The New York Yankees have placed center fielder Harrison Bader on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain, the team announced Tuesday evening. Outfielder Franchy Cordero was called up in a corresponding move. Bader suffered the injury trying to beat out an infield single Monday night. The team did not provide a timetable for his return.
The play looked innocent enough, but Bader came up limping after running through first base, and was pulled from the game. He was sent for an MRI on Tuesday, which confirmed the strain. Here's the injury:
"He just felt it pull on him a little bit," Yankees manager Aaron Boone told the New York Post about Bader's injury following Monday's game. "We'll see. (The training staff) doesn't seem to think it's too serious, but you don't want to rule out an IL or whatever."
Bader suffered an oblique strain in spring training and missed the start of the regular season. He made his season debut May 2 and hit .267/.295/.511 with six home runs in 26 games before Monday's hamstring injury. Bader has also played his typically excellent defense, so much so that he is second among all center fielders with five outs above average despite limited action.
Injuries come with the territory with Bader, who was on the injured list with plantar fasciitis when the Yankees acquired him from the St. Louis Cardinals at last year's trade deadline. A variety of injuries have limited him to 531 of 764 possible regular season games from 2018-23, or 70%. Bader played 86 games around plantar fasciitis in 2022.
Greg Allen will start in center field Tuesday against the Seattle Mariners (GameTracker). The Yankees also played Aaron Judge and Isiah Kiner-Falefa in center earlier this season. Aaron Hicks, who also saw some center field time, was released last week and signed with the AL East rival Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.
The Yankees expect to get Josh Donaldson (hamstring) and Tommy Kahnle (biceps) back later this week and Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring) next week. They will be without Carlos Rodón (forearm, back), Frankie Montas (shoulder), and Jonathan Loáisiga (elbow) longer term.
New York enters play Tuesday was a 33-23 record and a plus-33 run differential. That is the sixth best record in baseball, though it is good for only third place in the stacked AL East.
