Via Donnie Collins: Curtis Granderson will join Triple-A Scranton tomorrow, officially starting his 20-day rehab stint. He’s expected to play four or five games with the team. The 32-year-old slugger hit a homer and played all three outfield positions during an Extended Spring Training game today. Barring any setbacks, it sounds like Granderson could join the Yankees within a week.
Injury Updates: A-Rod, Teixeira, Granderson
The Yankees are on their way to Colorado and will start a three-game series against the Rockies tomorrow night. The guys on the DL — you know, basically half the team — made their way to Tampa to continue rehabbing instead. Here are some updates, courtesy of the AP and Anthony McCarron.
- Alex Rodriguez (hip) played catch and hit off a tee. It’s his first baseball activity since having surgery in January. “(It felt) like being eight years old again when I first grabbed a bat,” he said. “Pretty exciting … really looking forward to getting back.”
- Mark Teixeira (wrist) hit in the batting cage and took some ground balls at first base. He’s expected to start taking batting practice in the field in a few days.
- Curtis Granderson (forearm) played in another Extended Spring Training game today. He’s been doing that since last Wednesday, so almost a full week now. I can’t imagine an official minor league rehab assignment is too far away.
- Michael Pineda (shoulder), Frankie Cervelli (hand), Kevin Youkilis (back), and Ivan Nova (triceps) were all at the complex as well. Derek Jeter (ankle) was not there for whatever reason. He’s still in a walking boot and can’t do much anyway.
Girardi hedges against Granderson remaining in center field
Via Brian Heyman: Joe Girardi hedged a bit when talking about Curtis Granderson’s position yesterday. “We’ll decide that as time goes on,” said the skipper. “We’ve talked about Grandy; we just want to get him healthy … We might toy around with some other things (with Granderson), left, right, other things. He’s getting reps everywhere right now.”
Granderson, 32, has been playing all three outfield spots during his rehab in Extended Spring Training. Brian Cashman has said they will keep him in center when he returns from his broken forearm, though this stuff is never official until he actually gets back out on the field. The team’s best all-around outfield probably has Granderson in left, Brett Gardner in center and Vernon Wells in right, but I’m guessing we’ll see some kind of rotation when (if) everyone’s healthy. Hopefully they make a final decision soon though, I’m sure everyone involved would like to have some clarity.
Granderson hit by pitch in right arm in Extended Spring Training game
Via Mike Fitzpatrick: Curtis Granderson is fine after being hit by a pitch in the right arm during an Extended Spring Training game yesterday. It’s the same arm he had broken by an errant J.A. Happ pitch during Spring Training. “It was going to happen one of these days,” he said afterwards.
Granderson, 32, has been playing in ExST games since Wednesday, and Fitzpatrick says he has spent time in all three outfield positions. The Yankees insist he will return as the center fielder, so it will be interesting to see how the outfield shakes out once he returns. I don’t think anyone expected Vernon Wells to hit as well as he has, which has complicated things for the time being. We can worry about the outfield alignment when Curtis is actually ready to rejoin the team, I guess.
Poll: Which injured player do the Yankees miss the most?
No team has been more beset by injuries this year than the Yankees. They’ve used the DL ten times already, the most in the big leagues. Some injuries are more serious than others, and some absences are more noticeable than others. Still, ten players on the DL one month into the season is a little extreme.
With a lineup that is averaging just four runs per game since the blowout Indians series (team 106 wRC+ overall), it’s clear the offense doesn’t pack as much punch as it once did. The Yankees can’t hit lefties at all — .225/.300/.365 (78 wRC+) as a team — and the injuries are a major reason why. The pitching staff has been pretty awesome (4.22 runs per game, 3.64 FIP), and that’s why the club owns the second best record in baseball at 17-10.
Some of those injured players are getting closer to a return, and a month gives us a good enough to look to determine which guy the Yankees have missed the most. With all due to respect to Kevin Youkilis, Ivan Nova, and Frankie Cervelli, this is limited to players who started the season on the DL and would have unquestionably made the 25-man roster if healthy. That means no Michael Pineda and Cesar Cabral, basically, and it leaves us with four prominent position players.
Curtis Granderson
The Yankees lost their top power hitter five pitches into his Grapefruit League season, when an errant J.A. Happ pitch broke Granderson’s forearm and put him on the DL for more than two months. Curtis played in his first Extended Spring Training game just yesterday, getting two at-bats before it started raining. The Yankees have hit an MLB-best 38 homers this season, so they haven’t been the powerless punch and judy offense so many (including me) expected. Still, losing a legitimate 40-homer hitter is a blow to any team.
Derek Jeter
October ankle surgery turned into an April setback, which will force the Cap’n to the sidelines until the All-Star break. Jeter hit .316/.362/.429 (117 wRC+) last season and that’s close to impossible to replace at the shortstop position — the team’s shortstops are currently hitting .214/.289/.264 (52 wRC+) — but the Yankees especially miss his right-handed bat against lefty pitchers. He hit .364/.399/.542 (157 wRC+) against southpaws in 2012, and boy would that fit nicely atop the lineup these days.
Alex Rodriguez
The Bombers knew about A-Rod’s hip injury in December, so they were able to secure a more than capable replacement in Youkilis. That said, the old and broken down version of A-Rod produced more in 2012 (.272/.353/.430, 114 wRC+) than the totally awesome and rejuvenated version of Youkilis in 2013 (.266/.347/.422, 108 wRC+). The difference is especially noticeable against lefties, where A-Rod massively outproduced his third base replacement (152 vs. -40 wRC+). Rodriguez’s right-handed bat would fit perfectly into the middle of the lineup, especially against southpaws.
Mark Teixeira
Teixeira hurt his wrist in mid-May while with preparing for the World Baseball Classic with Team USA, so the Yankees didn’t have much time to find a replacement. Lyle Overbay has been decent overall (98 wRC+) and much more than that against righties (.322/.375/.610, 163 wRC+), but he’s also been useless against lefties (-63 wRC+). Despite his decline, Teixeira was very productive last year (.251/.332/.475, 116 wRC+), especially against lefties (.269/.333/.531, 129 wRC+). Once again, that ability to mash southpaws is something the Yankees miss in a big way right now.
* * *
Four players who, in recent years, occupied the top four spots in the lineup. All are missed in their own way, but some are definitely missed more than others.
Update: Granderson begins playing in Extended Spring Training
4:00pm: Joe Girardi confirmed that Granderson took two at-bats in ExST today, calling it “encouraging.” Well that’s welcome news.
3:30pm: Via Dan Martin: Curtis Granderson has continued to swing a bat at the team’s complex in Tampa, and there’s a chance he will be able to start playing in Extended Spring Training games this weekend. “He’s doing all the things we feel he needs to get ready for a game and hopefully we feel he’ll be in some games pretty soon … So far, we have not had any issues,” said Joe Girardi yesterday.
Granderson, 32, had his forearm broken on the fifth pitch he saw in Grapefruit League play, so he’ll need what amounts to a full Spring Training before rejoining the team. He estimated that at 50-75 at-bats last week. ExST games are informal and Granderson will be able to leadoff every inning, stuff like that, which will speed up the process. Martin says the Yankees are hopeful he will be back in the lineup in about two weeks, which would be swell. It’ll be nice to actually get a player back from the DL for once.
Granderson takes full swings in cage, could take full batting practice soon
Via Andy McCullough: Curtis Granderson and his fractured right forearm took approximately 15 swings in the batting cage prior to yesterday’s game. “A couple more days of that and he’ll go out on the field [for regular batting practice],” said Joe Girardi.
Granderson, 32, missed all of Spring Training and estimated he would need approximately 50-75 at-bats during a rehab assignment before being ready to rejoin the team. He could get like ten at-bats per day in Extended Spring Training, but he’ll also need a few regular minor league games just to get back into a routine and build up some stamina. Two weeks strikes me as optimistic, but it sounds like there’s a chance Granderson could return to the lineup sometime in mid-May.
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