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If you thought this day couldn't get any worse after Masahiro Tanaka was put on the disabled list with elbow inflammation, Brett Gardner was held out of the lineup with an abdominal strain, and Carlos Beltran was scratched after getting hit in the face with a ball, guess again. As it turns out, Beltran actually broke his face in two places after a ball ricocheted off his bat during batting practice, hit the top of the cage and came back down and hit him in the eye.
Girardi: Carlos Beltran has two small fractures, one on his nose and one below his nose.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) July 10, 2014
Not much is known about how the Yankees plan to handle this, but there is some concern that he may have a concussion, and while it sounds like he should end up on the disabled list, there's some talk that it might not happen yet. They'll probably wait to see how much damage was actually done before determining what to do with him. It's amazing how they've spent so much time nursing his elbow to keep him off the disabled list, only to have this happen.
Sure, he hasn't really hit much this year, but the hard part is trying to find someone to replace him. Unless the Yankees plan to bring up someone like Jose Pirela or Rob Refsnyder, there aren't many options still remaining in the minors. In all likelihood, with Zoilo Almonte already up, they'll call up another pitcher if Beltran needs to go on the DL. We'll just have to wait and see how this develops.