NEW YORK — The New York Yankees have activated catcher Gary Sanchez from the disabled list and sent backstop Kyle Higashioka to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Sanchez has been out since June 25 with a strained right groin. He'll return as expected when New York returns from the All-Star break against the Mets at Yankee Stadium on Friday night.

New York announced the move Thursday night.

Sanchez was having an underwhelming season by his own standards prior to the injury, batting .190 with 14 homers and 41 RBIs in 63 games. He homered twice over three rehab games with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Higashioka batted .167 with three homers in 11 games while Sanchez was out.

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