On Sunday, the New York Yankees were forced to make an unfortunate move, placing their third baseman, Josh Donaldson, on the 10-day injured list due to a strained right calf. This injury occurred during Saturday’s game against the Colorado Rockies in Denver, specifically in the seventh inning when Donaldson was hustling down the baseline after hitting a ground ball.
To fill the void left by Donaldson, the Yankees called up infielder Oswald Peraza from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Peraza, a 23-year-old prospect, had appeared in 12 games for New York earlier in the season, but struggled to find his rhythm with a .188 batting average. Despite his struggles at the plate, he managed to contribute three RBIs and two stolen bases during his time with the team.
Despite the Yankees’ 6-3 victory, the team was now faced with the absence of one of their key players.Yankees manager Aaron Boone expressed his concern about Donaldson’s injury, stating, “We’ll see what level and then go from there, but I know it wasn’t great.”
The severity of the injury was still unknown, leaving the team and fans alike anxiously awaiting further updates on Donaldson’s condition. Unfortunately, this was not the first time Donaldson had to deal with injuries this season, as he had already missed significant playing time from April 5th to June 2nd due to a right hamstring strain.
The struggles continued for Donaldson even when he was on the field. Through 33 games this season, he had only managed a batting average of .142. However, it’s worth noting that out of his 15 hits, an impressive 10 of them had been home runs.
Over his 13-year career, spanning six different teams, Donaldson has been a solid performer with a career batting average of .262, 276 home runs, and 805 RBIs in 1,366 games. Currently in his second season with the Yankees, his absence will undoubtedly be felt both offensively and defensively.
The Yankees organization and fans now faced the challenge of adjusting to Donaldson’s absence and hoping for a swift recovery. The team would rely on Peraza and other players to step up and fill the void left by Donaldson’s absence both defensively at third base and offensively in the lineup. The upcoming games would prove to be crucial for the Yankees as they aimed to maintain their competitive edge in the tough race for playoff contention.
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