Yankees News: Gary Sanchez Activated Off IL After Recovering from Calf Injury

The New York Yankees activated catcher Gary Sanchez from the 10-day injured list, the team announced Wednesday.

Sanchez has missed the Yankees' last 11 games with a left calf strain. He last played in New York's 8-6 loss to the Houston Astros on April 10.

To free up a spot for Sanchez on the 25-man roster, New York sent down catcher Kyle Higashioka.

According to The Athletic's Lindsey Adler, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday that Sanchez would immediately return to the team's lineup. Boone added the team might provide the 2017 All-Star with an occasional day off from catching.

Through 11 games, Sanchez is batting .268 and slugging .732 with six home runs and 11 RBI. 

Having him healthy provides a much-needed boost to the Yankees, who could almost build an All-Star team with the players they still have on the injured list. Miguel Andujar, Greg Bird, Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Troy Tulowitzki, Didi Gregorius, Luis Severino and Dellin Betances all remain unavailable.

Despite losing so many key players, the Yankees are 13-10 and only 2.5 games behind the first-place Tampa Bay Rays.