ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Here are four immediate Yankees concerns as the club heads to a home series against the Orioles starting on Monday:
Luke Voit’s drought: Quietly, Luke Voit has been the opposite of good lately. He’s hitless in his last 14 at-bats, though, to his credit, he worked three walks in a 7-1 win over the Rays on Sunday night at Tropicana Field. Get this: He’s hitting just .094 in all of May. Greg Bird (left planter fasia tear) isn’t around. He doesn’t have to worry about him. But Voit has to pick it up.
Miguel Andujar, in general: Andujar has just three hits in his last 34 at-bats since coming off the injured list with a right torn shoulder labrum. That’s good enough for a .088 batting average. Now the question is, is Andujar just rusty or is his right shoulder either hurting him more than he’s admitted or is it weakening him to a point of ineffectiveness, unbeknownst to him? The Yankees need to figure it out quickly. Yes, Gio Urshela has been a dynamite replacement, but Andujar is sucking up at-bats as the DH.
Gleyber Torres’ elbow: An X-ray showed no structural damage to Torres’ right elbow after he was hit with a fastball on it Friday night. Then he played Saturday, and you could see how badly he was hurt. Torres made several throws that were cringe-worthy — all wrist, no arm, probably trying to protect his elbow. He sat Sunday. How much more time off does he need?
Gary Sanchez’s head: Sanchez said he was fine Sunday morning after he was hit Saturday night with a backswing. That’s good. The fact there was a Sunday afternoon game followed by a Saturday night game meant that Sanchez wasn’t going to play Sunday, and that’s why he was out of the lineup. But head injuries are tricky — ask Clint Frazier — and the Yankees are going to want to be super careful with Sanchez.
Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.