CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Gio Urshela has been told that a place in the Yankees’ lineup is his to lose, but that relative job security has not changed the third baseman’s daily mindset of fighting to win a spot on the roster, just as he did last year at this time.

“I’m just trying to make my adjustments every time I play,” said Urshela, who went hitless in the Yankees’ 3-1 Grapefruit League loss to the Phillies on Monday but is 6-for-24 with a homer this spring. “I’m just trying to be better than last year. Everything that I did last year, do it better this year.”

Urshela began 2019 in the Minors but received his call to the big leagues on April 6, about a week after Miguel Andújar injured his right shoulder on an awkward dive. Urshela effectively became the Bombers’ starting third baseman from that point on, leading the club with 34 doubles while batting .314/.355/.534 with 21 homers and 74 RBIs in 132 games.

“I'm confident what we saw was real,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He's got a knack for hitting the ball off the barrel. That’s something that we saw from him in his Minor League career and partly attracted us to going after him. Even before we got him, there were conversations about him early in 2018 as a guy that we should be interested in, based on the defense and maybe some upside offensively.”

Prior to last year, Urshela’s calling card had been his stellar defense at the hot corner, which Boone likened to “slipping into a warm bath.” That work has remained solid this spring, and so Urshela said that the biggest difference he senses is when his spot in the lineup rolls around.

“It’s confidence, for me. That’s the No. 1 thing I always say,” Urshela said. “Mechanically, we did a lot of stuff in the cage to be consistent at the plate. … I was just waiting for an opportunity to get the call.”

Early returns
J.A. Happ spent a good portion of his offseason tinkering with his mechanics and offspeed pitches, believing those changes were necessary to counteract a 2019 stat line that included a career-high 34 homers allowed and a 4.91 ERA. It has translated into a sharp spring thus far, as Happ fired four innings of one-run, three-hit ball on Monday, striking out five Phillies without issuing a walk.

“It can certainly give us some confidence going into the season,” Happ said. “You try to flush [the results] if it's bad and take the positives if it's going well. We do have two weeks to go, so hopefully the progression continues. Overall, I felt like I lost it at times today but was able to kind of rein back in my delivery rather quickly, so that was good.”

Boone said that he has seen crispness return to Happ’s fastball, and he believes the lefty is better incorporating his changeup and slider, while throwing a two-seamer in to right-handers. That is a markedly improved approach compared to the version of Happ that the Yankees saw early last year, when Boone said the veteran was “searching a little bit.”

“I don’t think he was far off, but I think it was a challenge for him grinding through getting there, and I think late in the year he got there,” Boone said. “He worked really hard in the winter to find that. He came in having already thrown some ‘pens, and he’s really hit the ground running. He looks great.”

Pushed back
Boone’s initial thought was to have Gary Sánchez (sore lower back) in action for Tuesday’s exhibition against the Blue Jays, but since the Yankees are traveling across the state this week to visit the Marlins in Jupiter, Fla., and the Nationals in West Palm Beach, Fla., the revised plan is for Sánchez to target Friday’s game against the Tigers for his return to catching duties.

“I didn't feel like I wanted to rush him back into games, so he'll stay back, probably catch Otto [Adam Ottavino] and maybe some other guys on Wednesday,” Boone said. “He’ll get live ABs Thursday and then the plan would be for him to be in the lineup Friday. I'm not real concerned at all. He's doing better today, and I feel like if we were playing [regular-season games], he'd be in there.”

Good signs
It sounds like Kyle Higashioka can begin hunting for places to live in the New York City area. Though the Yankees still have veteran backstops Chris Iannetta, Erik Kratz and Josh Thole in their clubhouse, Boone indicated that he is leaning toward having Higashioka break camp as the backup catcher. The second-longest-tenured Yankee behind Brett Gardner, Higashioka is out of Minor League options.

“I think Higgy, with where he is on our roster, he's earned this spot and this opportunity,” Boone said. “We have a lot of confidence in him. He's put himself in a really good position to be that guy.”

Making moves
The Yankees trimmed seven players from their Spring Training roster prior to Monday’s game, reducing the number of players in camp to 50 (25 pitchers, five catchers, 10 infielders and 10 outfielders).

Right-hander Brooks Kriske was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Right-hander Albert Abreu and outfielder Estevan Florial were optioned to Double-A Trenton. Right-handers Luis Gil and Luis Medina have been optioned to Class A Advanced Tampa. In addition, right-handers Domingo Acevedo and Alexander Vizcaíno were reassigned to Minor League camp.

Past and present
The last two Yankees managers were on the field during batting practice on Monday, as Boone and current Phillies skipper Joe Girardi engaged in a spirited chat. Boone called Girardi over the offseason to thank him for his good work with “Baby Bombers” Aaron Judge, Sánchez and Luis Severino, helping give Boone a roster that was well-prepared for success.

“It was a good conversation; just nice catching up, talking about things in the game,” Boone said. “It's good to see him in uniform.”

Up next
Gerrit Cole is scheduled to make his fourth spring start on Tuesday as the Yankees host the Blue Jays in a 1:05 p.m. ET exhibition at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Cole is aiming to rebound from a rough start against the Tigers in which he allowed four homers, swelling his spring ERA from 0.00 to 9.53. Tanner Roark will be on the mound for Toronto.