Yankees Injury Update: Gary Sanchez, Edwin Encarnacion, J.A. Happ leave Detroit with injuries

For the past couple weeks, the Yankees’ injury news mostly seemed to be coming back positive. Giancarlo Stanton has ramped up baseball activities. Dellin Betances and Luis Severino each have made multiple rehab appearances, with the latter apparently ready to join the big club. Jordan Montgomery has completed his recovery from Tommy John surgery, and could pitch in the majors this weekend for the first time since May 2018.

Hopefully, you didn’t get too used to the bright outlook. Today’s doubleheader with the Tigers left the Yankees as battered and bruised as ever, with multiple players leaving the field with injuries. Here’s a quick rundown of what we know. We’ll provide any updates as soon as they emerge.

Edwin Encarnacion

Encarnacion appeared in just eight games since coming off the injured list, but his season is in jeopardy yet again. He homered and walked in the first of this afternoon’s pair of games, but exited in the seventh in lieu of pinch-hitter Mike Ford.

At first, it was speculated Encarnacion’s wrist was hampering him again. Turns out, his oblique is bothering him:

Aaron Boone indicated the injury might not be serious, stating after the game “We hope it’s minor and we got ahead of it, but we won’t know until we get him checked out.” Regardless, Encarnacion will miss some time, and it stands to reason he could miss the remainder of the regular season.

Gary Sanchez

Like Encarnacion, Sanchez left mid-game, in Sanchez’s case, game two of the doubleheader. Also like Encarnacion, it wasn’t immediately clear what the problem was, though Sanchez’s removal might have had something to do with his failed stolen base attempt earlier in the game.

It’s now been reported that Sanchez is dealing with left groin tightness. Sanchez has suffered through several groin ailments over the past few seasons, so this isn’t particularly surprising. Hopefully, Sanchez’s injury is minor, and he’s back in the lineup soon.

J.A. Happ

Because nothing good can ever last, Happ saw his scoreless-inning streak end at 19.1 innings and promptly flew back to New York, reportedly because of biceps tendinitis. Happ has felt the ailment over his past few starts, but he and the team decided it wasn’t enough of a problem to force him to sit out.

Boone said that since Happ wasn’t lined up to pitch in the team’s next series in Toronto, Happ’s quick trip back to New York was pre-planned. It sounds like Happ will see a doctor and then he and the Yankees will make a decision regarding what action, if any, they should take. Happ’s recent performance has certainly not provided any reason to believe he was much less than 100-percent, so perhaps he won’t actually miss any time.