to him again on Tuesday.
“I think it’s a good thing,” Boone said before the Yankees’ 2-1, 11-inning loss to the Mariners. “Obviously I have a long history with Pete and the family. I even talked to Junior today. Hopefully this is a good thing for baseball and [his] family. At the end of the day, I always feel like the Hall of Fame’s a museum. I’ve always felt like he should be in there — while understanding the ban from baseball. It’s my era, my love of the game and because I’ve had a close relationship with that family, I’m happy about it.”
Boone indicated he was disappointed that the decision ultimately happened only after Rose died.
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“I’ve always maintained, I always feel like he should have been in the Hall of Fame a long time ago,” Boone said. “Not discounting what went on and how serious that is and maybe how that should have affected being with the club and all those things. But when it came to the Hall of Fame, it felt pretty simple to me — he always should have been in there.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said it’s a “good thing” Pete Rose is eligible for the Hall of Fame. Getty Images
Reds legend Pete Rose smiles as he stands for pictures during the dedication of his statue outside Great American Ballpark before a baseball game between Cincinnati and the Dodgers on June 17, 2017. AP
The Yankees signed veteran right-hander Anthony DeSclafani to a minor league deal on Tuesday and assigned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
The 35-year-old last pitched in the majors in 2023 for the Giants, posting a 4.88 ERA across 19 games (18 starts), before undergoing surgery in March of 2024 to repair the flexor tendon in his right arm.
DeSclafani could represent starting depth for a team in need of it.
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Swingman Ryan Yarbroughis currently the Yankees fifth starter — with Allan Winans the next man up at Triple-A — after Carlos Carrascowas designated for assignment last week. Carrasco passed through waivers and accepted an outright assignment to SWB, where he was in line to start on Tuesday.
Fresh off the IL from his calf strain, DJ LeMahieu made his season debut Tuesday night, entering the game in the eighth inning and playing second base.
He struck out in his only at-bat.
The veteran will make his first start Wednesday afternoon at second base.
LeMahieu likened his rehab assignment to spring training and said he was able to let it go this past week to know he was ready.
“I really needed to make sure everything’s good to get going,” he said. “I definitely think there was probably a little more intent than just, ‘Let me see if I’m healthy,’ and, ‘All right, let’s go.’ It was just a little bit more like, ‘Let’s go.’ ”