BOSTON — Trent Grisham’s Potential Return
Trent Grisham might be a week away from rejoining the Yankees.
The center fielder is anticipated to arrive at Fenway Park on Thursday and engage in serious baseball activities throughout the series. He worked on his defense in the outfield and took batting practice ahead of Thursday’s game. After this series, he’ll likely head into a rehab stint.
Grisham has been sidelined since June 13 due to a moderate strain in his right hamstring. However, if he navigates the last phases of recovery smoothly, he could return earlier than the Yankees had initially thought.
“He’s doing very well,” said manager Aaron Boone on Thursday. “It’s encouraging. He’ll probably run the bases… I think he’ll hit the bases a few times this weekend while we’re here. But he’s getting close.”
Boone mentioned that Grisham will likely need to participate in one or two rehab games to ensure he can properly defend his position in center field before returning.
Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, and Ben Rice have progressed to the next round of All-Star voting on Thursday, which gives them a shot at starting for the American League in next month’s Midsummer Classic in Philadelphia, although Judge is currently not ready to play due to a rib injury.
In the first round of voting, Judge received the highest number of votes among AL outfielders, with Bellinger coming in fourth (the top six outfielders move on).
On another note, Rice garnered just over half the votes compared to Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr., ranking second among AL first basemen.
Rice and Guerrero will face off once again (along with six other outfielders) in the next voting round, which concludes on July 2nd.
Paul Goldschmidt, who kicked off the game with a double against Red Sox pitcher Connelly Early, boasts a batting average of .418 and an OPS of 1.323 in 79 at-bats against left-handed pitchers.
Post-game, the Yankees sent JC Escala down to Triple-A, making room for Ali Sanchez to come off the paternity list on Friday.
This series marks the second matchup between the Yankees and Red Sox since manager Alex Cora’s departure. Boone stated he has chatted with his friend and former colleague “a few times” since Cora was let go, noting it feels odd not seeing him in the opposing dugout.
“It was definitely a little different because Alex was always a big part of it,” Boone commented.
Fernando Cruz didn’t pitch Thursday, but he has successfully stranded 28 of the 32 runners that reached him this season, including 24 of the last 25 since April 25th.
