New York Yankees Lose Another Infielder to Injury

The New York Yankees lost another key piece of their infield to injury in their rubber-game against the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday.

Jun 18, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres (25) and right fielder Juan Soto (22) and centerfielder Trent Grisham (12) celebrate after defeating the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Yankees are banged up in their infield and bullpen.

Since Sunday night, they have lost half of their infield to injury with second baseman Gleyber Torres being the latest after he was removed from Thursday afternoon's game due to groin tightness, as the Yankees announced.

Torres dodged a bullet on Tuesday when he was plunked on the hand by a pitch, shortly after superstar captain Aaron Judge was forced out of that game due to getting plunked on the hand by a 94 mph fastball. Luckily for the Yankees, both players proved to be fine. However, Torres couldn't escape the injury bug two days later due to a barking groin.

The severity of Torres' tightness is currently unknown, but it comes at a bad time for all parties, as the Yankees are hoping their two-time All-Star infielder can get going at the plate. Coming off a strong 2023 campaign at the dish, Torres has had a rough season offensively through 77 games with a .221/.300/.341 slash line with a .641 OPS, seven home runs and 28 RBIs. And in the past 15 games, the 27-year-old was just 9-for-51 (.176) with a .620 OPS.

Torres' recent struggles do not match up with his career norms, where he has clubbed 130 homers and posted a .775 OPS in seven seasons in the Bronx.

Like Torres, First baseman Anthony Rizzo injured himself this week as well. Rizzo fractured his arm against the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night and is expected to miss the next eight weeks.

Rizzo and Torres haven't pulled their weight from a production standpoint this season, but the Yankees were waiting to see if one, or both hitters could get going before the trade deadline at the end of next month. Now, GM Brian Cashman could be forced to explore an upgrade at multiple infield positions since the Yankees haven't gotten enough out of the third base spot either.

Time will tell whether Torres will require a trip to the IL, but he has yet to show signs of coming out of his prolonged slump. The groin issue is another major bump in the road for the infielder, who is about to become a free agent after the year.

Update: After Thursday's game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters that he doesn't expect Torres' groin issue to be anything serious, per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic.

That being said, we will see how the next few days play out on that front.