Maybe this week will be better for the Yankees on the health front.
Last week was a tough one with all the positive COVID tests, which still has them without shortstop Gleyber Torres, three coaches and five staffers as of Sunday. Besides that, center fielder Aaron Hicks’ long-awaited improvement at the plate led to a bad wrist injury that may end his season and designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton’s homer binge led into some slumping and then a leg injury that supposedly is no big deal.
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Meanwhile, the Yankees are expecting they’ll get second baseman Rougned Odor back this week, reliever Zack Britton still is looking good for a late May return and starting pitcher Luis Severino may be just six weeks or so away from returning from Tommy John surgery.
Here’s the latest on the Yankees health issues with updates from manager Aaron Boone via Zoom media interviews and quarantined pitching coach Matt Blake, who spoke to YES on air during Saturday night’s game:
ZACK BRITTON, LHP
Injury: Elbow surgery on March 15 to remove a bone chip.
Missed games: 40.
Status: Britton threw to hitters for the first time on Saturday in a simulated game at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He threw 26 pitches to three hitters with Robinson Chirinos catching. He’s scheduled to begin a rehab assignment on Wednesday night for Double-A Somerset at Hartford.
Projected return: May 31, the day he’s eligible to be activated from the 60-day injured list.
Update from Blake: ”He’s on a really good path. He’s thrown some really good bullpens up to this point. The reports on his throwing program and how he responds to them have been solid, so I would think he’s tracking right towards the end of May as that 60-day (IL stint) runs up for him. We feel really good about what he’s doing and it’s exciting to think that he can add to this bullpen we’ve got going right now.”
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AARON HICKS, CF
Injury: Torn sheath tendon in left wrist tendon.
Missed games: 4.
Status: Hicks is on the injured list as of Sunday and returning to New York to continue taking anti-inflammatory medicine through Wednesday. At some point in the next week or so, he’s expected to make a decision on whether to have surgery, which may be season ending.
Projected return: Out indefinitely.
Update from Boone: “We’ll see the course of action now over the next couple of days. Surgery still is certainly on the table. but that hasn’t been finalized yet.”
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DARREN O’DAY, RHP
Injury: Right rotator cuff strain.
Missed games: 15.
Status: O’Day has been resting for two weeks and may be cleared to resume throwing in about a week.
Projected return: June.
* * *
ROUGNED ODOR, 2B
Injury: Left knee sprain.
Missed games: 11.
Status: Odor has been hitting and taking ground balls the last few days and is expected to be activated from the IL while the Yankees are in Texas for a four-game series that begins Monday night.
Projected return: This week.
Boone update: “I do feel good about (the chances) that he’s going to be in play for us at some point in Texas, whether that’s (Monday) or Tuesday we’ll just have to see. But he had another good (workout) day (on Sunday).”
* * *
LUIS SEVERINO, RHP
Injury: Tommy John surgery on Feb. 27, 2020.
Missed games: 40.
Status: Severino faced hitters for the first time since his surgery last Thursday throwing a 23-pitch, one-inning simulated game in which he threw fastballs, sliders and changeups.
Projected return: Late June at the earliest.
Update from Blake: “That was a really good step for him to throw a simulated inning against some hitters. The reports have been good on him all the way this spring into this period right now in the middle of May. We’ve kind of targeted that summer timeframe (for a return). Whether it’s the end of June, July or August, I don’t think we’ve necessarily really dialed it in. We want to give him some flexibility and not rush him, but he’s definitely tracking in the right direction right now.”
CLARKE SCHMIDT, RHP
Injury: Common extensor strain in right elbow.
Missed games: 40.
Status: Schmidt is long tossing, but has yet to be cleared to throw off the mound.
Projected return: Unknown.
* * *
GIANCARLO STANTON, DH
Injury: Left quad tightness.
Missed games: 3.
Status: Day to day. The Yankees are hoping he’ll be ready to DH early this week.
Update from Boone: I don’t think it’s anything that’s overly significant, but it’s something that he/we are trying to get out in front of a little bit. He took some swings (Sunday), moved around in the weight room. We’ll see where he’s at and make an evaluation going into (Monday).”
* * *
GLEYBER TORRES, SS
Injury: Positive COVID test.
Missed games: 4.
Status: Torres is still in quarantining in Tampa. He may be cleared to return if he has two consecutive days of non-positive tests, but he was positive again on Friday.
Projected return: This week.
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