The former Yankees player reportedly suffered an unexpected injury in Japan.
Tyler Austin, who was drafted by the Yankees in 2010 and played for the Bronx from 2016-18, was forced to leave a recent Yokohama DeNA BayStars game after hitting his head on the ceiling while changing uniform behind the team's bench. According to Yahoo JapanThe paper quoted comments from the team's public relations department and manager Daisuke Miura.
The 33-year-old attempted to change out of his uniform after sliding headfirst into home plate for the out, but was replaced midway through the seventh inning following the incident.
Austin, who is in his fifth year with Yokohama, is in good form in the 2024 season, batting .322, on-base percentage .393, slugging percentage .620, 22 home runs and 60 RBIs.
one time Reportedly Described as a “super promising prospect” by general manager Brian Cashman in 2012, Austin made his MLB debut with the Yankees in 2016 and played 85 games over three seasons with the team as a first baseman and outfielder before being traded to the Twins in 2018 for Lance Lynn.
Austin, who played for the U.S. team that won the silver medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, batted .230 with a .746 OPS, 15 home runs and 43 RBIs for the Yankees.
He was traded from the Twins to the Giants in April 2019 and became a free agent after San Francisco selected him for selection in August of that year.
Austin initially spent the rest of the year with the Brewers on a minor league contract before signing with Yokohama in November 2019.
