HITS KEEP ON COMING
•Didi may need IL stint due to finger •Voit believes he can avoid surgey
The Yankees didn’t just fail to add anyone of note at Wednesday’s trade deadline. One of their key players — shortstop Didi Gregorius — suffered an injury that could lead to another injured list stint in a season full of them for Yankees stars.
As the AL East leaders began play in August with a 4-2 win over the Red Sox at the Stadium, there were more injury concerns to address. Manager Aaron Boone’s pregame press conference was dominated by health updates instead of baseball questions.
Gregorius, who missed the first two months of the season as he recovered from Tommy John surgery, was at the top of the list. He was on the bench Friday night following a day off Thursday, bothered by a strain between his left ring finger and pinky he suffered while going for a ground ball in Wednesday’s win over the Diamondbacks. The initial concern was for the wrist after he rolled over it, but it’s the finger that’s creating a problem now, though not enough yet to take him off the active roster. Gleyber Torres, who hit the game-winning grand slam, started in his place at shortstop, while DJ LeMahieu returned from several days off with a groin strain to play second base.
“He’s day to day. He’s pretty sore today,” Boone said of Gregorius, who has performed well since returning in early June, with a .271/.305/.465 slash line in 39 games. “We’re hoping to avoid an IL situation, but we’ll just kind of see how that unfolds now over the next couple days.”
First baseman Luke Voit, meanwhile, received a cortisone shot as he tries to avoid surgery on a sports hernia. Voit, the starting first baseman and a key cog in the middle of the order, appeared to wince during a swing in Tuesday’s game against Arizona, and later came out. Currently on the IL, he will rehab and see how his body responds to the shot. Surgery could potentially end the stalwart’s season.
“Honesty, I feel really good, so I’m pretty optimistic,” said Voit, who rode an exercise bike on Friday as part of his rehab. “We’ll see how it is after a week of doing stuff. … At the end of the day, I wanted to play, and I tried playing through it, and after a while I just couldn’t take it anymore.”
Added Boone: “I think honestly it can go either way.”
The Yankees are hoping they get good news back on both Gregorius and Voit, who have been an essential duo this season. Far too often this year, the worst prognosis has been the result. At some point, the Yankees hope, that will change. Now would be a good time for it to start.