Aaron Boone hopeful that Gary Sanchez can return this week
Gary Sanchez of the Yankees looks on before a game against the Royals at Yankee Stadium on April 19, 2019. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Help is on the way.
Maybe.
An optimistic Aaron Boone said Sunday that Gary Sanchez, along with a few other players making good progress, could return to the Yankees in the near future.
Sanchez (calf strain) is slated to play in a minor-league rehab game with Class A Charleston on Monday and, if all goes well, could join the team in Anaheim on Tuesday. If he suffers no setbacks, Sanchez could be activated Wednesday, Boone said.
Sanchez was only one in the litany of injury updates, something of a daily ritual now that the Yankees have 13 players on the injured list.
Troy Tulowitzki (calf), Miguel Andujar (labrum tear) and Aaron Hicks (back) will be traveling to Tampa, and Hicks, Boone said, soon could be ready for rehab games. Hicks battled an illness for a few days, Boone said, “but he’s doing really well, and now it’s just building him up and getting him ready to play.
“I don’t think he’s too far off.”
Andujar, who’s trying to avoid season-ending surgery, and Tulowitzki aren’t “too far off potentially, either,” Boone said.
Giancarlo Stanton (biceps) is doing “really well,” according to Boone, but the Yankees will monitor his progress for the next couple of days before determining how much longer he’ll be out.
Jacoby Ellsbury? He’s also in Tampa, but Boone said he isn’t close to a return.
Until one of the outfielders returns, the Yankees probably will stick with infielder Tyler Wade as the fourth outfield option. Wade, who started at shortstop Sunday, has played 16 major-league games in the outfield.
“We feel comfortable with him being able to bounce around,” Boone said. “We’ll explore everything possible out there, and then you start to evaluate when they start to come back, when’s Giancarlo available. We’ll weigh those things on a daily basis, probably.”
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
