Yankees: Opportunity knocks for Austin Romine

With Yankees starting catcher Gary Sanchez headed to the DL, backup Austin Romine has an opportunity to expand on an already strong season.

In the Yankees 2018 season, Sanchez has struggled more than anticipated. A very uncharacteristic .190 BA and subpar defense have hindered his ability to progress in a consistent manner.

The statistics, however, should not discount the ability Sanchez previously has shown. He played a monumental role in leading the Yankees to the postseason in 2017 and was one of the team’s main sluggers. He broke the record for most home runs in a single-season by a catcher in franchise history with 33.

Despite his 2018 struggles, Sanchez is undoubtedly a key player on the team. Though his play has been stagnant, he’s still managed to pick up 41 RBIs with 14 home runs, putting him on pace for another 30 and 90 season. In the midst of a miserable cold streak, he’s still contributed.

But on Sunday he left the game after suffering a right groin strain. He injured himself crossing first base upon grounding into DP.

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Aaron Boone expects him to be out for approximately three to four weeks. MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch reports Boone’s discussion of alternate catching options with Sanchez headed to the DL.

“Gary Sanchez out of your lineup, that’s a big deal,” Boone said. “But we’ll take the positive out of it. Ro has done a great job obviously this year for us. It’s an opportunity for Higashioka to get up here and hopefully everyone can pick up the slack a little bit in his absence, but we feel like we offensively speaking will be OK.”

Romine will take over as starting catcher. The Yankees recalled Kyle Higashioka from Triple-A, who will now serve as backup.

A lineup that excludes Sanchez is not ideal for the Yankees. However, Romine has proven his ability behind the plate and has displayed offensive power as well. He’s slashing .291/.354/.500/.854 in 29 games. Romine’s opportunity to play regularly has the potential to show further progress in what has been a very good season so far, or it will silence the Sanchez critics.

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The team should be just fine record wise if Romine can keep playing at the level he has all season. Even more profitable, however, would be a healthy Sanchez return to the lineup. The Yankees hope he can return with improved production and perform well enough to carry the team through the postseason.