Yankees Pass Up On Calling Up Top Prospect After Losing Veteran Utility Man

The New York Yankees picked up yet another win on Friday night but did get some bad news as well.

New York won its third straight game on Friday as it took down the San Diego Padres but lost veteran utility man Jon Berti in the process. In the ninth inning of the contest, Berti grounded toward first base but immediately fell as he attempted to run it out.

It’s uncertain just how long Berti will be out, but Yankees manager Aaron Boone called it a calf injury. Hopefully, he won’t be out for too long, but the expectation is that he will be placed on the Injured List and New York won’t be calling up top prospect Oswald Peraza, according to YES Network’s Jack Curry.

“With the expectation that Jon Berti will be placed on the IL, the Yankees are likely to recall Kevin Smith,” Curry said. “He will have to be added to the 40-man roster. It will probably only be for 2 games. The Yankees want (Oswald Peraza) to continue to play every day.”

Peraza was expected to play a major role with the Yankees this season but injuries derailed him in the spring. He still is working his way up to speed and is getting daily at-bats in the minor leagues and it seems like New York is going to take things slow with him.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see Peraza at the big league level at some point throughout the rest of the season but it won’t be now.

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