NEW YORK -- Several times during Luke Voit's recent Minor League rehab assignment, Yankees manager Aaron Boone would hear a ping on his cell phone, glancing down to read a text message from his first baseman: "Hey, bat me leadoff!"

Boone would chuckle, tucking away that nugget for a future lineup. In the Minors, Voit had batted first to guarantee plate appearances in the fewest amount of innings, even though the reigning Major League home run leader isn't likely to be confused with the likes of Rickey Henderson anytime soon.

"He's a good hitter, knows the strike zone and has a really good chance of getting on base," Boone said. "Luke actually always wants to hit leadoff; he always is putting that in my ear to lead off. I'm like, 'Well, we have a pretty good leadoff hitter [in DJ LeMahieu]. But with me giving DJ a day [off], I felt like Luke made a lot of sense."

Before Saturday, Voit had batted in the No. 1 spot three times as a Yankee -- most recently on Aug. 28 of last season in both games of a doubleheader against the Mets. Boone recalled that during his father Bob's playing career, slugger Brian Downing occasionally hit in the leadoff spot for the Angels of the 1980s.

"I think the biggest thing now that we give credence to is, we want a really good hitter hitting leadoff, knowing that spot is going to come up a lot," Boone said. "You want a guy that has the ability to get on base, and I think you want one of your better hitters up there."

In Saturday's 7-0 win over the White Sox, Voit went 1-for-4 with a walk and scored a run on Gleyber Torres' fifth-inning single. According to the YES Network, Voit became only the third reigning home run champion to hit leadoff, joining the Senators’ Frank Howard (Oct. 1, 1969) and the Cardinals’ Mark McGwire (Sept. 12, 2000).

Boone said that the Yankees missed Voit's dugout presence while he was on the injured list, rehabbing from left knee surgery performed in late March.

"I had to dodge a helmet last night that he threw, so I had to yell at him this morning about that -- like, 'Hey, careful with that,'” Boone said. “No doubt, there's an edge and an energy he plays the game with, as do a number of our guys.”

Comeback trail
Darren O’Day played catch across the Yankee Stadium outfield on Saturday morning, the right-hander’s first time doing so since he was placed on the IL with a right rotator cuff strain earlier this month. Boone said that O’Day could return sometime in June.

“It’s been three or four weeks since he’s been shut down, so I think it’s going to be at least that to build him back up,” Boone said.

Luis Severino’s most recent simulated game “went really well,” according to Boone, with observers raving about the right-hander’s velocity and the shape of his slider. Boone said that Severino is “getting close” to a Minor League rehab assignment.

He said it
“Around the fourth inning, me and Monty [Jordan Montgomery] just staked our claim on a bench spot and we didn't move. I didn't even get up to go to the bathroom or high-five anybody. I didn't want to do anything to put Kluber’s game at risk.” -- Jameson Taillon, on Corey Kluber’s no-hitter

Bombers bits
• Third-base coach Phil Nevin continues to test positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing “in and out” symptoms, according to Boone. Pitching coach Matt Blake and first-base/outfield coach Reggie Willits rejoined the coaching staff for Friday’s game.

• The Yankees have become the first team in history to pitch a no-hitter, turn a triple play and celebrate a walk-off win in a three-day span, according to STATS.

This date in Yankees history
May 22, 1963: Mickey Mantle hit an 11th-inning home run that is said to have struck the upper-deck frieze at the original Yankee Stadium, powering an 8-7 victory over the Kansas City Athletics. The shot off Bill Fischer marked the second time in Mantle’s career that he struck the frieze.