Mark Teixeira injury: Yankees, not WBC, now responsible for paying salary

By TanyaAnderson@Tanya__Anderson Jun 25, 2013, 6:02pm EDT

When Mark Teixeira was originally hurt taking batting practice for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, the Yankees got some relief from having to pay the first baseman's salary while he was on the disabled list because the WBC was picking up the tab. Unfortunately, once Teixeira came off the DL, the WBC's obligation to pay his salary ended, according to Bryan Hoch and Randy Levine. Now that he is looking at possibly needing to undergo season-ending surgery, the Yankees are once again on the hook for paying any money owed on Teixeira's salary.

The questions about whether or not Tex was every healthy enough to return to playing were brought up after comments from hitting coach Kevin Long seemed to indicate that he didn't think Teixeira was ready to play again. Whether that's the case or not will likely never be known, but if he was unnecessarily rushed back into action, the Yankees will be literally paying for it, even beyond having to fill the hole in their lineup. Brian Cashman brushed off the idea that Teixeira may have not been ready to return.

There will be some relief for the Yankees in the form of insurance money that they can collect on Teixeira's salary since he has been injured. Now that the team is responsible for whatever comes next, which is looking increasingly more and more like surgery and a long rehab, they may have to re-think the process for determining a player is definitively healthy and ready to get back on the field going forward. They've been burned by the same mistake multiple times already this season, and this particular instance may prove to be the most costly.