Gleyber Torres' return to Yankees' lineup means Gary Sanchez bats ninth

With Gleyber Torres returning to the Yankees’ lineup on Friday night against the Orioles, somebody had to bat ninth.

For the first time in his career, that somebody was Gary Sanchez.

He’s been struggling since returning from the COVID-19 list on Aug. 17, going 8-for-40 (.200) with one home run. He went 1-for-4 in the Yankees’ 4-3, 11-inning win over the Orioles.

"Since coming back from COVID, I think he’s been kind of finding his way a little bit offensively," manager Aaron Boone said. "Finding the strength a little bit. Thought he had some really good, maybe his best at-bats since coming back on Tuesday where he had the homer, hit a ball good to right-center."

Boone said he didn’t feel the need to say anything to Sanchez.

"As far as a conversation, no," he said. "He’s been hitting eighth, he’s been hitting seventh. We have a great lineup and somebody’s got to hit everywhere. Trying to create a little bit of space. We have three lefties in there, so just trying to create some spacing there, and I look at it as we got a potential wrecking machine in the nine-hole."

Estevan Florial was sent to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to make room for Torres.

Urshela update

Gio Urshela had an MRI on his sore left hand and is day-to-day, Boone said.

"The MRI was fine," Boone said. "Not much there. So that was encouraging. He got treatment [Thursday] and then came in, did some swinging today. So we’ll see where we’re at as far as the lineup potentially tomorrow. We’ll kind of evaluate at the end of the day today."

Urshela had just returned from a hamstring injury.

Gil’s next chance?

Righthander Luis Gil, who hasn’t pitched in the majors since Aug. 17 despite not allowing a run in 15 2⁄3 innings in his first three starts, could be slotted into the rotation as a sixth man for one turn next week.

"We are considering inserting someone possibly in that Toronto series [Monday to Thursday]," Boone said. "We’ll see how the next couple days unfold and see where we’re at."

Asked if it will be Gil, Boone said: "It could be Luis. Again, we’ll see where we’re at over the next couple of days, but that is a real possibility."

Gil pitched five shutout innings and struck out nine for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre against Buffalo on Friday.

Good wishes for Somerset

Boone sent his best wishes to the Yankees’ Double-A Somerset franchise after its stadium in Bridgewater, New Jersey, was submerged in water during this week’s storm.

"That’s sad," he said. "Rough. Know a lot of the players and coaches and staff that are on the road, their cars and a lot of their belongings were impacted, as many people up and down — from whether it be Louisiana on through the Northeast — that were impacted by the storm. Obviously, something that’s sad to see, you hate to see [and] unfortunately, is part of life sometimes."

The Patriots, who are on the road, announced that their next home games (Sept. 7-9) have been moved to Hartford, Connecticut.

By Anthony Rieber

anthony.rieber@newsday.comAnthonyRieber

Anthony Rieber covers sports media and business and professional sports (you know, games and trades and things). He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since Jan. 1, 2026.