Voit exits with core injury, awaits MRI results
NEW YORK -- The Yankees caught a couple of lucky breaks over the weekend, as DJ LeMahieu and Gio Urshela sustained minor injuries that have not required a stint on the injured list. They're hoping for that good fortune to continue with Luke Voit.
Voit was removed from the Yankees' 4-2 loss to the D-backs in the top of the fifth inning with what was announced as a core muscle injury. He was scheduled to undergo an MRI on Tuesday evening, and the team is expected to announce those results on Wednesday.
"In talking to Luke during the game, when he was coming out, he was having a hard time putting his finger on it," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "He was having a hard time getting loose before the game, and he didn't feel like he did anything to it. We'll wait and see what the results say, and try and get our arms around it."
Voit, 28, is batting .278/.392/.493 with 19 homers and 54 RBIs in 94 games. Boone said Voit did not mention the tightness prior to the game, though television replays showed him wincing after his third-inning strikeout.
"It's tough when one of your best hitters goes down with who-knows-what," Aaron Judge said. "We'll see what the diagnosis is on him and how he's feeling. Like I've said before, when guys go down, people step up."
During the Yankees' series against the Red Sox in London, Voit sustained a lower abdominal strain that cost him only eight games, thanks to the timing of the All-Star break.
The Yankees inserted third baseman Tyler Wade in Voit's spot in the order, with Urshela moving from third base to first base. Wade slugged an eighth-inning homer, his first of the season and the second of his big league career.
If Voit is out of the lineup for an extended period, the Yankees would likely split first base duties between LeMahieu -- who has been sidelined by a minor groin strain but could play as soon as Wednesday -- and Edwin Encarnacion.
General manager Brian Cashman has been seeking pitching in advance of Wednesday's Trade Deadline, recently stating that he does not envision the club trading for another position player at this point of the schedule.
Boone added that Greg Bird, sidelined since April 13 due to a left plantar fascia tear, is "not an option right now." Bird has been rehabbing at the Yankees' Minor League complex in Tampa, Fla., since the first week of June.