Spring Training Injury Update

Dave Robertson's "Boxgate" fiasco had everybody on high alert for the last couple days and justifiably so. If Robertson were to miss significant time and not be ready for Opening Day, the Yankees deep, nasty bullpen suddenly doesn't look so deep or so nasty. But he's not the only one with injury issues. The Yankees have a couple guys dealing with problems that have kept them out for extended periods of early ST who aren't getting the coverage that Robertson is. Here's a quick run through of all the Yankees' current walking wounded.

Robertson- Officially diagnosed with a bone bruise yesterday. He's going to stay in the walking boot through the weekend to allow his foot to heal more, and will likely do some throwing exercises from a chair until Monday to keep his arm strength up. There's no official word yet, but all signs right now point to D-Rob being fine to start the season.

Eduardo Nunez- He was hit with a pitch on the hand in Monday's game and hasn't played since. He has participated in some light drills but hasn't gotten a lot of hitting time in during treatment, so he stayed behind for today's game to get some batting practice in. Not expected to miss a lot more time and no issues on being ready for Opening Day.

Austin Romine- He's been out with the back issues that plagued him late last season since almost the minute he stepped foot on the field this spring, and while he's still not participating in any kind of full team activities, the diagnosis this week was a positive one. He's closer to returning, but will probably miss at least another week.

George Kontos- After missing about a week with a strained oblique, Kontos has returned to full team activities and is back on his regular throwing schedule. He's got to make up a bit for his missed time, but with few relief pitchers having major success early in camp he still has a chance to get that last bullpen spot.

Russell Branyan- Branyan's chances of making the team weren't very good after the Yankees signed Eric Chavez and they certainly aren't being helped by his back injury. He hasn't done anything since first sitting out with the injury on February 29th and there is no timetable for his return.

Manny Delcarmen- Strained his lat on March 1st and hasn't participated in full pitching activities since, but the injury is progressing well. He started playing catch a day or two ago, and if he continues to feel good he will probably start throwing sides next week.

Dewayne Wise- The newest addition to the club, Wise was scratched from today's lineup with a sore hamstring. Early word is that he's not expected to miss much time, but every little bit is precious when you're trying to make the team on a non-guaranteed MiL deal.

The Yankees aren't 100% healthy right now, but they also don't seem to have any serious injuries, and everybody should make it back on the field eventually. Most importantly, the group of older veteran players that the Yankees are counting on this year, guys like A-Rod and Jeter, are nowhere to be found on this list.