Jazz Chisholm Jr. was, unsurprisingly, placed on the IL after exiting a game in the Orioles series early, but what was a surprise was an MRI revealing a high-grade oblique strain, which will likely have the infielder sit out a couple of months.
Manager Aaron Boone said 4-6 weeks on the IL is likely, but he’s excited for Jorbit Vivas — who was called up Friday and making his MLB debut — to get an extended run wih the team.
Before the series opener against the Rays, the Yankees skipper talked about what he sees from Vivas and the initial plan for the infielder.
“I expect Jorbit to play a lot,” Boone said. “He’s playing really well down in Triple-A….We know we have a big player there. He can really play at second and he can swing the bat. Looking forward to him getting a little bit of an opportunity here and hopefully taking advantage of that.”
In 26 games with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Vivas is slashing .319/.426/.436 with seven extra-base hits, including two home runs, 15 RBI, and an .862 OPS.
“He lays the barrel on the ball and he’s got a little sock to the pull side,” Boone said of Vivas. “He’s very good at second, he’s athletic there, he moves well.”
Vivas joins an infield stable that includes Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza and Pablo Reyes. The versatility of all the options on the Yankees bench even extends to Vivas, but Boone said that the plan is for the 24-year-old to stick to one position.
“Right now, I kind of look at him as being in that second base mix,” he said. “We have moved him around a little bit, but I do feel like he’s much better at second. Look, anything’s possible in a given day but right now, I plan on having to play a lot of second.”
Update on DJ LeMahieu
With Chisholm out for an extended period of time, Boone was asked if the injury affects LeMahieu’s rehab and whether they would try to get him back sooner.
“I don’t know about accelerating,” Boone said. “I think the couple days down was him being very proactive and like we got to make sure we get this right. It’s good that he’s back playing….maybe changes the position a little bit initially, but the biggest thing right now is…getting the back-to-back, getting the six, seven, eight Innings. And then bouncing back is the biggest thing.”
LeMahieu is playing in Double-A as weather in the coming days can limit the number of games he can play in Triple-A but the Yankees manager is happy with the number of at-bats his veteran infielder has taken already. If LeMahieu can recover properly after games, especially after the pre-emptive cortisone shot he took this week, then a return for the former batting champion can be discussed.
Update on Giancarlo Stanton
Stanton was transferred to the 60-day IL this week after the Yankees acquired OF Bryan De La Cruz off waivers but that was just a procedural move, which Boone confirmed on Friday.
The skipper said the 60-day expiration is around May 27, which is when conversations will need to be had, but Boone also gave a short update on Stanton’s rehab.
“Still more of the same like going through his running progression, doing high-speed stuff with the hitting,” he said.
Boone said Stanton will do live BP either this week or early next week against Jake Cousins.
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