Didi Gregorius will be out of action for the Yankees for a small amount of time, but what does this mean to the club moving forward?
On Tuesday, Didi Gregorius was placed on the 10-day DL for what Boone is calling, “a pretty bad bruise.” While Didi was placed on the DL, the Yankees have recalled Luke Voit to take his place on the roster.
Gregorius was hurt in the bottom of the first inning when he collided with Kendrys Morales. Didi was injured on the play while beating out an infield single. After receiving medical attention, Didi remained in the game but was removed later in the game.
With Didi being placed on the DL, the Yankees will be missing one of their strongest bats for the next couple of series. After losing Judge, Sanchez, and Gregorius, the Yankees will be missing 31 percent of their home run production this season. Although Didi will be available to return shortly, his production will be missed greatly. Gregorius is batting .270 with 22 home runs and 74 RBI.
While Didi is on the DL, Gleyber Torres will shift over from his everyday second base position to fill the role at shortstop. Torres is familiar with the shortstop position and Boone described him as a shortstop playing second base due to his strong arm and athletic ability to cover ground at the position.
While Torres takes over at short, the second base position will either be occupied by Neil Walker or Ronald Torreyes. Torreyes entered the game for Didi and went 3-for-4 on the day and scored a run.
Since Walker has been playing in the infield a lot lately, either expect Shane Robinson to become an everyday player or to see Stanton play in the outfield. It is hard to expect that the Yankees will play Stanton in the outfield with his sore hamstring. If the Yankees do not make a move for an outfielder, expect to see Robinson in the lineup a lot until Judge returns.
The move to call up Luke Voit is one that raises a lot of questions. While Voit will most likely be used against the two lefty southpaws in the Miami series, it may have made more sense to call up Tyler Wade. Wade has looked solid in his time in the outfield for the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Railriders and would also provide an upgrade hitting over Shane Robinson. Wade would also be able to play outfield but would also provide depth in the infield.