Yankees Injury Report: Didi Gregorius could return to the lineup in mid-June

The Yankees were unsure of when shortstop Didi Gregorius would return to the active roster after undergoing offseason Tommy John Surgery. As we near the end of May we now have a better idea of when that might be after it was reported on Saturday that he could make his season debut as early as mid-June.

The first domino to fall to injury for the 2019 New York Yankees was Didi Gregorius. Luckily, it appears he may have recovered from his offseason Tommy John surgery sooner than expected.

General Manager Brian Cashman mentioned in the winter that New York was preparing to lose Didi for a majority of the season, but the Associated Press reported on Saturday that Gregorius might return to the majors in about a month.

Didi recently made his return to live baseball action this week, but things didn’t go exactly according to plan. On Monday, he played shortstop, and he had five full plate appearances. Despite one throwing error, he went 2-for-4 with one walk.

Unfortunately, scorching 90-degree weather led him to feel dizzy and ultimately dehydrated. The team took precautionary measures to remove him from the game in the fifth inning and rest him on Tuesday. He did, however, return to the lineup on Wednesday as the team’s designated hitter, and he went 1-for-3 with a walk.

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"“What happened Monday? Dehydrated. Just got headaches,” Gregorius said. “Nothing too crazy. Felt good yesterday and today was really good. Everything is 100 percent good.”"

Even though the Yankees continued to abuse opposing pitching staffs after sweeping a four-game set with the Orioles, they can still use Gregorius’ power lefty bat. In back-to-back seasons, he finished 20th in AL MVP votes. In his four seasons as a member of the Yanks, he has a slash line of .274/.319/.447 with 81 home runs and 299 RBIs.

When Gregorius returns, the Yanks will have to immediately add him to the lineup and make room for him on the active roster. Thairo Estrada has done an excellent job filling in, but he will likely return to the minors unless the Yankees demote a member of their crowded bullpen.