BACKUP BACKSTOP NEEDED
MLB wasted little time handing down punishments for Thursday’s brawls in Detroit, and now Joe Girardi and the Yankees are in a precarious situation.
Both catchers on the Yankees’ 25man roster — starter Gary Sanchez and backup Austin Romine — are facing suspensions. Sanchez received a four-game ban and Romine received a two-game ban for their respective roles in the three benches-clearing incidents in a loss to the Tigers. The league announced the decision in a statement Friday evening.
Romine and Sanchez will appeal their suspensions. But in the case that one or both bans get upheld, the Yankees will be forced to add a catcher to their roster. And at this point, it’s not exactly clear where Girardi will turn, largely because Kyle Higashioka — who served as the Yankees’ backup catcher earlier this season when Sanchez was dealing with a biceps injury — is on the seven-day DL in Triple-A.
“I don’t know,” Girardi said bluntly Friday when asked who his backup catcher would be should Romine or Sanchez serve a suspension.
Eddy Rodriguez and Wilkin Castillo are the two other catchers for Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre, but neither player is on the Yankees’ 40-man roster. Girardi said Higashioka isn’t expected to return until September.
For now, the Yankees will hope both suspensions get overturned. If not, they will look to stagger the suspensions so that only one of the two catchers is ineligible for a given game.
“If one catcher’s not available because he’s suspended, we’re going to have to find another one,” an agitated Girardi said before the Yankees lost to Mariners. “You want to volunteer?”