The Yankees are in the process of assessing how they are going to make up for the loss of D’Angelo Jimenez, the infield prospect who fractured a bone in his neck in a car accident in the Dominican Republic Monday.
The 22-year-old infielder, who impressed the Yankees with his poise when he came up as a backup infielder in September, will be out at least four
months and could miss the entire season. The Yankees did not re-sign Luis Sojo because they were planning on having Jimenez fill that role.
Now they will have to look elsewhere, but the Mets already beat them to one good option. The Yankees, who were aware of the injury at least as early as Tuesday, were very interested in signing Kurt Abbott. But Mets GM Steve Phillips, who said he has been tracking Abbott for four years, swooped in and signed him to a minor-league contract late Wednesday night.
Abbott had been insisting on a major-league contract, so it is unclear why he agreed to sign a minor-league deal with the Mets, but perhaps he had assurances that he would make the club. He had no such assurances from the Yanks. In either case, he would have little opportunity to play, barring injury, since both teams have excellent and dependable infields.
The Yankees will likely wait to find a replacement, and that could mean going deep into spring training before making a move.
Jimenez was hurt Monday when his Acura Integra struck a passenger bus on the Duarte Highway that connects Santo Domingo to the Dominican Republic’s northern provinces. He was brought to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa Wednesday.
“It’s a miracle that I’m here — I thank God I’m alive,” Jimenez told the Associated Press. Jimenez said his second vertebra was fractured.
Jimenez was 8-for-20 with two doubles and four RBIs with the Yankees last year. The switch-hitter batted .327 at Triple-A Columbus.