Yankees outfielder Tim Locastro suffers torn ACL

Tim Locastro’s season is over after the Yankees outfielder suffered a torn ACL in Saturday night’s 3-1 win over the Red Sox. Yankees manager Aaron Boone informed reporters of Locastro’s injury following the game. In the first inning, Locastro made a running catch into the left field wall in foul ground to snag an Alex Verdugo fly ball, but he came up limping after the play was done. Locastro stayed in the game for the inning’s final two outs, but was replaced in left field at the start of the second frame.

It’s an awful turn of events for Locastro, who was playing in just his ninth game with the Yankees (a home state team for the Syracuse native) since being dealt from the Diamondbacks on July 1. The Yankees acquired Locastro to provide some outfield depth in the wake of injuries to Aaron Hicks and Clint Frazier, but with Locastro now also heading to the injured list, the Yankees will be further shorthanded. The Bronx Bombers are already missing several players due to both injuries and a COVID-19 outbreak, so another dip into the farm system will be required in the short term, and some reinforcements are even more necessary as the trade deadline approaches.

In the bigger picture, an ACL tear is particularly damaging for a player who relies on elite speed as his signature weapon. Locastro hasn’t hit much over 503 career PA (in five MLB seasons with the Dodgers, D-backs, and Yankees), but he earned a spot in the record books earlier this season by becoming the first player in history to not get caught on the first 29 stolen base attempts of his career. The streak finally ended when Locastro was caught stealing in a game against the Nationals on April 17, and in fact he has been caught stealing on three of eight attempts this season.