The New York Yankees will be without their starting backstop for the time being.
Catcher Jose Trevino has been placed on the 10-day injured list after suffering a left-quad strain in Friday's victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Manager Aaron Boone believes the injury occurred when Trevino slid into home in the ninth inning after smacking a double. Austin Wells finished the game behind the dish.
Before exiting, the 31-year-old was 2-for-4 on the night with an RBI. Overall, he's hitting .244 this season with eight homers and 27 RBIs. Trevino and Wells have both played 59 games apiece, essentially splitting time. Trevino was an All-Star in 2022.
The Yankees called up Carlos Narvaez to take Trevino's spot on the roster. This is his first time in the big leagues, but it'll mostly be Wells who takes over the full-time catching duties. Narvaez was batting .269 in Triple-A.
Yankees looking to gain ground on Orioles
New York has been struggling as of late, going just 3-7 in their last 10 games. Despite that, the Bronx Bombers are just one game behind the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the American League East. Friday's win was a huge one, and if they can sweep this series, they'll be back in first place.
Gerrit Cole finally had a good outing, tossing six innings of one-run baseball to notch the win. The bullpen also threw three scoreless frames. Offensively, Aaron Judge smacked his 33rd homer of the campaign. That leads the majors with Shohei Ohtani's 28 long balls the next closest.
There was some drama in the series opener between the AL East rivals after Clay Holmes hit Heston Kjerstad with a pitch in the head in the bottom of the ninth. The benches ultimately cleared before pushing and shoving.
Yankees bench coach Brad Ausmus and O's manager Brandon Hyde got very heated. Boone made it clear there was zero intention for Holmes to plunk Kjerstad:
“First of all, I hope Heston’s alright. Nobody ever wants to see that. It was scary in the moment,” Boone said during the postgame. “And then obviously, [it was] an emotional moment and two teams playing for a lot. Glad it didn’t escalate too much.
“We’re playing for too much to get caught up in that. We've got to play well. We've got to win ballgames. Same for them.”
Baltimore has now lost four in a row and will face Luis Gil on Saturday. New York's pitching staff has been their biggest strength in 2024, compiling a stellar 3.57 ERA, which ranks fourth in the MLB. That's without Cole being at his best since coming back from injury.
As for the catcher situation, Wells is solid defensively, but he's not doing much at the plate, only batting .219 this year. The Yankees will be hoping for more production out of him. While rookie Ben Rice also has catching experience, it's unlikely he helps out in that department since he's been playing first base regularly with Anthony Rizzo injured.
Sunday's finale will be the Yankees' final contest before the All-Star Break. NY is sending three players to Arlington for the festivities — Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Clay Holmes. Boone's group is back in action on July 19 as they begin a four-game set with another divisional foe, the Tampa Bay Rays.
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