Yankees Catcher Gary Sanchez Placed on 10-Day IL with Groin Injury

The New York Yankees placed catcher Gary Sanchez on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with a left groin strain.

The Yankees recalled catcher Kyle Higashioka from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to fill Sanchez's roster spot.

Sanchez exited in the eighth inning of Tuesday's 14-12 win over the Minnesota Twins after pulling up lame while running out a ground ball.

According to the New York Times' James Wagner, manager Aaron Boone said Sanchez suffered a Grade 1 strain. There is no timetable for his return. 

The two-time All-Star is one of the American League's most valuable players when healthy and locked in. He provides a lot of power—71 home runs in 264 games over the previous three seasons—and does so at a position with a limited number of impact offensive contributors.

The 26-year-old Dominican Republic native has struggled with injuries in recent years, though. He missed time early in the 2017 season with a biceps strain and required two trips to the injured list in 2018 because of lingering groin problems.

He's already had one IL stint this year after suffering a calf injury.

Sanchez is hitting just .229 with 24 home runs and 58 RBI this season, but his numbers were far better before a recent slump, which has seen him hit just .102 in July.

With Sanchez on the shelf, Austin Romine figures to receive a lion's share of the starts behind the plate for the Yanks, while Higashioka will serve in a backup role.

Romine is a better defender than Sanchez, and he is hitting .244 with two homers and 17 RBI.

Being without Sanchez's power threat in the lineup is a detriment for the Yanks, but given how deep they are on offense, they should be able to make up for his loss without much issue.

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