Yankees in real trouble if Austin Romine unable to go

With All-Star catcher Gary Sanchez already out up to four weeks with a strained groin, the Yankees can ill-afford to lose Austin Romine for even a few days time.

Not only were the Yankees lambasted 11-0 by the Red Sox on Saturday night, but to make matters worse, fill-in starting catcher Austin Romine was forced to leave the contest in the seventh inning with a tight left hamstring.

Although the precautionary MRI came back clean, the club is unsure when Romine will be fit to don the tools of ignorance.

Romine, a career .228 hitter, has repaid the Yanks’ confidence in keeping him around for parts of seven seasons. Known for his consistent defensive production, the 29-year-old Romine has broken out with the bat in 2018, slashing .274/.340/.474 with four home runs, 20 RBIs and a 19:10 K:BB ratio in 95 at-bats.

Unfortunately, Romine is mired in a bit of a slump, going 4-for-36 (.111 BA) — proving that he is much more effective in small doses.

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Should Romine miss any time, that leaves Kyle Higashioka as the only backstop currently on the 40-man roster — hence his promotion following Sanchez’s injury last week.

Higashioka, who replaced Romine behind the plate on Saturday, popped up in the bottom of the eighth inning, moving to 0-for-21 since making his major league debut with the Yankees last year.

Prior to his call-up, Higashioka was doing little at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to warrant a trip to the Bronx. In 183 at-bats, the career minor leaguer (10 years) was slashing .191/.265/.328 with five home runs, 22 RBIs and a 42:16 K:BB ratio.

The fact that the Yankees have a shortage of viable catchers in their farm system isn’t news. It was a driving force behind the organization recently spending its first two draft picks on backstops — and selecting a whopping seven catchers in total.

Should Romine’s recent injury flare up, or Higashioka continues to show little to nothing, the Yankees may be forced to turn to Long Island Ducks signing Wilkin Castillo or Venezuelan, Luis Diaz.

Castillo, 34, only has 22 games of big league experience (35 career at-bats) — all coming between 2008-09 with the Reds.

Diaz, 28, was just promoted to Triple-A Scranton on Monday and has hit .302 with 20 RBIs in 21 games across three minor league levels this season.

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So as we wait for Gary Sanchez to make his triumphant return from the DL, let’s hope Romine only misses minimal time, otherwise, we honestly have no idea what to expect out of the catching position.