Yankees lose another key player to injury as Didi Gregorius lands on the disabled list
Gregorius will miss at least 10 days with a bruised heel
By
Mike Axisa
•
2 min read
The New York Yankees have lost another important player to injury.
Tuesday afternoon the the team announced that shortstop Didi Gregorius was placed on the 10-day DL with a left heel contusion. He suffered the injury during a collision with Kendrys Morales at first base on Sunday. Here's the play:
Following Sunday's game, manager Aaron Boone said Gregorius has a "pretty significant" bruise on his heel, though tests determined there is no fracture. Right now Gregorius is on anti-inflammatory medication to knock down the swelling. A bruised heel can't be much fun. You can't even walk without it hurting.
Gregorius joins a fairly long list of injured Yankees, many of them key everyday players. Here is a partial list of Yankees on the disabled list:
- OF Jacoby Ellsbury: Out all season with hip trouble and recently had season-ending surgery.
- SS Didi Gregorius: Placed on the disabled list with a bruised heel Tuesday.
- OF Clint Frazier: Out since July 21 with post-concussion migraines. There is no timetable for his return.
- RF Aaron Judge: Out since July 27 with a wrist fracture and there is still no firm timetable for his return.
- LHP Jordan Montgomery: Out since May with Tommy John surgery.
- LHP CC Sabathia: Out since August 13 with knee inflammation and is expected back this weekend.
- C Gary Sanchez: Has played only five games since June 21 with a groin strain. He's expected back within two weeks.
That is two-fifths of Yankees' Opening Day rotation, their starting catcher, starting shortstop, starting right fielder, backup outfielder, and backup backup outfielder. Furthermore, Giancarlo Stanton has been nursing a tight hamstring that has relegated him to DH duty the past few weeks. Career infielder Neil Walker has taken over as the starting right fielder for the time being.
With Gregorius sidelined, Boone said he will slide hotshot rookie Gleyber Torres over to shortstop -- Torres is a natural shortstop who moved to second in deference to Gregorius -- with Walker and utility man Ronald Torreyes splitting time at second. Stanton is expected to resume playing some right field this week, meaning Walker is free to move back to the infield.
Overall, Gregorius is hitting .270/.333/.482 with 22 home runs this season, including .298/.375/.536 since Judge went on the disabled list. He's already the first shortstop in franchise history to hit 20-plus home runs in back-to-back seasons, and he's a standout gloveman as well. Gregorius brings a lot to the table, and now the Yankees will be without him for at least 10 days.
Even with all the injuries, the Yankees own baseball's second best record at 78-46, though they're nine games behind the historically great Red Sox. New York is 3 1/2 games up on the Astros and Athletics for the top wild-card spot and seven games up on the Mariners for a wild-card spot in general.
