The New York Yankees have yet another injury concern, but this one doesn't seem too serious.
The New York Yankees have been battered by injuries all season long, and over the weekend, yet another malady surfaced for the team.
Rookie outfielder Spencer Jones missed the Yankees' 5-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday night as a result of a jammed heel that he suffered against the Minnesota Twins earlier in the week.
The good news? It doesn't appear to be too severe.
After the defeat on Saturday, manager Aaron Boone was asked about Jones, and he provided a rather encouraging response.
“He was available, like I would’ve … if a spot came up to hit or we needed to do something I would’ve gone to him,” Boone told reporters.
Boone is likely being extra careful with Jones, as the MLB playoffs are just around the corner, and New York already has enough injuries as it is.
Aaron Judge was just placed on the 10-day injured list due to a calf strain he sustained shortly after returning from a rib stress fracture that kept him sidelined for over three months.
Judge will miss the rest of the regular season, and it also seems somewhat likely that he will be out for the Wild Card Series, as well.
Giancarlo Stanton has been on the shelf since late April due to a calf injury of his own. Stanton suffered multiple setbacks throughout his recovery, and it doesn't look like he will even be back for the postseason.
Jones has been an important power bat for the Yankees in the absence of Judge and Stanton, owning a .248/.318/.433 slash line with 10 home runs and 38 RBI over 265 plate appearances.
The 25-year-old is slashing .288/.336/.481 with five homers and 20 RBI across his last 30 games, and while strikeouts continue to be a problem for Jones, he has been productive enough where the punchouts have been mitigated.
Jones had long been one of the top prospects in New York's system, but did not make his major-league debut until this season.
The early returns have certainly been impressive for the former first-round pick, who played his collegiate baseball at Vanderbilt.
