Yankees: Didi Gregorius goes down (again) and could miss playoffs

Didi Gregorius is hurt and possibly done for the year, and the Yankees might be in trouble. Luckily, they already clinched the playoffs.

As the regular season draws to a close, fans want to see their teams round into health. The Yankees are no exception; with the returns of Aaron Judge and Aroldis Chapman, the Bombers looked like they were on the right track. Then, Didi Gregorius went down with another injury. This time, the shortstop tore cartilage in his wrist when sliding into home plate on September 22.

To say the least, Gregorius’ injury throws a wrench into the Yankees’ Postseason plans. “Sir Didi” is one of those players you can pencil into the lineup and not worry about. Without the club’s semi-star shortstop, manager Aaron Boone has to go back to the drawing board.

As when Gregorius went down with a bruised heel on August 19th, Boone’s lineup has lost a solid left-handed hitter. The Yankees have some depth to fill the hole at SS; Gleyber Torres can slide over from second base, and elite defender Adeiny Hechavarria will probably be Boone’s first choices. Don’t forget about versatile players Ronald Torreyes and Tyler Wade.

Still, Didi is hard to replace. This year, he’s hitting .268 with 27 home runs. Gregorius was a Postseason hero last year, and he easily could have gone on an October hot streak this year, too.

More from Yankees News

• Diamondbacks outfielder’s comment on Carlos Rodón’s IG raises eyebrows
• Aaron Judge Time interview scared Yankees as much as it scared you
• Why weren’t Yankees in on Kodai Senga now that we know the price?
• Baseball Reference proves Yankees’ Aaron Judge lives rent free in Boston
• Yankees’ Clay Holmes trade just became even bigger disaster for Pirates

The Yankees would have leaned on Torres, a rookie, even if Didi was in the lineup. Now, Boone will have to depend on Torres to step up.

When Judge went down for an extended period, the Yankees proved that they might not have the depth to survive a big blow to the lineup. Yes, Judge is back, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks and Miguel Andujar are still quality bats, and Gary Sanchez could break out of his year-long slump. But without Didi, this lineup is missing a key cog.

It’s easy to hope that the pitching will be strong enough to make up the difference. But the bullpen has been atrocious lately, and the rotation is still worrisome, even with multiple efforts to augment its strength.

If there is a silver lining to be found here, it’s that there’s still time for Boone to play with the lineup before the playoffs start. The Bombers still have two series (against the Rays and the Red Sox.)

In these last few games, Boone can mix and match with the infielders at his disposal and see who’s the best fit to take Didi’s role, on paper, in the Postseason.

Luckily, the Yanks have already clinched a playoff spot. In the immediate short term, the worst case scenario would have the Yankees play the Wild Card Game in Oakland. While that trip wouldn’t be ideal, the Bombers can enjoy a little security in their guaranteed spot in the tournament for at least one day.