Another Opening Day starter has landed on the New York Yankees’ injured listed. The Yankees announced Saturday, before a game against the Boston Red Sox that was ultimately postponed due to inclement weather, that they’ve placed catcher Austin Wells on the 10-day IL with cervical headaches.
A cervical headache, or cervicogenic headache, is head pain caused by a cervical spine issue, according to Cleveland Clinic, which says that “the pain can radiate from an injury or condition that affects your cervical spine, like an injury, arthritis or a slipped disk.”
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Wells, a 26-year-old backstop who has struggled mightily at the plate this season, joins Yankees sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton on the IL.
Notably, Judge, a three-time AL MVP, is dealing with a stress fracture in the first rib on his right side, an injury Judge believes he sustained way back on April 27 and that will now keep him out at least four to six weeks.
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As for Wells, he was replaced on the roster by J.C. Escarra, a catcher New York had optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after its series-opening defeat to Boston on Friday. Escarra and recently promoted Ali Sánchez will man home plate for now, with the Yankees hoping at least one of them can provide impactful at-bats. Sánchez gives New York a right-handed bat at the position.
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Wells is slashing just .166/.278/.255 with four home runs and seven RBI in 47 games this season. His offensive shortcomings have cost him some playing time, and now he’s on the IL.
“Austin came in late last night and complained about some neck stuff that was leading to headaches,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Saturday after the game against the Red Sox was postponed, per The Athletic.
“So, we got him today with a neurologist to put him through a battery of tests and everything, and he checked out negative for [a concussion]. But we want to look at the neck and how that is affecting things. So he’ll go through a battery of tests [Sunday].”
Boone’s hoping Wells’ IL stint is a short one. As reported by The Athletic, Jesús Sánchez of the Toronto Blue Jays accidentally hit Wells in the back of the head with his backswing on May 19. At the time, Wells remained in the game.
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On Saturday, Boone said it was too soon to determine if Wells’ cervical headaches are linked to that moment, per The Athletic.
“This complaint is new,” Boone said, according to ESPN. “So, whether it’s a cumulative thing or something that happened last night, it’s tough to say.”
