New York Yankees’ star shortstop Didi Gregorius tore wrist cartilage when scoring the playoff-clinching run on Saturday.
New York Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius has torn cartilage in his wrist and could miss the remainder of the season.
Team beat writer Bryan Hoch reported the injury occurred as Gregorius slid home to score the game-winning and playoff-clinching run against the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday.
An oh-by-the-way from Aaron Boone:
Didi Gregorius tore cartilage in his wrist on the slide home yesterday. Boone said there is a chance he does not return this season.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) September 23, 2018
Per Hoch, Gregorius had an MRI and a cortisone shot, however, he is hopeful that he can return this season.
Didi Gregorius said that his wrist got caught under him on the slide. It didn’t bother him until this morning. The MRI showed a small tear. He said that he has a “high” level of optimism that he can return this year.
“I would not want to sit out and watch that (Wild Card Game).”
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) September 23, 2018
There’s no way to sugarcoat this, Yankee fans. Gregorius is a devastating loss for the team. His energy is intoxicating and borderline vital to the team’s success. I wrote an article last month explaining how his performance on and off the field was reason enough to give him an extension.
Speaking of Gregorius’ on-field performance, he was wrapping up another excellent season in pinstripes before the injury. He posted a line of .268/.336/.834 with a career-high 27 home runs, plus 86 RBI.
The worst part is that Gregorius only just returned from an injury two weeks ago. He missed a couple of weeks with a bruised heel from Aug. 21 to Sept. 5. The Yankees were 9-7 in that stretch and his absence was glaringly obvious.
Now, New York faces the prospect of having to be without their main hype guy for the playoffs. Adeiny Hechavarria’s defense and Ronald Torreyes’ ability to work great at-bats doesn’t leave them sunk at shortstop, but neither holds a candle to Didi Gregorius.
The other option that Aaron Boone faces is to move rookie second baseman Gleyber Torres to short. Doing that frees up second base for Neil Walker down the stretch. Torres’ natural position is over at short, while Walker’s is at second.
Here’s hoping Didi Gregorius can get healthy and make it back for October. The team’s playoff success could depend on it.
