Sanchez feeling good enough to return pre-break
TORONTO — After catching Masahiro Tanaka’s bullpen session and taking two rounds of batting practice indoors, Gary Sanchez said that if the decision were his, he believes he could jump off the DL before next Sunday comes to an end and the AllStar break begins.
“I feel pretty good. I think if it was up to me I would say yes,’’ the Yankees catcher said when asked if he would be ready to play before the break.
Since the decision isn’t Sanchez’s, he won’t be activated until sometime after the break.
“I think the best case is probably Sunday, when we are in Cleveland, he can start some (minor league) rehab games, but he has to get through some things,’’ manager Aaron Boone said of Sanchez, who has been on the DL since June 25 with a strained right groin.
After Austin Romine started behind the plate for the first time in four games Friday night, Boone turned to Kyle Higashioka to catch Luis Severino on Saturday at Rogers Centre.
“He wasn’t going to play all three games here, so another day of recovery and he will be back in there (Sunday),’’ Boone said of Romine, who has been dealing with a tight left hamstring.
Tanaka threw a bullpen session Saturday and is ready to come off the DL and start Tuesday against the Orioles in Baltimore.
“He had a good side today — it looks like the legs have healed up,’’ pitching coach Larry Rothschild said of the workout.
Tanaka has been on the DL since June 9 with two strained hamstrings.
CC Sabathia was ejected by plate umpire Lance Barrett for saying something when Kyle Higashioka was called out on strikes in the third inning.
“He didn’t say all that much,’’ Boone said of Sabathia. “He reacted to one pitch and not really aggressively.’’
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons was tossed by Barrett when Greg Bird, who followed Higashioka, walked.
Clint Frazier was elevated from SWB (Triple-A) to the big leagues Saturday and will likely start Sunday against Blue Jays lefty Ryan Borucki and play in one of the two games against the Orioles in Baltimore on Monday.
Frazier replaced Aaron Hicks in the batting order on Saturday when Hicks left in the fifth inning with left leg cramps. Frazier went hitless in two at-bats. He went to left and Brett Gardner shifted from left to center.
To make room for Frazier, David Hale, who provided 5 2/3 innings of one-run relief in Friday night’s 6-2 loss, was designated for assignment for the third time this season.