New York Yankees: Making room for Didi Gregorius

The New York Yankees could be faced with an interesting dilemma regarding their infield once Didi Gregorius is cleared to return to the lineup.

The New York Yankees are flying high with confidence after winning their latest regular season series over the Boston Red Sox. A win over the defending World Series champions and division rival would be more than enough to celebrate but this year’s Yankees may have mini celebrations throughout the long summer.

After being hit with numerous injuries to key players such as Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Luis Severino, the Yankees are almost ready to welcome back a familiar face. Starting shortstop Didi Gregorius is due to make his return very soon to the Yankees lineup after starting the season on the injured list recovering from offseason Tommy John surgery. Gregorius has been rehabbing with the team’s Triple-A affiliate Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in preparation for a possible return to the Major League’s next Friday to play the Cleveland Indians.

Gregorius played all nine innings at shortstop on Saturday night making solid plays in the field. His bat was struggling for a while since returning to game speed but picked up an RBI double during the Rail Riders’ 7-4 home win over Lehigh Valley.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone shared his thoughts with reporters last week on Gregorius’ rehab progress and expectations for his return to the Bronx Bombers.

"“I texted with him probably three days ago when he started [extended spring training games] just to let him know how excited we all are for him and where he’s at, I know he’s excited to take these next steps. It’s good to know he’s getting close.”“I think when he comes back, he’ll be essentially ready to play every day,” Boone said. “He’ll get a day off a week here, especially with our situation. We really like our depth a lot. But when he comes back and is ready to go, he’s coming back as a regular.”"

Boone will be faced with the possibility of having to send down one of his young infielders in order to return Gregorious to the lineup. Gio Urshela will probably be pushed to more of reserve role while Thairo Estrada may be the odd man out. There is also the looming possibility of infielder Troy Tulowitzki returning before the All-Star break as well just adding the traffic jam of talent.