The New York Yankees' awful injury luck continued on Wednesday night, as outfielder Harrison Bader exited the 7-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels with a rib injury after he was hit by a pitch in the top of the sixth inning. Bader, whose official injury is a rib contusion, gave reporters an update after the game, saying he's “hopeful” he'll be able to play on Friday when the Yankees host Kansas City Royals, per Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record.
“(It's) a little sore, just tightened up on me (while on the bases). Didn’t feel like it was best to keep going.'”
Bader said the rib injury is “sore.” The Yankees outfielder added that he felt it tighten up while he was running the bases in the sixth inning, and he felt it was best to sit out the remainder of the game.
Bader was plunked by a 95 MPH sinker, which sent him tumbling to the ground in pain. He ultimately ran the bases but was replaced in the bottom half of the sixth inning by Isiah Kiner-Falefa.
It's smart for the Yankees to be cautious with Bader, who has already dealt with two injuries that have required stints on the injured list, an oblique strain at the beginning of the year and a strained hamstring back in May.
The 29-year-old outfielder has posted a .243/.276/.422 slash line with seven home runs and eight stolen bases while ranking fourth in the majors in the Statcast metric Outs Above Average, a defensive statistic that determines value.
The Yankees, 50-47 and in last place in the American League East after losing four straight games, can only hope that the Bader injury isn't serious.
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