Jayson Nix fractures left hand on hit-by-pitch

Utility man Jayson Nix had his left hand broken by an R.A. Dickey knuckleball in the second inning of Wednesday’s game, the Yankees confirmed. Although no timetable was announced, his season is probably over at this point. He initially remained in the game to run the bases before calling the trainer over and walking off the field.

Nix, 30, hit .236/.308/.311 (70 wRC+) with three homers and 13 steals (in 14 attempts) in 303 plate appearances this year. All three homers came off brand names as well: Justin Verlander, Yu Darvish, and Mark Buehrle. Nix manned the three non-first base infield positions — he came into Wednesday first on the team in starts at third base (32) and second at shortstop (41) — and played much more than expected due to all the injuries. He missed almost the entire month of July with a hamstring strain.

With Nix out, the Yankees don’t have a backup middle infielder on the roster. Derek Jeter and his strained calf are still on the mend and a few days away, so they could have to turn to Alberto Gonzalez again. That would require a 40-man roster move, though I suppose Nix is a 60-day DL candidate. They could also call up David Adams and play without a backup middle infielder until Jeter is healthy. That’s rather risky given the Cap’n’s continued health problems and Nunez’s recently barking hamstring. Nix was a nice utility man to have on the bench, he simply played way too much this year.