Yankee injury update: Mark Teixeira looks to return; Carlos Beltran has knee drained

The Yankees have been unable to escape the injury bug so far in 2016, particularly when it comes to their first basemen. It wouldn’t be correct to say that the team is missing Mark Teixeira’s bat while he is on the disabled list, as Teixeira is having a fairly awful season at the plate. However, the place the team does miss Teixeira is at first base.

One thing that has never been a question is Teixeira’s ability to save other infielders from errors with his defense. Rob Refsnyder, having never played first base until very recently, doesn’t have that same ability and it has shown in games.

Teixeira had two injections in his knee for lubrication, and he claims that those have made the situation better. He’ll be playing two games for the Trenton Thunder next week before trying to rejoin the Yankees next Friday.

Carlos Beltran joined the ranks of wounded Yankees on Tuesday, missing the first game against the Rockies with a sore left knee. He had his knee drained and likely won’t be able to rejoin the lineup until the team heads to Minnesota. Unlike Teixeira, the Yankees will certainly miss Beltran’s bat in the lineup. He has been their best hitter in 2016, and losing his offense is a big deal. Hopefully he can return as quickly as they think he might.

Injuries are certainly part of having an older lineup such as the Yankees’, and players like Teixeira are pretty much expected to get hurt at this point. Teixeira’s inability to stay healthy and his lackluster offense might have cost him the chance to re-sign with the team when his contract expires at the end of the season. It’s difficult to imagine them taking a chance on him with another deal at this point, but that’s a problem for another day.

On the minor league side of things, Gary Sanchez was able to heal at lightning speed from a broken thumb. He has already been able to return to the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre lineup. Sanchez is of particular importance because the Yankees recently had him taking grounders at first base. With all of the injuries suffered by the first basemen at the big league level, the team may need someone like Sanchez to step in. The Yankees can’t really use his bat as long as Brian McCann is healthy at catcher, so using him as an emergency first basemen would allow them to benefit from his offensive abilities at least.

It is a bit concerning that there hasn’t been more news on the progression of James Kaprielian in his return from the disabled list. Last we heard, he was going to begin throwing “soon” and it has been radio silence ever since. It’s not too surprising, considering the way the Yankees always handle minor league injuries. It would, however, be comforting to at least get an update about his progress.

Kaprielian was pitching very well and moving up through the system pretty quickly before going on the disabled list. His injury likely eliminates whatever small chance there was that he could make it to the majors this season, but the most important thing now is getting him back on track.

Do you think Teixeira has solved his serious knee injury with just a couple of injections? Do you trust him to stay healthy at this point? How concerned are you about Beltran?