Mark Teixeira and the Yankee body count

Mark Teixeira has left Team USA and the World Baseball Classic due to an apparent wrist injury he suffered in the batting cages. This is not what the Yankees need. Tex went for tests and everything came back negative, however Joe Girardi said that he still needs to be seen by team doctors. Nothing is really known about the injury except that it happened and it's serious enough that he has been taken out of the tournament.

Add this new injury to the growing pile of bodies. Curtis Granderson will be out until May with a broken arm. The team still needs to find a fill in for him; a list that includes Melky Mesa, Zoilo Almonte, Ronnier Mustelier, and others. Adonis Garcia was one of those 'others' until he broke his wrist. Hughes is still rehabbing his back and it's still unknown whether or not he will be able to make it back before the Yankees need a fifth starter. David Phelps and Adam Warren are the likely suspects to replace him if it comes to that.

Mariano Rivera seems to be back to normal even after last year's knee surgery, but you can't be too sure. Rafael Soriano isn't here anymore so the Yankees will need David Robertson ready to fill in if Mo falters. Too bad D-Rob might be having some shoulder problems. Just kidding. Derek Jeter has yet to appear in a Spring Training game, but everything seems to be on schedule for him to be ready by April. If Jeter is hindered by his repaired ankle the Yankees have Eduardo Nunez and Jayson Nix as backups.

CC Sabathia had minor elbow surgery in the offseason and while he seems to be fine, you can't be sure about these things until you see it happen. If CC goes down, then that's pretty much the end for the Yankees. Boone Logan hasn't thrown a pitch this spring because he's feeling pain in his elbow. Thankfully the Yankees have plenty of lefty options to replace him, like Josh Spence and Francisco Rondon. David Aardsma and Joba Chamberlain will both be pitching their first full seasons after Tommy John surgery and both seem to be completely healthy.

Ichiro Suzuki was in a car accident the other day, and while he looks to be fine, there's no telling when post-crash symptoms could take hold. Brett Gardner seems perfectly healthy, but the Yankees will still have to see if his elbow can stay healthy all season. If Gardner goes down then the outfield will end up being a carousel of old men with Matt Diaz and Juan Rivera being the likely candidates to be thrown out there. Even Slade Heathcott, who has a very small chance of making the team has injured his thumb diving into people.

After undergoing hip surgery, Alex Rodriguez is projected to miss about half the season, so when he even returns it's unknown what he can contribute. The Yankees brought in Kevin Youkilis to make up for his absence, but he has also battled injury. The likes of Nix and Corban Joseph seem to be the last line of defense, especially when David Adams is also out with a back injury.

Now Mark Teixeira can be thrown onto the pile, and though it doesn't seem serious, the Yankees need to be afraid for his health. Not only do they need his bat to make up for the loss of A-Rod and Granderson, but the team doesn't actually have a replacement first baseman. They don't even currently have a backup first baseman. They have Dan Johnson and Juan Rivera and that's it. Even though the team is testing Johnson out at third this spring, it doesn't look like he's going to be passing the eye test. Johnson has already made two errors at the hot corner and had four walks with no hits in ten at bats. Rivera, on the other hand, has 6 hits in 16 at bats, not only will he be making this team, he'll probably be the Yankees' first baseman going forward if Tex is seriously hurt.

The Yankees also have Travis Hafner on the team and he hasn't played over 100 games since 2010. If he goes down the Yankees can always DH A-Rod and Youkilis, but can Hafner even make it that long?

Plus Brian Cashman broke his ankle jumping out of a plane.

Let that sink in.