The Yankees are hoping Trent Grisham and his tight hamstring can avoid the injured list.
The outfielder went through a light pregame workout in Toronto on Tuesday afternoon. With fellow outfielder Bryan De La Cruz joining the Yankees as a taxi squad player, the club could wait until Wednesday before making an IL decision on Grisham, according to the Bergen Record’s Pete Caldera.
Grisham exited Monday’s loss to Toronto in the fifth inning. A short time later, the Yankees announced that he departed with left hamstring tightness.
Grisham suffered the injury running after a sinking line drive in the bottom of the fourth inning. He was unable to catch the ball.
After the game, Grisham said that his cleat got caught in the turf at Rogers Centre, per the YES Network. The veteran, who has dealt with hamstring injuries in the past, did not expect to undergo tests on Tuesday morning.
Grisham has been a surprise standout in his second season with the Yankees.
While he’s cooled off since positing a 1.036 OPS over his first 34 games, he’s still hitting .246 with an .815 OPS, 15 home runs, 32 RBI and a 132 wRC+.
Should Grisham have to miss more time, it would unclog the Yankees’ cluttered lineup a bit. With three other outfielders — Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Jasson Domínguez — plus Paul Goldschmidt, Giancarlo Stanton and Ben Rice all on hand, Aaron Boone has been mixing and matching his lineup and keeping talented players on the bench each day.
The righty-swinging De La Cruz was hitting .250/.329/.421 with seven homers and 22 RBI over 43 games at Triple-A. Claimed off waivers from the Braves at the start of May, he hit just .191/.240/.213 with zero homers and zero RBI over 16 games for Atlanta.
De La Cruz has displayed some pop in the past, hitting 53 homers over 417 games for the Marlins and Pirates from 2022-2024. The 28-year-old is a .251/.295/.402 lifetime hitter with 58 homers and 208 RBI over 491 total games.
Unlike Grisham, De La Cruz is not considered a strong defender. He’s recorded -18 Outs Above Average for his career while mostly playing the corners.
