Yankees activate Gary Sanchez from DL | What it means

The Yankees were 12-8 with catcher Gary Sanchez on the disabled list with a groin injury. He will return on Friday, July 20, 2018 (7/20/18) when the Yankees open a three-game Subway Series with the Mets at Yankee Stadium.

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NEW YORK — The Yankees will be closer to whole on Friday night for the start of a Subway Series at Yankee Stadium.

Catcher Gary Sanchez is off the disabled list after being sidelined since June 25 with a right groin strain and the 2017 All-Star likely will be in the Yankees’ starting lineup for the first of three against Mets.

Soon, the Yankees are expected to get their other missing starter back with rookie second baseman Gleyber Torres likely to return from a right hip strain within a week.

Whether Sanchez’s swing is back is another matter.

Sanchez hit just .190 with 14 homers and 41 RBI in 63 games before his injury and was just 2-for-12 with two homers and six strikeouts playing three rehab games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre from July 15-18.

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The Yankees activated Sanchez on Thursday, the last of their four off days for the All-Star break.

The Yankees, who are second in the AL East and trail the Boston Red Sox by 4 1/2 games, were 12-8 with Sanchez on the DL.

With Sanchez back, Austin Romine will return to his usual No. 2 catcher spot after a short stint as the starter and Kyle Higashioka was optioned back to Triple-A.

Romine is hitting .270 with a career-high six homers and 24 RBI for the season in 40 games, 35 as a starter, but he batted just .200 (8-for-40) with two homers while Sanchez was on the DL.

Higashioka 28, played in 11 games, starting nine of them, while Sanchez was sidelined and hit .167 with three homers and four RBI in 30 at-bats.

Randy Miller may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.