The Yankees got good news on Trent Grisham.
Imaging did not reveal a break in the center fielder’s left hand after a hit-by-pitch in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Texas Rangers caused him to exit.
Grisham was diagnosed with a contusion, the Yankees said.
“It kind of swelled up on him right away,” manager Aaron Boone said after the Yankees won the first game, 8-0. “It was a little ugly out there when we first went out there [to check on him]. X-rays were negative. We sent him for a CT scan just to be safe. They were negative, so I think we dodged a bullet there.”
Rangers reliever Brock Burke plunked Grisham’s hand with a 96-mph fastball in the bottom of the fourth inning. One pitch earlier, the lefty-swinging Grisham had to get out of the way of an inside fastball from the left-handed Burke.
After an on-field medical evaluation, Grisham remained in the game as a baserunner and scored on an Aaron Judge double. He was then replaced defensively in the top of the fifth, with Jazz Chisholm moving from third base to center field and Oswaldo Cabrera entering as the new third baseman.
Grisham was not in the Yankees’ lineup for Saturday’s second game.
“We’ll see what we have now today, tomorrow, and moving forward,” Boone said of Grisham’s status.
Grisham is a two-time Gold Glove winner in center field and the Yankees’ primary backup at the position behind Judge.
Acquired in the same December trade that brought Juan Soto over from San Diego, the 27-year-old Grisham is hitting .191 with seven home runs and 24 RBI through 64 games.
He hit better with increased playing time when Giancarlo Stanton was sidelined with a hamstring strain from June 22 to July 28, a stretch in which Judge served as the designated hitter more frequently. Grisham batted .263 with three home runs over 76 at-bats spanning 27 games, including 20 starts, in that timeframe.
Chisholm mostly played center field for the Miami Marlins the past two seasons after moving from second base. Saturday marked the second time Chisholm played center field since being traded in late July to the Yankees – and his first time doing so with the team in the Bronx.
Chisholm has primarily played third base with the Yankees.
The Yankees’ top prospect, Jasson Dominguez, started eight games in center field during a September call-up last year before undergoing season-ending elbow surgery. After returning from that — and an oblique injury — this season, the 21-year-old Dominguez is back to playing at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre AAA.
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