The New York Yankees will be without Gary Sanchez for the next few weeks as he tries to recover from a groin injury suffered on Sunday.
It’s no secret that Gary Sanchez has struggled in 2018, but this is still a big loss for the New York Yankees. Sanchez has been moved to the 10-day DL with a groin strain per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch.
Of course, Austin Romine has improved mightily at the plate, but Sanchez is still the better hitter to have in the lineup. Despite Sanchez’s paltry .190 batting average, you have to expect him to figure it out at the plate sooner rather than later. He’s too good of a hitter not to.
Coming into Monday’s contest with the Phillies, Romine had a batting average of .305 with an .894 OPS. If Romine continues to hit like this, he should be the perfect stopgap until Sanchez can return 100 percent healthy.
In the meantime, Romine will take over as the everyday catcher and Kyle Higashioka will assume backup duties. Higashioka has only played nine games at the major league level. He’s had 18 career at-bats and he’s yet to record his first major league hit. With Sanchez out for an extended period of time, you can be sure that Higashioka will break this drought.
Sanchez hasn’t been able to find his rhythm yet, so maybe this injury will be a blessing in disguise. If the Yankees continue to play well, he can take his time coming back and maybe that’s exactly what he needs.
The Yankees are at 50 wins before the calendar hit July and although they’re in a tight race with the Red Sox, this isn’t the end of the world. The last thing they need is to rush Sanchez back and have this groin injury linger.
