NEW YORK -- Jacoby Ellsbury has been diagnosed with a bruised nerve in his left elbow after crashing into the center-field fence while making a terrific leaping catch in the Yankees' 7-1 loss to the Blue Jays on Monday evening.
Ellsbury remained in that game, but Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that he was sent for an MRI on Tuesday after reporting that the elbow felt sore. The play was scored as a rare two-run sacrifice fly off Ryan Goins' bat.
"We'll wait a couple days before we make a decision on what we're going to do with him," Girardi said of Ellsbury, who is hitting .282/.344/.412 with three homers and nine RBIs in 24 games this season.
Girardi said that the Yankees will try to get through the final two games of the Blue Jays series without Ellsbury, but they would need to make a roster move if he is still unavailable for the series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, which opens on Friday.
"I think you have to see how available he is as a player going into a National League city," Girardi said. "It's different if you're in an American League city. He's stiff today. So if he hasn't made some improvement and we feel like he's not a complete player, then we've probably got to make a move."
Ellsbury seemed to be shaken up after the catch and lightly played catch with left fielder Brett Gardner during a subsequent pitching change, attempting to loosen up his throwing arm.
"Pretty much my whole left side made contact with the wall," Ellsbury said after Monday's game. "I knew once I jumped for it, I'd be hitting the wall. Just trying to make a play."
Bombers bits
Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez was scheduled to begin his Minor League rehabilitation assignment on Tuesday, catching for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in their 7:05 p.m. ET contest at Lehigh Valley. Sanchez, who is recovering from a right biceps strain, is scheduled to catch again on Wednesday and will serve as the RailRiders' DH on Thursday, then could rejoin the active roster on Friday in Chicago.