New York Yankees: Didi Gregorius and Gary Sanchez may return in Oakland

Although the New York Yankees currently have a depleted lineup due to injuries, that will soon change as both Didi Gregorius and Gary Sanchez are nearing a return to the lineup.

According to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone is “optimistic” that Gary Sanchez and Didi Gregorius will both be able to return to the lineup in time for a big road series against the Oakland Athletics.

As the Yankees are currently also without Aaron Judge, Aroldis Chapman, Clint Frazier, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Jordan Montgomery, it will drastically change the structure of their lineup when Gregorius and Sanchez are able to return.

Currently, the team deploys a combination of Austin Romine and Kyle Higashioka behind the plate.  Although both players are solid backup catchers, their weaknesses get exposed when they play for a lengthened amount of time. 

For example, before Sanchez was injured on June 24th, Romine held a .305 batting average and a .370 on-base percentage as a backup catcher.  However, since that time, Romine has seen his batting average drop to .256 and his on-base percentage drop to .307.

Even though Sanchez does not have the same phenomenal offensive numbers this season that he has put up in previous seasons, he still holds a .375 on-base percentage with 2 outs and runners in scoring position alongside 6 home runs that have occurred in the 7th, 8th, or 9th innings.  His ability to come up big when it counts the most is a large missing piece to Boone’s lineup.

Sanchez also catches a lot of grief for the amount of wild pitches and passed balls that occur while he is behind the plate.  However, his ability to control the running game of opposing teams is also definitely a missing piece to the puzzle for the Yankees.  Out of catchers who played at least 100 games in 2017, Sanchez held the third lowest stolen base percentage at .617.  As a comparison, Romine holds a .725 stolen base percentage this season while Higashioka is at an .824.

While Gregorius has been on the disabled list, rookie second baseman Gleyber Torres has been filling in at shortstop while Neil Walker and Ronald Torreyes have been filling in at second base.

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Although Torres is a natural shortstop that has been transitioned to second base this season, the rookie has made his share of errors that Gregorius may have not committed.  Through 117 games, Gregorius has only committed 5 errors at shortstop while Torres has committed 4 errors in only 11 games.  Out of shortstops with at least 100 games played this season, Gregorius has the least amount of errors committed.

With Gregorius at shortstop, the Yankees can shift Torres back to second base.  This will then allow the team to use Walker at either first base, third base, or right field, and it will also shift the light-hitting Torreyes back to a bench role.  Aside from the large defensive upgrade and the flexibility of a deeper bench, Gregorius will also bring his 22 home runs, .333 on-base percentage, and .482 slugging percentage back into the heart of the lineup.

Despite all of the injuries, the Bronx Bombers have recently closed the gap on the Boston Red Sox to just 6 games in the loss column with 6 head-to-head matchups still remaining between the long-time rivals.  If the season ended today, the Yankees would currently be slated to face the Athletics in the dreaded one-game elimination Wild Card playoff.  Due to this, Gregorius and Sanchez both returning in time for a potential Wild Card matchup preview could help their team gain some valuable momentum and confidence as October is rapidly approaching.