Tyler Austin will miss at least six weeks with broken foot; Mason Williams also injured

Spring training hasn’t even gotten fully underway and the Yankees are already dealing with a couple of injuries. The biggest of which is the fact that Tyler Austin has a broken navicular bone in his foot and will miss a minimum of six weeks.

Austin’s injury occurred when he fouled a ball off his foot in batting practice a few days ago. He is currently in a boot and will remain in one for three weeks, and will be held out of baseball activities for at least six weeks.

This puts him out of contention for a spot on the Opening Day roster. The Yankees will likely leave Tampa with Greg Bird and Chris Carter as their first basemen. After a strong showing last year, Austin definitely had something to prove this spring. Unfortunately, those plans will have to wait.

Although some were not fans of the Carter signing, this injury makes it look like an even smarter move. Without him, the Yankees would be pretty much wholly reliant on Bird at first base with Bird coming off a season-long injury himself. The move always made sense from an insurance standpoint, and needing to turn to it so early further cements that reasoning.

Also injured and not at all surprising is Mason Williams. He experienced some patellar tendon inflammation this winter, which went away and recently returned. He will sit out for two weeks while they try to treat it. Unfortunately, injuries are nothing new for Williams. They have plagued him for quite some time now, and always seem to end up being worse than originally thought.

It’s definitely better for injuries to occur early on rather than right before Opening Day if they are going to happen. It gives the team more time to make arrangements for replacements and get everyone acclimated to their roles. It’s a tough break for Austin, though, who could have possibly made the team with a strong showing in camp.