Yankees’ Gary Sanchez headed back to DL with groin strain

The Yankees have placed catcher Gary Sanchez on the 10-day disabled list with a right groin strain, as the team announced Tuesday:

Sanchez recently returned from a nearly-month-long stint on the DL due to the same injury. Per a report from Fancred’s Jon Heyman, Sanchez re-aggravated the injury on a first-inning passed ball that resulted in the Rays’ Jake Bauers scoring from second base. Sanchez was later maligned on the internet for seemingly not hustling to first base as he hit a grounder to the second baseman for the game’s final out. In light of this news, however, it’s certainly more understandable as to why a player who’s already slower than most when healthy had difficulty earning himself an infield single.

The 25-year-old Sanchez, who came into this season widely regarded as one of the game’s best offensive catchers, has had a miserable 2018 campaign. Over 279 plate appearances, he’s hitting .188/.283/.416 with 14 homers. If backup catcher Austin Romine can keep up his surprising production, the Yankees should be just fine behind the plate — the 29-year-old has hit .270/.331/.484 with six homers in 140 plate appearances during a breakout campaign. Romine also represents a defensive upgrade over Sanchez, who has 10 passed balls and has thrown out just eight of 31 runners this season.

With Sanchez back on the DL, the Yankees will presumably recall Kyle Higashioka, who served as Romine’s backup during Sanchez’s prior DL stint. While Higashioka hit just .167 with a .242 OBP over 33 plate appearances, four of his five hits went for extra bases (a double and three homers).