ARLINGTON, Texas — When the New York Yankees first acquired Jon Berti at the start of the season, Aaron Boone raved about the veteran’s versatility.

The Bombers needed him to play third base with DJ LeMahieu sidelined by a fractured foot, but Boone hoped to have Berti eventually play all over the diamond. That made sense, as Berti came from the Marlins with experience at second, third, short and all three outfield positions.

However, Berti has only manned the hot corner this season while two injuries have limited him to 17 major league games. Berti is currently on a rehab assignment for the latest, a calf strain that suffered a setback a few weeks ago.

Berti had only played third and DH’ed over his first eight rehab games. However, he played left field at Triple-A on Wednesday with an off day expected on Thursday.

With Jazz Chisholm Jr., a former Marlins teammate, now occupying third, the Yankees are hoping to finally take advantage of Berti’s flexibility when he returns.

“Now that Jazz is here and playing third full-time, I think Berti, one of the things we love about him, is his versatility, his athleticism,” Boone said. “He’s another guy that brings speed to the bases but has the ability to play the outfield while also being a really good infielder.”

As Boone noted, Berti also has wheels, which could make a difference in October. He stole 41 bases in 2022.

Boone also highlighted the fact that Berti hits from the right side. Perhaps that and reps in the outfield could make him an occasional alternative to the lefty-swinging Alex Verdugo. However, Berti doesn’t have great career splits against lefties, and the Yankees have resisted pulling Verdugo from an everyday role all year, as most recently shown by their decision to keep Jasson Domínguez in the minors.

Once Berti returns, he could take the roster spot of Duke Ellis, another speedster in a bench role.

It remains to be seen exactly when Berti will be back. Boone said the utilityman is “probably in play about any time now,” but the Yankees have taken things slow.

“I think he’ll be a nice fit when that time comes, whether that’s a couple days from now or within a week from now. We’ll see,” Boone said. “The biggest thing for me, especially with the calf injury, is the build of the volume and then how are you recovering and bouncing back, especially after having a little bit of a setback that he had.”

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