Yankees' Sanchez lands on IL with groin strain

The New York Yankees have placed All-Star catcher Gary Sanchez on the 10-day injured list with a left groin strain.

Sanchez suffered the injury and came out of the game after stepping awkwardly on first base while hustling out a ground ball during Tuesday night's 14-12 victory over the Minnesota Twins. He underwent an MRI on Wednesday morning that revealed a Grade 1 strain, manager Aaron Boone said.

"On the scale of strains, I guess it's minor -- which is somewhat good news," Boone said. "But still it's going to be some time. We'll just kind of see how the next few days, how the next week unfolds, and how he's feeling, and when he gets to start back up baseball activities.

"But I don't want to put a timeline or anything like that on it in these early days. We'll see how he responds."

Sanchez was not in the Yankees' clubhouse when it opened to reporters before Wednesday night's game at Target Field, but he said just after Tuesday's game that the injury felt different from the right groin strains he had last season that twice landed him on the injured list.

"It felt kind of like a cramp," Sanchez said Tuesday through a translator. "It's nothing like what I had last year. The pain is completely different. It just feels a little tight, and it's not preventing me from walking or anything like that. So I'm positive about that."

Sanchez, 26, is batting .229 with 24 home runs and 58 RBIs this season.

Catcher Kyle Higashioka and left-hander Nestor Cortes Jr. were recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Higashioka will replace Sanchez on the active roster, while Cortes takes over for right-hander Jonathan Holder, who was optioned to Scranton in a corresponding move.

Backup Austin Romine was scheduled to start for Sanchez on Wednesday, but Boone said Romine and Higashioka likely would split time behind the plate until Sanchez returns. It's possible that Higashioka will get the start Friday in the Yankees' series opener against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, Boone added.

"You'll see them both a lot," Boone said. "You might see it alternate while we're in Boston, but we'll also see how it plays out and see how it unfolds."