Chirinos sidelined with wrist fracture
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CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Yankees catcher Robinson Chirinos has been diagnosed with a fractured right wrist, ending the veteran’s bid to make the Opening Day roster as Gary Sánchez’s backup.
Chirinos was hit by a Blake Cederlind pitch in the eighth inning of New York’s 6-5 Grapefruit League victory over the Pirates on Wednesday evening at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
The Yankees said that Chirinos underwent X-rays and CT scan imaging on Thursday at BayCare Outpatient Imaging in Tampa, Fla. Drs. Daniel Murphy and Christopher Ahmad consulted and reviewed imagery, confirming the wrist fracture.
The team said that wrist and hand specialists will be consulted in the coming days to determine the next steps.
“It’s been awesome having Robinson in here,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s been a great teammate; he’s really influenced the catching room. He’s been a lot of fun for me to be around. Just a really good guy. I’m especially hurting for him today, just knowing how much he’s put in to be a part of this team.”
Chirinos, 36, was competing with Kyle Higashioka for a spot on the Yankees’ bench. Chirinos batted .162 (12-for-74) with one homer and seven RBIs in 26 games for the Mets and Rangers last season.
He owns a .231/.325/.431 career slash line with 86 homers and 269 RBIs in 602 Major League games with the Rangers, Mets, Rays and Astros.