SAN DIEGO \u2014 Trent Grisham\u2019s return to Petco Park didn\u2019t go as planned, as the Yankees\u2019 center fielder was removed from Friday\u2019s series-opener in the bottom of the third inning with right hamstring discomfort.<\/p>\n
The former Padre has battled hamstring injuries each of the last two seasons. A right-side strain put him on the injured list on June 13 earlier this year, but Grisham has repeatedly said that his hamstring hasn\u2019t bothered him<\/a>\u00a0since returning on July 3.<\/p>\n He and Aaron Boone reiterated that after Friday\u2019s game, a 3-2, 10-inning loss that ended when Luis Campusano took Paul Blackburn deep for a two-run, walk-off homer.<\/p>\n Grisham, an impending free agent who returned to the Yankees this past offseason on a qualifying offer worth just over $22 million, is now expected to undergo imaging. However, he and Boone didn\u2019t have much information beyond that.<\/p>\n \u201cIt seems like an injury,\u201d Boone said, \u201cso not sure yet if it\u2019s an IL or not, but certainly could be.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s disappointing for sure,\u201d Grisham added, noting that this injury is in a different spot than his last one. \u201cBut that\u2019s part of the game, so we know what we\u2019re signing up for. Hopefully, it\u2019s nothing too problematic.\u201d<\/p>\n Grisham, baseball\u2019s slowest center fielder in terms of sprint speed, exited on Friday after failing to catch a 255-foot flyball to center in the bottom of the second inning. With Grisham playing deep and unable to get to the ball in time, Xander Bogaerts picked up what proved to be a critical RBI single.<\/p>\n When the inning concluded, Grisham returned to the Yankees\u2019 dugout, tapped a trainer, and headed for Petco Park\u2019s visiting clubhouse. He was then replaced by Heliot Ramos, who took over in right as Spencer Jones shifted to center.<\/p>\n But Boone and Grisham said that the player aggravated his hammy on an earlier play, a failed stolen base attempt in the top of the second inning. Grisham wasn\u2019t sure if he had hurt himself, so he initially stayed in the game.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know. I can\u2019t tell how that would play out if I was feeling better,\u201d Grisham said when asked if he thought he could have caught the ball in center at full strength.<\/p>\n Boone, meanwhile, said he thought it was a single off the bat with Grisham playing deep.<\/p>\n While an IL decision hasn\u2019t been made yet, Grisham\u2019s injury comes with the Yankees anticipating a roster crunch. It\u2019s possible, though still undecided<\/a>, that Aaron Judge will return from a fractured rib during the club\u2019s upcoming homestand.<\/p>\n Demoting Jones or cutting veteran Amed Rosario would have been among the potential corresponding moves for Judge if the Yankees were healthy, but another IL stint for Grisham would negate the need for a choice.<\/p>\n Jones has made a strong impression since his second of three call-ups this season<\/a>. The San Diego native entered Friday\u2019s homecoming with a .250 average, an .804 OPS, nine home runs, 26 RBI, eight stolen bases and a 122 wRC+ over his last 57 games. He added a go-ahead RBI single against Mason Miller in the 10th inning of his first MLB game at Petco, a ballpark he grew up attending.<\/p>\n Jones has also hit southpaws better than the slumping Grisham, a fellow lefty, which is partly why there have been some public calls for the rookie to take playing time from the veteran<\/a>.<\/p>\n