Big injury move by the Yankees following the All-Star break

The New York Yankees are getting some much-

needed infield help back after the All-Star Break.

The team announced on Friday that they would

be activating newly-acquired J.D. Davis off of the

10-day injured list before their game against the

Tampa Bay Rays. Due to the stomach flu, Davis

was first added to the injured list on July 12

(retroactive to July 9). Davis was acquired

by the Yankees on June 23 in a deal with the

Oakland Athletics, and he had played in five

games before being sent to the injured list. Davis

started three of his five games with the

Yankees at first base, one as designated hitter,

and one at pinch hitting. Davis has also played

left field and third base. It might make more

sense for the Yankees to insert Davis at third

base or left field in place of the underperforming

DJ LeMahieu or Alex Verdugo, given how great

rookie phenom Ben Rice is doing at first base for

the team.

J.D. Davis returning for Yankees

The Yankees initially traded for Davis to add

some much-needed infield depth after starting

first baseman Anthony Rizzo suffered a fracture

to the radial neck of his right arm after colliding

with Boston Red Sox pitcher Brennan

Bernardino on June 16. Rizzo is expected

to miss up to eight weeks. Albeit it is a small

sample size, Davis has struggled in his young

Yankees career. He has recorded just one hit

across 13 plate appearances in his five games

with New York. That one hit was a big one

though, an RBI double in a big 16-5 victory over

the Toronto Blue Jays on June 28. Davis’ best

season came in 2019 with the New York Mets.

Davis slugged 22 home runs with a .307/.369/.527

line. The Yankees are hoping that a return to the

Big Apple could re-ignite some of the potential at

the plate that Davis showed with the Mets that

season. Even if he isn’t able to approach those

numbers, Davis is still a versatile, veteran piece

who can fill in at positions where the Yankees

have a clear need: first base, third base, and left

field. The Yankees are currently just one game

behind the Orioles for first place in the AL East

and solidly in postseason position, but their lead

for the first Wild Card spot is slowly getting

smaller. The Minnesota Twins are 3 games back

and the Red Sox are 3.5 games back. They’ll need

all the help they can get as the season winds

down, and Davis could end up being a key

contributor in the Bronx.

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Big injury move by the Yankees following the All-Star break