Late Spring Training Injury Roundup

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

With 8 days until Opening Day, the Yankees enter their final week of ST game action with a few more potential roster holes to plug than they were hoping for.  It's not competition that's causing the uncertainty.  The starting lineup and rotation are mostly set, as is the bench, and the bullpen is starting to take shape.  A few late spring injuries have popped up and for now the Yankee training and coaching staffs are addressing them in a very slow and cautious manner.  None of the injuries appear to be too serious and none involve important ligaments or joints, continuing the refreshing string of good luck that Mike E. pointed out last Thursday, but there are a few that are serious enough to possibly affect the look of the Opening Day rosters.

2013 Storylines Review: The Walking Wounded

(Exhibit A.  Courtesy of The NY Daily News)

Injuries.  Nothing can kill a team's chances for success faster than injuries.  Every year you know going in what players are going to perform well, what ones aren't, and you can reasonably anticipate a handful of players having better seasons than usual and a handful having worse.  What no manager ever knows is how injuries are going to affect his team, when they're going to strike, and how long they're going to last.  The Yankees, to a certain extent, bucked that trend in 2013 by heading into the season with a well-known collection of injuries: Jeter's ankle, A-Rod's hip, CC's elbow, Mo's knee.  And that was just the tip of the iceberg.

In my "Walking Wounded" preview post in March, I pointed out that "the Yankees' main backup options for their injured regulars are injury risks in their own right" and said, "If the Yankees are going to be a player in the postseason race in 2013, they're going to have to find a way to overcome these injury hurdles."  They never did and more than anything that could be the reason they finally fell out of the postseason race in late September.

Gardner Out With A Strained Oblique

While the game was recorded as a win in the standings, the Yankees suffered yet ANOTHER big injury loss last night.  Brett Gardner left after his at-bat in the top of the 1st inning and was diagnosed by team doctors with a strained left oblique.  He apparently did it on a check swing during the at-bat and he is traveling back to New York today to get an MRI.  Regardless of the results, chances are good that Gardner's 2013 season is over.

Gardner has been the second most important position player after Robinson Cano this season.  His absence leaves a huge hole at the top of the lineup and weakens the outfield defensively.  The Yankees are ill-equipped to replace him in the leadoff spot, the most likely candidates being Ichiro (hell no) and Curtis Granderson (yes, please), and the replacement of Gardner in center field likely means more playing time for Vernon Wells (sweet Jesus, no) or Zoilo Almonote (meh) when the pitching matchups are favorable.

He wasn't as hot this week as he was the week before, but Gardner is still head and shoulders better than those other guys and there's no way to overstate how big of a hit the team will take on both sides of the ball without him.  Maybe he gets lucky and today's MRI shows that it's not too and he can return in a few days.  The history and nature of oblique strains makes that very unlikely though, and now the Yankees have one more obstacle to overcome in a season filled to the brim with them.

Injury News Round-Up: 9/11/13

Another day, another fresh batch of injuries to sift through.  Here's the latest...

New Injuries:

- Ivan Nova- Left after 6 IP and 79 pitches due to tightness in his right triceps.  Didn't sound like he or Joe were concerned about him missing his next start, although this has been a lingering problem for him all year.

- Alex Rodriguez- Was taken out after the top of the 8th when he felt his left hamstring tighten up on him running the bases.  A-Rod himself said he expected to at least be able to DH today.  We'll see.

- Austin Romine- Left in the bottom of the 8th after taking a foul ball off the mask.  Joe said Romine "probably" had a concussion and he was going to get checked out at a local hospital after the game.  If he does have one, it could mean the end of his season.  Gotta be careful with head injuries these days.

Old Injuries:

- David Robertson- Threw a 10-pitch bullpen yesterday and felt no problems.  Assuming he doesn't feel anything when he wakes up today he should be back in the 'pen and available tonight.

- Boone Logan- Had an MRI on his left elbow and the results were sent to Dr. James Andrews for further evaluation.  That's never a good sign.

- Derek Jeter- No real update on his status other than the team saying he's in a "holding pattern." He hasn't done any baseball activities since leaving on Satuday, and last night's acquisition of Brendan Ryan doesn't make it sound like he's coming back anytime soon.

Weekend Injury News Round-Up

It was a big weekend for injuries for the Bombers, especially in the bullpen.  With guys leaving or being unavailable for games seemingly every other hour, here's the latest on where the newest batch of walking wounded stands (or sits):

- Derek Jeter- Left Saturday afternoon's game early thanks to more problems with his surgically-repaired left ankle.  Joe said he didn't like the way he was moving, and even though a CT scan showed no structural damage, the plan is still to rest Jeter for a few days before re-evaluating him.

- David Robertson- Wasn't available after pitching Thursday night with what's being called tendinitis in his right shoulder.  Is expected to be out for a few more days before throwing a bullpen session to test the shoulder.

- Boone Logan- Left Friday night's game with pain in his left biceps.  An MRI on Saturday showed no structural damage and he was given a cortisone shot yesterday.  He could be back by the next Boston series.

- Chris Stewart- Left yesterday's game in the 6th after taking a pitch off the left foot.  No broken bones but Stewart said after the game that there are some strained ligaments.  No word on how long he'll be out, but I wouldn't expect to see him back behind the plate tonight or tomorrow.

2013 Draft Already Looking Shaky

You may have noticed that the only 2013 1st round pick to start his pro career is Eric Jagielo.  He's hit .248/.358/.336 in 134 plate appearances with SS Staten Island, this underwhelming production coming after he had the start of his season delayed by a hamstring injury.  Lefty Ian Clarkin has been out with an ankle issue since signing, and last week it was reported that OF Aaron Judge, the last of the 3 to sign, will be put on the MiL DL with a quad injury.

3 1st round picks, 3 injuries, 3 delayed starts to the season, 2 of which could end up shutting guys down for the remainder of the year since we haven't heard anything about rehab schedules for Clarkin and Judge.  Add in 3rd rounder Michael O'Neill's .299 wOBA and 33.0% K rate in 200 SS league PAs and the shine has already come off the 2013 draft class.  Gosuke Katoh is hitting well in the GCL, but that level of competition is barely above what he was playing against in HS.  As Austin Aune's 2013 has shown us, it's a bit of a stretch to get excited about 1 good GCL season.

It's far too early to declare this season's class a bust.  There's no way to account for injuries that happen after a player is drafted, but with how little the Yankees have gotten from their top picks the last 2 years (Aune, Hensley, DBJ, Culver) it is disheartening to see another group of top picks get off to rough starts.  They've taken a lot of heat for their 1st round picks recently, and the injuries to this year's crop don't help to turn down that heat.

Quick Hits: Catching Up On Yankee News

A lot more happened yesterday evening than just the ending of a losing streak.  Being out at a charity fundraiser at a bar last night (drinking for the kids!!), I missed all of it.  If you're like me and need to catch up, here's a hot lap:

- Derek Jeter will be activated from the DL and in the lineup today according to Ken Rosenthal and Joel Sherman (more on that here).  No confirmation from the team or word of the potential roster move to clear a spot.

- David Phelps will be heading to the team's Tampa complex on Monday to start a rehab throwing program. He's on the DL with a forearm strain and had been scuffling before the injury.

- Alex Rodriguez went 1-3 with an RBI single in his latest High-A rehab game yesterday.  He was the starting DH and played 8 innings.

- The Yanks finally signed their last 1st round pick, agreeing to a $1.8 million bonus with OF Aaron Judge.  That's a little less than I expected given how long he held out, but he still comes in slightly over slot.

Nunez To The DL, Gonzalez Called Up

After being unable to go again last night, the Yankees have elected to put Eduardo Nunez on the 15-day DL to hopefully allow him to completely recover from his nagging ribcage issue.  Nunez has been out of the lineup since leaving last Sunday's game with a muscle strain in his ribcage, so the DL stint will be backdated to May 6th.  The recently acquired Alberto Gonzalez will be called up from Triple-A to take Nunez's roster spot, and Mark Teixeira has been moved to the 60-day DL to open a 40-man spot for Gonzalez.

This move doesn't come as a huge surprise given the length of time it's already taken Nunez to recover from what was thought to be a minor tweak and the moves the Yankees have made/are making to address their dwindling infield depth.  They made the trade for Gonzalez a few days ago, and then there was yesterday's report about David Adams getting called up next week.  It all adds up to a pretty obvious DL stint situation, and here's hoping the extra week off will help Nunez get over this injury.

Breaking Prospect News: Ty Hensley Out 2-3 Months After Hip Surgery

Well ain't it just Prospect Day here at AB4AR?  Too bad this post isn't of the positive variety.

George King of The Post is reporting that 2012 1st round draft pick Ty Hensley will have surgery today to fix a bone impingement in his right hip and is expected to miss 2-3 months recovering and rehabbing.  There were reports that Hensley was dealing with a pulled abdominal muscle early in Spring Training and as Mark Newman so plainly put it, "it turned out this was the cause."

Hensley, a top 10 Yankee prospect in pretty much every list out there (including the AB4AR Top 30) caused a bit of a stir last year after word came out of an "abnormality" being discovered in his pitching shoulder during a physical, although that turned out to be a non-issue.  This latest injury news will surely add concern about Hensley's ability to stay healthy long-term, but with him likely being targeted for another short-season league anyway in 2013 it's not the biggest loss in the world.  Assuming he doesn't suffer any setbacks, we should still be able to see him on a mound this year.

2013 Storylines: The Walking Wounded

(Ouch, bro.  Courtesy of the AP)

A byproduct of being an old team is the higher tendency for players to get injured.  The Yankees have walked a fine line in that department in the last two seasons as they've aged, and their ability to adapt and overcome those injuries has been what's kept them at the top of the AL East while they've battled Father Time.  This season, that battle is going to rage on like it never has before.  The Yankees would be wise to load up on the Raid, Icy Hot, and batteries for the MRI machine (they run on batteries, right?), because the injury bug is going to be a fixture in the clubhouse in 2013.

#LOOGYProblems

Having one LOOGY out with injury problems is bad enough, but TWO??  That's just madness.  Unfortunately that madness is reality for the Yankees right now as their injury-plagued spring continues.  It was announced yesterday that Clay Rapada will be shut down for 7-10 days with shoulder bursitis, this after Boone Logan's elbow continued to bark.  That's now the top two lefty relievers in camp with problems to the two parts of the arm you never want to have problems with if you're a pitcher: the elbow and the shoulder.

Luckily, the Yankees aren't short on LOOGY options in camp.  Francisco Rondon has looked outstanding in his four appearances ( 6 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 2 BB, 6 K) and has looked capable of facing right-handed batters if needed, and Juan Cedeno hasn't looked bad in his three outings either.  Cesar Cabral is still on the radar, and needs to spend time on the roster per the Rule 5 Draft rules, but he won't be a real option until May.

Hopefully Rapada's issue isn't as serious as Logan's appears to be and he's able to make it back in time to start the season.  If not, maybe the Yanks put in a call to someone well-versed in the dark arts and try to summon Loone Bogan for a few weeks.

Weird Injury Situations Already Popping Up This Year

(Never a good look.  Courtesy of Corey Sipkin/NY Daily News)

Spring Training still isn't two weeks old and already it's been an eventful one for the Yankees, especially in the health department.  The Bombers had their fair share of injury concerns coming into camp with A-Rod's hip surgery and their collection of veterans fighting to come back on schedule from major 2012 injuries.  And after a season as injury-plagued as 2012, it would have been nice to have a spring that was light on the injury news.  I guess the infamous baseball gods didn't get that memo because these first two weeks have been chock full of injury stories, and not just from the expected recovery sources.  As luck would have it, none of those guys have been problem areas at all so far, quite the opposite in fact.

Free-Floating A-Rod Injury Commentary

(No doubt discussing how to answer the health questions.  Courtesy of Charles Wenzelberg/NY Post)

Bits and pieces of the story are still coming out as we speak, but suffice it to say that the news of Alex Rodriguez's latest injury setback is both incredibly disappointing and shockingly unsurprising.  A-Rod's growing injury problems have gone hand-in-hand with his production decline over the past 4 seasons, and with as bad as he looked at the plate late in the regular season and in the playoffs it comes as no surprise that there was and is something physically wrong with him.

A-Rod has always been a lightning rod for controversy since the day he first signed with the Yankees, and that theme shows no signs of slowing down even as his on-field performance has.  This latest instance is sure to stir up all kinds of talk about how long he had been playing with the injury, why the Yankees didn't come out and say he was hurt, what it means for him and the team moving forward, and gives everybody another opportunity to bash Yankee ownership and Randy Levine for signing A-Rod to that ridiculous contract (maybe the only positive to come out this).  With the full story still coming together, I'm going to go with my old standby of "Thoughts & Afterthoughts" bullet points to try to capture as many of my own reactions and thoughts to it as I can.

BREAKING NEWS: A-Rod To Have 2nd Hip Surgery

I said after the season ended that I was only going to write about Alex Rodriguez as needed, and this story certainly qualifies.

After George King of The Post reported earlier today that there were some concerns within the organization about the health of A-Rod's surgically repaired right hip and that another surgery was a possibility, the situation has now escalated to the point that Rodriguez WILL have surgery and in all likelihood will miss the opening of the 2013 season.

Joel Sherman first confirmed that the surgery was a go and that Rodriguez played part of this past season with a re-tear in that hip.  Mark Feinsand followed up with a report that the surgery will take place in January, and that the team doctor wants A-Rod to take some time to strengthen the hip prior to surgery.

There were tons of questions floating around about A-Rod's health when he looked so weak late in the season and in the playoffs, and while Rodriguez himself wouldn't confirm anything at the time, this news comes as pretty definitive proof that he was playing injured.  We were already coming to an understanding that these last 2 seasons marked the end of A-Rod's days as an elite player.  Now with this latest setback with his hip, we may have to prepare ourselves for an even further deterioration of his skills and possible transition to part-time playing status.

More on this story as it becomes available...

** UPDATE 9:36AM- Sherman confirmed that Rodriguez was playing with the hip tear in this year's postseason.  That explains the lack of life in his swing. **

** UPDATE 9:48AM- Sherman now confirming that the tear is actually in A-Rod's left hip and not the right one that he previously tore and had surgery.  Not sure if that makes the situation better or worse. **

** UPDATE 10:17AM- Feinsand, citing multiple team sources, reporting that A-Rod is expected to be out until June or July of 2013 after surgery. **

** UPDATE 11:16AM- Ken Rosenthal reporting that A-Rod spent a night in the hospital after one of the Yankees' ALDS games because the pain in his left hip was so severe.  This just keeps getting better. **

** UPDATE 1:46PM- Yankees have made it official with a press release on the injury.  The surgery for his left hip will be "similar but not identical" to the procedure done on his right hip in '09, and as earlier reported the recovery time is expected to be 4-6 months. **

ManBan Scheduled For TJS, My Genius Is Confirmed

I knew it was coming.  I knew it was coming from the moment he first got shelved with his elbow injury, and I've said as much over the past 5 months:

- June 14th: "Maybe I've just watched "Conspiracy Theory" one too many times on TNT, but 7-8 weeks seems like an awfully long time to be on the shelf with just a tired arm."

- July 12th: "I hate to be a Debbie Downer here, but the Yankees might as well just pencil ManBan and Campos in for Tommy John Surgery right now."

- August 6th: "2012 was already a lost season for Banuelos before this latest setback. Now my concern is that 2013 could be the same if the Yankees continue down this path of trying to get him to pitch this season instead of doing something to address his continued elbow problems." 

And today it all came full circle as Josh Norris reported that Manny Banuelos will go under the knife for Tommy John on Thursday, putting a really shitty finishing touch on his 2012 season and effectively ending his 2013.

Teix's Calf Injury Is A Real Problem

(Everybody remember this?  It could happen again.  Courtesy of the Daily News)

This injury stuff is starting to get downright ridiculous.  It's like the injuries are Pumpkin and Honey Bunny from "Pulp Fiction," sticking their guns in my face, interrupting my attempted calm and rational take on the Yankees' situation, and stealing my Bad Motherfucker wallet.  And I'm Jules Winnfield, just sitting there, staring back at the injuries and telling them that I'm trying, I'm trying real hard to be the Shepard.  I don't want to fly off the handle about this, but holy balls!  It's really becoming an issue.  The offense is already sputtering, the pitching staff as a whole is iffy at best, and the division lead continues to be just close enough for discomfort.  And now Teix is going to be out at least 1-2 weeks with a Grad I calf strain.  Fan-effing-tastic.

BREAKING NEWS: Nova To The DL

It's not a HUGE breaking story, I think we could all see this coming, but the Yankees have announced that Nova will be placed on the 15-day DL with what's being called inflammation of his right rotator cuff.

Via Chad Jennings, the plan for now is to treat Nova with medicine and rest, and he will not throw or even pick up a baseball for at least 5 days.  Given the injury problems they've already had this year, and the season-ending nature of Michael Pineda's shoulder injury, it wouldn't surprise me if that "no throw" ban goes much longer than just 5 days.  You can't take risks with a rotator cuff.

Nova going to the DL opens up a roster spot for CC to come off tomorrow, so at least there won't have to be any funky roster moves to accommodate the big fella, but this is still hardly good news for Nova or the Yankees.  After a promising 2011, Nova crashed back to earth this year and now he's dealing with a shoulder injury.  Major bummer.

If any new details come out later, I'll update as needed.

On Teix's Wrist Injury

Small picture, Mark Teixeira's continued wrist problems are a nuisance but not the end of the world.  He responded well to the first bit of rest and the cortisone shot and was able to come back and be relatively productive for the last 2 weeks (.259/.328/.463  in 59 PA) in a time where the middle of the Yankee batting order has been without some of it's important bats. 

Big picture, it could become more of a problem if allowed to turn into something that lingers.  Teix has been productive this month, but not nearly to the degree that he was in July.  His power is down, he isn't walking as much (8.2 %), and less than 3 weeks after the initial injury he's back to experiencing the same pain and inflammation as before and missing games.  It's starting to look like this is something more than just inflammation and soreness, and Teix playing every day can't be a good thing for it.  He said he originally hurt himself on a swing, so I imagine it can't feel too good for him every time he swings the bat.  All the initial tests showed no structural damage to the wrist, but what's to say that he isn't doing damage to it now or at least risking damaging it.  Is it really worth the risk of having a broken Teixeira in the playoffs or even losing him to not treat this injury properly?

Well That's A Fine Way To Wake Up This Morning

(Un-friggin-believable.  Courtesy of The AP)

"Rodriguez has a non-displaced fracture of the fifth metacarpal near his left pinky."

The Horse is heading to the DL for 2 months.  Shittiest wakeup ever?  Shittiest wakeup ever.

Attempting To Put A Positive Spin On The CC/Andy Injuries

(Unless he's praying to Mecca, that's not a position you want to see Andy in.  Courtesy of Robert Sabo/NY Daily News)

Injuries suck.  There's no other way to say it.  And the reminders that they're "part of the game" and "every team is dealing with them" don't make them suck any less when they happen to your team.  The Yankees have already dealt with their fair share of injury woes in 2012, and yesterday's double-whammy of injury-related suckiness was even more woeful considering it knocked out the Yankees' 2 best starting pitchers for at least the next 2-3 weeks and certainly much longer than that for 1 of them.  There's no way for this situation to suck any less than it already does, but there are a few silver linings and maybe even a positive or 2 to be taken from this situation if I can spin things right.