HUGE LOOSE: Yankees All-Star lands on injured list
The New York Yankees will be without their starting catcher for now.
Jose Trevino has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left quad strain he sustained during Friday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles. Manager Aaron Boone believes the injury happened when Trevino slid into home plate in the ninth inning after hitting a double. Austin Wells finished the game as catcher.
Before exiting, the 31-year-old Trevino went 2-for-4 with an RBI. He is batting .244 this season with eight home runs and 27 RBIs. Trevino and Wells have each played 59 games, essentially splitting catching duties. Trevino was an All-Star in 2022.
The Yankees have called up Carlos Narvaez to replace Trevino on the roster. This is Narvaez’s first time in the major leagues, but Wells is expected to take over full-time catching duties. Narvaez was batting .269 in Triple-A.
Yankees looking to gain ground on Orioles
The New York Yankees have been struggling recently, with a 3-7 record in their last 10 games. Despite this, they are only one game behind the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the American League East. Friday’s victory was crucial, and a series sweep could put them back in first place.
Gerrit Cole had a strong performance, pitching six innings of one-run baseball to earn the win. The bullpen also contributed with three scoreless innings. Offensively, Aaron Judge hit his 33rd home run of the season, leading the majors with Shohei Ohtani’s 28 homers as the next closest.
The series opener between the AL East rivals had some drama when Clay Holmes hit Heston Kjerstad in the head with a pitch in the bottom of the ninth. The benches cleared, leading to some pushing and shoving.
Yankees bench coach Brad Ausmus and Orioles manager Brandon Hyde got into a heated exchange. Manager Aaron Boone emphasized that there was no intention for Holmes to hit Kjerstad.
“First of all, I hope Heston’s alright. Nobody ever wants to see that. It was scary in the moment,” Boone said during the postgame. “And then obviously, [it was] an emotional moment and two teams playing for a lot. Glad it didn’t escalate too much.
“We’re playing for too much to get caught up in that. We’ve got to play well. We’ve got to win ballgames. Same for them.”
Baltimore has now lost four in a row and will face Luis Gil on Saturday. New York’s pitching staff has been their biggest strength in 2024, compiling a stellar 3.57 ERA, which ranks fourth in the MLB. That’s without Cole being at his best since coming back from injury.
As for the catcher situation, Wells is solid defensively, but he’s not doing much at the plate, only batting .219 this year. The Yankees will be hoping for more production out of him. While rookie Ben Rice also has catching experience, it’s unlikely he helps out in that department since he’s been playing first base regularly with Anthony Rizzo injured.
Sunday’s finale will be the Yankees’ final contest before the All-Star Break. NY is sending three players to Arlington for the festivities — Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Clay Holmes. Boone’s group is back in action on July 19 as they begin a four-game set with another divisional foe, the Tampa Bay Rays.