New York Yankees: Didi Gregorius is likely headed to the disabled list

New York Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius was injured during a matchup with the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday and he is likely headed to the disabled list.

According to Lindsay Adler of The Athletic on Twitter, Didi Gregorius is likely headed to the disabled list due to a bruise on his heel following a collision at first base.  New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone referred to the heel bruise as “pretty significant” in a post game interview.  As the Yankees are already currently without prominent offensive pieces in Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez, losing Didi Gregorius for any amount of time would be a significant loss.

Although the Bronx Bombers are 9.5 games back of the Boston Red Sox in the AL East, they are currently in the top Wild Card spot.  The Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics are not far behind as they are both 3.5 games behind New York.  The Seattle Mariners are a little further back as they are now 7.0 games behind the Yankees.  As Giancarlo Stanton is also currently nursing a sore hamstring, the news of the injury to Gregorius is worrisome to the franchise and the fans.

Fortunately for the Yankees, their next 13 games are against the Miami Marlins, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, and Detroit Tigers.  Due to this, they may be able to get by on offense without Judge, Sanchez, and Gregorius.  Stanton has been the designated hitter for the Yankees, but he may need to play the outfield for the two games in Miami due to the lack off power without the aforementioned sluggers.

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Following these 13 games, the Yankees will play a pivotal six game stretch against the A’s in Oakland and the Mariners in Seattle.  If Gregorius lands on the disabled list, the team will be hopeful to have him back prior to this important road trip out West.  The same can be said for Sanchez as September 3rd may be the target date for his return as well.

Despite the scary collision at first base with Kendrys Morales, Gregorius was able to remain in the game.  However, he ended up leaving an inning later after he was seen limping back to shortstop following a fly ball that ended up landing foul in the left field seats.

Even though Gregorius has not yet been placed on the disabled list, the initial news of his injury did not sound promising.  Due to this, it is likely Didi will, at the very least, miss the series in Miami.  As the Yankees already normally play with a short bench, a stint on the disabled list seems to be the most likely outcome while the team has a lengthy stretch against teams below .500 on the year.

In the event of a trip to the disabled list for Gregorius, the rookie Gleyber Torres will likely fill in at shortstop.  Fan-favorite Ronald Torreyes and the versatile Neil Walker will then likely split time at second base.  If Gregorius is out for an extended period of time, the Yankees may want to look into adding an outfielder to bolster their lineup while they attempt to move through these injuries.

Walker has seen a lot of time in right field recently, however, if he is needed at second base while Torres is at shortstop, the team cannot rely on Shane Robinson in the lineup each day.  Even though Stanton can play right field, he is unlikely to see a lot of time out there as the team cannot afford another injury that would remove Stanton’s presence from the offensive.  It will be interesting to see how Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman handles this situation as we learn more about the injury to Gregorius.