The New York Yankees recently called up prospect Oswald Peraza following Giancarlo Stanton’s hamstring injury, but the expectation was he would be sent back down once Josh Donaldson returned from his rehab assignment. Donaldson started for Somerset in Double-A on Tuesday but left the game prematurely, indicating his injured hamstring was feeling a bit tight.
Donaldson leaving the game was more precautionary, but Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reported on Wednesday that he underwent an MRI, indicating he could be out for a few more days, if not weeks. Donaldson himself stated that he was “bummed out” and expected to return to the Yankees any day.
The 37-year-old infielder was off to a poor start regardless, hitting .125 with a .176 OBP, slapping one homer across 17 plate appearances. Last season, after being acquired from the Minnesota Twins, Donaldson posted the worst year in his career. He had .222 with a .308 OBP, smacking 15 homes with 16 RBIs, dismal numbers considering his career averages.
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The Yankees have great supplemental options:
In the meantime, the Yankees have been utilizing DJ LeMahieu on the hot corner, who has been excellent to start the year.
The reality is Donaldson‘s absence doesn’t necessarily hurt the team’s offensive capabilities, but he is a stout defender that provides consistency at the position. LeMahieu was more than capable of taking over and offering above-average defensive play, but the more interesting scenario revolves around Peraza not getting to start on Wednesday afternoon.
After playing his first MLB game of the season on Tuesday, the Yankees will sit Peraza, starting Gleyber Torres at second base instead and featuring Willie Calhoun in the DH Rolle.