Yankees to place Gary Sanchez on disabled list, call up Kyle Higashioka

We knew it was coming, but now it’s confirmed. The Yankees will place Gary Sanchez on the disabled list this afternoon with a groin injury. Jon Morosi provided the news. Sanchez suffered the injury yesterday while attempting to beat out a double play in the 10th inning against the Rays. As a corresponding move, the team will recall catcher Kyle Higashioka from Triple-A.

Sanchez, 25, has struggled for most of the season. He hit .190/.291/.433 with 14 home runs across 265 plate appearances. That’s a far cry from his career 131 wRC+. Still, his track record of success led one to believe he could turn it on at a moment’s notice. His loud outs and bad luck backed this up.

Higashioka, meanwhile, has been even worse for Triple-A. The 28-year-old is hitting .191/.265/.328 with five home runs with the RailRiders. If you recall, Higashioka had a cup of coffee with the Bombers last season. He is still looking for his first career hit in the majors.

On the bright side, Austin Romine has been tearing the cover off the ball this season. Romine owns a .305/.370/.524 batting line this year. He’s also matched his career high in home runs with four. Assuming Sanchez’s injury doesn’t linger, Romine should be a fine fill in. There exists concerns, however, that he may be overexposed playing every day.