The Yankees are missing several big-name stars due to injury, but Aaron Boone and Co. will welcome Gary Sanchez back to the lineup this weekend.
It will be several more weeks before the Yankees can field a fully healthy lineup, but help is on the way this weekend. Gary Sanchez will return to the Bronx on Saturday after successfully completing his rehabilitation work in the minors.
With all due respect to Austin Romine and Kyle Higashioka, the return of Sanchez will drastically improve the feel of the Yankees offense. His numbers on the season aren’t great, but he’s the sort of hitter who can really make an opposing pitcher sweat.
Sanchez should instantly help the team’s offense get back to its home-run hitting ways.
The only question is how much Sanchez will be able to play. In a perfect world, the team would be able to give him some at bats as a DH before putting him back behind the plate. The challenge for Boone is that Giancarlo Stanton occupies that spot in his lineup.
Forcing him to play in the outfield on any type of regular basis will put him at risk to aggravate the hamstring issues that have plagued him all season long.
The most likely plan will be to slowly integrate Sanchez back into the lineup. That means Romine should still be in position to get a substantial amount of at bats for the next few weeks. Higashioka, in sharp contrast, is a strong candidate to return to Triple-A.
Boone’s biggest priority will be to get Sanchez’s bat going before the playoffs arrive. When he’s firing on all cylinders, he’s arguably the best offensive catcher in baseball. His ability to drive the ball to all fields makes him a really tough out.
No Yankees fans should expect him to fill Aaron Judge’s hole in the lineup, but he is talented enough to pick up some of the slack.
With Sanchez coming back into the lineup, the organization’s attention will turn to getting Didi Gregorius, and then Judge back into the mix. If all three guys can come back and play at a high level in October, it could be really bad news for teams hoping to knock the Yankees out of the playoffs.