Yankees fan favorite prospect finally returns to Triple-A after frightening injury

New York Yankees do-it-all prospect Caleb Durbin really can handle anything on the field. Unfortunately, that doesn't apply to the kinds of things no man can handle; namely, a fastball to the exposed wrist.

It's possible the only thing that stood between Durbin and a late summer promotion to the Yankees was a poorly executed Triple-A pitch at the end of May. The 5'6"-but-still-frightening hitter was able to participate in defensive drills the day he hit the injured list, but still lingered on the shelf from early summer through the end of July.

The spooky thing about both a hand injury and the minor-league "7-day IL" is you, as an outsider, have zero clue when either is going to expire. Seven days could mean months. A "hand issue" could mean any number of minuscule shattered bones.

Luckily, though Durbin's absence was lengthy, he's officially on the mend and back on a big-league trajectory. After a short rehab stint with the Somerset Patriots (during which he knocked the rust off, going 3-for-24), the utility man has been cleared to return to Scranton, just one step away from the big leagues.

Yankees return Caleb Durbin to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre roster after rehab stint

Prior to the errant pitch, Durbin was doing everything the Yankees wanted to see and more, hitting .299 with a .413 OBP and .871 OPS, displaying excellent gap power and covering plenty of different gaps himself defensively.

This season alone, he's appeared 16 times at third base, 22 times at second, eight at short, five in left, and once in center. His potent bat has also led him to the DH spot five times, which is not normal for a 5'6" scrapper.

Though Durbin isn't on the Yankees' 40-man roster, it certainly feels like he's on the team's radar for a promotion, something he echoed during his most recent rehab stint. He may have been dealt a setback in the early summer, but given how smooth Jazz Chisholm looks at third base already (doing a fairly solid impression of Durbin's versatility), there isn't much standing in his way long-term.