Urshela could be back soon for Yanks
NEW YORK — Gio Urshela was on the field Friday, but the third baseman was only there for pregame workouts. He missed his second straight game with a sore left wrist, but the Yankees are hopeful he will be able to play again this weekend.
“The MRI was fine, not much there. So that was encouraging. He got treatment yesterday then came in, did some swinging today, played catch and did some defensive stuff out there, so he’s still day-today right now,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before Friday night’s series opener against the Orioles at Yankee Stadium. “So we’ll see where we’re at as far as (being in the) lineup potentially tomorrow, but we’ll kind of evaluate at the end of the day today and see how he feels from the work he was able to do today.”
Urshela injured the wrist falling on it after making a play in Anaheim earlier this week. The third baseman has played in just 90 games this season because of a hamstring strain, a reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine and also testing positive for COVID-19. In 90 games, he is hitting .263/.302/.426 with 11 home runs and 41 RBI.
Sixth man: With a stretch of 20 straight games without a day off staring them in the face, the Yankees are looking at using a sixth starter during this homestand.
“We are considering inserting someone you know, possibly in that Toronto series, a sixth man,” Boone said of the Blue Jays series, which starts on Monday. “But we’ll see how the next couple days unfold and see where we’re at.”
Luis Gil, who posted a 0.00 ERA in three starts in August for the Yankees, is an obvious candidate for that. The 23-year old who threw 15.2 innings without allowing an earned run and striking out 18, would be on turn to start Wednesday.
Finding his way: Since coming off the COVID-19 IL, Gary Sanchez has hit .194/.237/.306 with a home run and a double. So Friday night, the catcher found himself starting in the No. 9 spot for the first time in his career.
“Well, I think since coming back from COVID I think he’s been kind of finding his way a little bit offensively, finding the strength a little bit,” Boone said. “I thought he had maybe his best at bat since coming back on ... Tuesday where he had the homer. He hit a ball good to right center.
“He’s been hitting eighth, he’s been hitting seventh,” Boone added when asked if he had to talk to Sanchez about dropping in the lineup. “We have a great lineup. And, like you said, somebody’s got to hit everywhere and I am trying to create a little bit of space. And we have three lefties in there today. So just trying to create some spacing there. And I look at it as we got a potential wrecking machine in the nine hole tonight.”