The slumping Yankees are calling up Triple-A first baseman Chris Gittens for Saturday’s game against the Red Sox, the team announced.
The 27-year-old Gittens, the team’s 12th-round pick in 2014, is off to a hot start at Scranton/Wilkes Barre, batting .283 with four home runs and a 1.071 OPS in 53 at-bats.
Gittens, who recently was passed up for a promotion, belted 23 home runs in 115 games at Double-A Trenton in 2019.
Pitcher Corey Kluber (shoulder) was shifted to the 60-day IL to make room for Gittens on the 40-man roster.
With Luke Voit on the injured list with a strained left oblique, DJ LeMahieu has been used as the primary first baseman.
But the defending AL batting champion could switch back to second base to replace the slumping Rougned Odor, who is batting .182 with 31 strikeouts and a .614 OPS over 123 plate appearances.
The Yankees had demoted Mike Ford earlier this week, but they called up reliever Brooks Riske to replace him.
The skidding Yanks (31-27) are hitting .228 as a team and are ranked 25th in MLB with 215 runs scored. They have dropped eight of their last 11 games after Friday’s 5-2 loss to Boston to fall 4 ½ games behind the Rays in the AL East.
