NY Yankees Rumors: Seahawks’ QB Russell Wilson Expected To Play In Game Against Braves, According To ‘ESPN’
The latest New York Yankees rumors were pointing towards a bit of game time for Seattle Seahawks’ quarterback Russell Wilson, ESPN recently reported. The current NFL star has been working out with the Yankees all week with the expectation of stepping up to the plate in a Spring game in Tampa, Florida.
As ESPN’s Coley Harvey reported, Wilson was expected to take at least at-bat in Friday’s game against the Atlanta Braves. The New York Yankees made a trade for Wilson just last month and had previously said he wouldn’t be involved in spring training games. However, it was expected he would enter today’s game late and have at least one at-bat for the team.
The Pro Bowl quarterback has been with the Yankees as part of spring training for the past week, working at the second base position. ESPN noted that he’d been fielding ground balls and also got involved in batting practice with the team. Those batting sessions went particularly well, with Wilson reportedly homering multiple times. In fact, he knocked six home runs out during his first session while part of a group that included Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.
Right back at ya, @DangeRussWilson! pic.twitter.com/WkLdVVYAf4
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) February 28, 2018
For Seahawks fans worried that Wilson is giving up on football, that’s far from the case. The longtime Seattle quarterback said the following of his training.
“The reality is I’ve always been working out, always training. They know that’s part of my game. I’m definitely not sitting on the couch.”
Apparently, Wilson’s coach is fine with him being involved in baseball too. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll was asked about his quarterback’s participation in spring training and said he had no problem with it, other than offering some advice.
“He’s not doing a great job of going with pitches away from him. We are hoping he will start putting the ball into right field a little bit more, you know. We want him to go with the pitch. Aside from that, the curveball is still giving him a problem, like it always did, you know, back in the day. So we will see what happens.”
This isn’t Russell Wilson’s first baseball game, but it’s his first since 2011 when he was part of the Colorado Rockies organization. Wilson was traded to the Texas Rangers in 2013 and participated in spring training in Surprise, Arizona. He was traded from the Rangers to the Yankees back on February 7 of this year and was scheduled to be assigned to their minor league team, the Trenton Thunder.
Seahawks QB Russell Wilson is about to play in a spring training game. pic.twitter.com/QuiJQTHGVN
— Coley Harvey (@ColeyHarvey) March 2, 2018
The Seahawks quarterback is scheduled to participate late in today’s Yankees vs. Braves game before returning back to California on Sunday. Then Wilson can resume training for the upcoming football season.
As of this report, the New York Yankees were down 4-2 to the Atlanta Braves with Russell Wilson yet to enter the game.
Maybe not the result @DangeRussWilson wanted, but a fun cameo for the fans (and it looks like Wilson, too). #YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/RZ3LFawpnf
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) March 2, 2018
Update 3 p.m. ET: Russell Wilson came in to pinch hit for Aaron Judge in the bottom of the fifth inning. Unfortunately, his at-bat resulted in a strikeout before he headed back to the dugout, all smiles.
