Gleyber Torres was left out of the Yankees lineup for Tuesday night’s game against the Blue Jays after jamming his finger while diving back to first base on Monday.
Aaron Bone said Torres jammed his right ring finger and while X-rays and a CT scan all came back negative, Boone decided to rest Torres and make Gio Urshela the starting shortstop against Toronto.
“He was pretty sore last night…he’s still a little bit sore today,” Boone said. “I would say he’s probably available to us today, certainly in an emergency but maybe even more so than that as he gets moving around today.”
Boone told reporters that the hope is for Torres to be back in the lineup on Wednesday. Tuesday would have been a scheduled day off for him even before the finger injury, and Urshela has been seeing reps at shortstop in spring and practice to prepare for a potential start at the position, especially after Tyler Wade was optioned and Thairo Estrada was designated for assignment.
“I have a lot of confidence in Gio when he has a glove in his hand and standing on the infield,” Boone said. “I expect him to go out there and play the way he’s capable of, handle the routine play and hopefully go out and contribute to a victory for us. Gio is one of the last people I worry about on the defensive side of the ball, so I think he will represent well.”
Torres has been off to a slow start in 2021, struggling defensively with the everyday role at shortstop while batting just .205 with a .526 OPS in 44 plate appearances.
Urshela, making his first start at shortstop in his Yankee career, is arguably the team’s best defensive infielder, but will be making his first appearance at shortstop since 2018, when he made eight starts at the position for the Blue Jays. He has made nine starts at shortstop in his entire career, committing one error in that span.
“The fact that he is a very good defender…came up in Cleveland and has played a lot of shortstop in his minor league career…he was a guy who was a defense-first guy always,” Boone said. “Really no reservation in throwing him over there. “
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
