Yankees bench hopeful suffers freak accident in Mexico City series

A longshot for the Yankees' Opening Day roster -- who'd put himself at the fringes of the mix with an excellent spring -- just got significantly longer.

Ex-Guardians slugger Oscar Gonzalez put himself in place for a potential call-up with a standout camp, during which he hit .326 with a homer and an .889 OPS, earning a trip to Mexico City (in place of several core Yankees who stayed home). It was tough to envision the Yankees carrying a fifth outfielder instead of a backup shortstop, but hey, they apparently haven't ruled out carrying Ben Rortvedt, which would make three catchers. Any insanity's possible!

Unfortunately, that "insanity" apparently includes multiple key young players receiving facial contusions on the final day of exhibition action -- in two countries.

Just about a week after DJ LeMahieu fouled a ball off his foot hard enough to induce a deep bone bruise, his potential replacement, Jorbit Vivas, was scratched from Monday's stateside action with a facial contusion. A few hours later, Gonzalez struck a ball off his eye socket and was rushed to the hospital; after being carted off the field, he was later diagnosed with an orbital fracture. No concussion was detected.

Yankees' Oscar Gonzalez suffers orbital fracture in Mexico City series

The next time we see Gonzalez, he might be rocking a Rip Hamilton mask.

Vivas' injury might've been more impactful in the immediate future -- after all, he was set to start at third base for a reason -- but Gonzalez's, suffered in primetime in front of a larger number of watching eyes, registered as more terrifying.

After overnight observation, no additional word has trickled out about any changes in his condition. Gonzalez can continue playing baseball, theoretically, with an orbital fracture; it is a non-contact sport, after all. That doesn't mean he won't be gun-shy about "going for it," though, and it also doesn't mean he'll be immune from side effects, like blurred vision, which could greatly impact his season. Yet another freak accident with consequences for a Yankees team that could use a lucky break rather than a fractured bone every once in a while.