New York Yankees: Gary Sanchez Exits Game Early with Biceps Strain

New York Yankees’ star catcher Gary Sanchez left Saturday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles early with a biceps strain. Yet another injury impacts the youth in New York.

In the fifth inning of Saturday’s game between the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles, Yankees’ catcher Gary Sanchez suffered an injury after fouling off a 3-2 pitch.

Sanchez left the game due to the injury. It appeared at first as if he hurt his wrist, but later Fox Sports reporter Ken Rosenthal tweeted it was a right biceps strain.

The following practice swing showed how much pain Sanchez suffered. He attempted the swing and winced in pain during the follow through. Rosenthal also reported that there’s no estimated timetable for the catcher’s return.

There’s no word yet if the Yankees plan to place Sanchez on the 10-day DL. New York replaced Sanchez with Austin Romine behind the dish. Romine is the only other catcher the Yankees currently have on their 25-man roster.

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The Yankees can’t afford for Sanchez to miss an extended period of time. Especially after already dealing with an early foot injury issue for first baseman Greg Bird. He missed the entire 2016 season with a shoulder injury. Both Bird and Sanchez are 24 years old and a key part of the Yankees transition of youth.

Before the season started, Yankees’ shortstop Didi Gregorius suffered a strained shoulder playing for the Kingdom of the Netherlands during the 2017 World Baseball Classic. Gregorius, 27, is another young and rising star in New York.

During Spring Training, Yankees’ 25-year-old first baseman and outfielder Tyler Austin also suffered an injury. Austin fractured a bone in his left foot. The injuries just keep piling up for the Yankees.

As for Sanchez, he exploded in his rookie season with the Yankees. In just 53 games, he hit a whopping 20 home runs, drove in 42 runs and scored 34 times along with hitting .299/.376/.657.

The second half success for the right-handed power hitter allowed him to sneak into the 2016 Rookie of the Year discussion. He finished second in the voting behind Tigers’ starting pitcher Michael Fulmer.

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With the Yankees making a few trades at the 2016 deadline and in the offseason, they’re counting on Sanchez to play like he did last season. So far in 2017, Sanchez has three hits in 20 at-bats. He has one home run, two RBI, a run scored and four strikeouts.

It’s far too early in the season to say whether his second season ends up successful or as a sophomore slump. No matter what, the Yankees need Sanchez healthy to compete this season.

Update: The Yankees have placed Sanchez on the disabled list. There is still no timetable for how long he’ll be out.