Josh Donaldson back on injured list as Yankees call up Oswald Peraza
DENVER – Oswald Peraza is back with the Yankees, at the expense of an injured Josh Donaldson.
The Yankees placed Donaldson on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a right calf strain that he suffered while running out a ground ball in Saturday’s 6-3 win over the Rockies.
Peraza was called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take the veteran’s roster spot.
Donaldson was undergoing an MRI on Sunday morning to determine the extent of his injury and how long he might be out, but even before doing so, the Yankees knew it was serious enough that he would need an IL stint.
“I know it wasn’t great in the moment,” manager Aaron Boone said.
The 37-year-old Donaldson, who was batting just .142 with a .659 OPS (10 of his 15 hits were home runs), had been dealing with a calf issue “off and on” over the “last couple weeks,” Boone said.
Josh Donaldson has hit just .142 for the Yankees this season. Getty Images
The Yankees had continued to express confidence in Donaldson, believing that he was hitting the ball hard but getting unlucky with the results.
Now, it remains to be seen when he will be healthy enough to get another chance to prove he can be more than an all-or-nothing hitter.
In the meantime, Peraza made it to Coors Field shortly before first pitch and was available off the bench Sunday.
But Boone made it sound like Peraza will see steady playing time moving forward, able to move around between third base, second base and shortstop depending on the day.
Oswald Peraza was called up from Triple-A to replace the injured Josh Donaldson. Getty Images
“There should be plenty of playing time for him,” Boone said. “You can picture an avenue where he’s playing most of the time.”
This marks Peraza’s second stint of the season with the Yankees after losing the shortstop battle to Anthony Volpe in spring training.
He was recalled in April to replace an injured Giancarlo Stanton and played third base, second base and shortstop before spraining his ankle and landing on the IL.
Once he was healthy, Peraza was optioned back to Triple-A and caught fire, hitting .371 with 10 home runs and a 1.296 OPS in his first 14 games back.
Since then he had cooled off, though, batting .171 with two home runs and a .610 OPS across his last 22 games.
“The biggest thing I’ve been pleased with with Oswald is how he’s dealt with us going with Anthony to start the season,” Boone said. “It hasn’t changed anything about how he’s gone about his work and his focus and his preparation. He’s gone down there and performed. That’s a lot easier said than done. I’ve been there. Excited to get him up here. We know he’s a really good player. He’s done a good job of continuing to work on getting better and better.”
Source: New York Post
