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Gio Urshela avoids serious injury after bat splinters hit him in the eye

New York Yankees third baseman Gio Urshela got himself into a scary situation during Saturday's game against the Oakland Athletics. In the bottom of the second inning, Urshela managed to take a face full of splinters after his bat broke on a swing.

The incident occurred with a man on first and no outs. Urshela swung on a 1-1 pitch that tailed inside on him. The ball contacted the bat awkwardly, causing it to break. Urshela turns his head away after the swing, and puts his hand to his eye to try and rub something away.

It was tough to tell on contact that something was wrong, but when Urshela didn't fully run on the play, it became clear something happened at the plate. When Urshela's bat broke, a splinter apparently went into his eye.

Thankfully, the issue wasn't serious. Urshela was tended to in the dugout and remained in the game. If the issue was still bothering him, Urshela didn't show it. He ripped an RBI single in his next at-bat and homered in the eighth inning to give the Yankees a late lead.

Yankees dealing with a number of injuries in 2021

The Yankees appear to have avoided a major injury here, but that hasn't been the case throughout the season. The Yankees have been without Aaron Hicks, Corey Kluber, Luis Severino and Luke Voit for a significant portion of the season. While Severino was expected to miss time while recovering from Tommy John surgery, a groin injury has delayed his return. In addition to those losses, Giancarlo Stanton missed time quad injury.

Those injuries, combined with poor performances from Gleyber Torres and Clint Frazier, have made the Yankees one of the biggest offensive disappointments in baseball this season. The team ranks 14th in baseball with a 96 wRC+, an advanced stat that captures a team's offensive prowess.

There's hope the team can turn things around. Voit is expected back soon, Torres showed signs of turning things around in May and Gary Sanchez is on fire in June.

Even with those struggles, the team is still 36-33. If the team can avoid additional injuries, there's still hope the Yankees live up to their preseason billing as one of the best teams in the American League.

Gio Urshela of the New York Yankees is hit with a splinter part of the bat as he hits into a double play.
Gio Urshela got hit in the eye with bat splinters. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) (Rich Schultz via Getty Images)

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