Yankees injury bug strikes Triple-A; Gleyber Torres hits DL

As if the Yankees suffering from a rash of injuries coupled with their current five-game losing streak wasn’t bad enough, top prospect Gleyber Torres suffered a hyperextended left elbow on Saturday afternoon.

Trying to score from second base on a single to right field, 20-year-old infielder Gleyber Torres did his best to avoid the catcher’s tag with a head-first slide. Unfortunately, not only was he dead to rights, but to add insult to injury, the Yankees No. 1 prospect suffered a potentially serious injury — though initial tests were negative.

Scheduled for a comprehensive examination on Monday, Torres has already been placed on the 7-Day disabled list. Let’s hope this is strictly precautionary.

Torres did seem upbeat via his Twitter account.

Following Scranton-Wilkes/Barre’s sweep of the doubleheader against the Buffalo Bisons, Railriders manager Al Pedrique reiterated his stance against headfirst slides to The Buffalo News.

More from Yankees News

• Yankees add to championship core with Wilmer Difo signing
• Aaron Judge’s ‘breadcrumbs’ showed he was never leaving Yankees, has more moves in mind
• Yankees analyst Cameron Maybin projects surprise landing spot for Gary Sánchez
• Yankees swipe intriguing minor-league FA lefty flamethrower from Braves
• What does Carlos Rodón’s new jersey number mean for Domingo Germán?

"“It’s one thing that we teach as an organization, try not to have the guys slide head-first, any base and especially home plate because of all the gear the catcher has on,” Pedrique said. “When I saw the slide it was a concern and then afterwards when I saw him stay on the ground, definitely it was a scary moment for everybody. He came back from the hospital. Everything’s normal. So from that end, we’re very excited he didn’t get hurt worse. Again, that’s one thing we try to tell the player and teach them how to slide. But in the moment of the game, the competition, sometimes they don’t use the information to slide feet-first.”"

Earlier this week, ESPN’s Andrew Marchand spoke about the possibility of Torres getting the much-anticipated call-up to the show sometime after the All-Star break — especially with the continued struggles of incumbent third baseman Chase Headley.

In the piece, Pedrique expresses his views that Torres isn’t quite ready for the next step of his evolution, though it may not matter should Monday’s test results come back unfavorably.

In 23 games since being promoted to Triple-A Scranton, Torres is slashing .309/.406/.497 with four doubles, two home runs and 16 RBI in 81 at-bats. In his last 39 at-bats alone, Torres is hitting a robust .385 (15-for-39).

Next: Is Greg Bird really Nick Johnson in disguise?

This is Torres’ second stint on the DL this season, as he previously dealt with rotator cuff tendonitis while at Double-A Trenton. For now, we wait with bated breath, hoping this latest setback is minor.