Jacoby Ellsbury Placed on 7-Day DL with Concussion, Neck Injury

The New York Yankees announced outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury suffered a concussion and neck sprain Wednesday and was forced to leave the game against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium. After the game, Yankees manager Joe Girardi told reporters Ellsbury is heading to the seven-day concussion disabled list.

The center fielder made a tremendous catch for the first out of the game but hit the wall in the process and suffered the injury.

Although Ellsbury was dinged up two seasons ago and limited to 111 games as a result, he remained relatively healthy last season.

In 148 appearances, he slashed .263/.330/.374 with nine home runs, 56 RBI and 20 stolen bases. He also posted 1.2 defensive wins above replacement in 2016, the second-highest mark of his career.

Now 39 games into the 2017 season, the 33-year-old is slashing .281/.349/.422 with four home runs, 14 RBI and eight stolen bases for a Yankees team that's improved by leaps and bounds in a competitive American League East.

Should Ellsbury miss extended action, Girardi will have to reshuffle his outfield.

The big question, then, is whether he wants Brett Gardner to temporarily assume Ellsbury's post in center field or let Aaron Hicks move into that prominent position with Gardner stationed in left and Aaron Judge in right.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference.