Yankees Injury Update: Didi Gregorius, Gary Sanchez, and more

It’s been two months since we last saw the Yankees playing baseball, and pitchers and catchers won’t report to spring training for another two months. Several key members of the team are recovering from Tommy John surgery, missed significant time in 2018 due to injuries, or underwent offseason surgery. Here’s a roundup of the latest injury updates.

Didi Gregorius

It was a huge surprise when the Yankees announced that Gregorius would undergo Tommy John surgery on his throwing arm. The shortstop suffered the injury during Game Two of the ALDS, and “knew [surgery would be needed] as soon as it happened...” Fortunately, the recovery time for position players is much shorter than it is for pitchers. At an event yesterday, Gregorius said that his elbow is “doing really good.” It’s great to hear that he hasn’t experienced any setbacks, but Brian Cashman expects him to be out until at least June, and even as late as August.

Gary Sanchez

This was another surprise surgery announcement that came a few weeks after the Yankees were bounced from the playoffs. It was an awful year for Sanchez, who missed significant time due to a groin injury. Apparently, he had been dealing with a bad left shoulder since 2017. That injury might even be partially to blame for his down season. At any rate, it was a minor procedure, and the Yankees expect their catcher to be ready to go in February.

CC Sabathia

At this point, Sabathia undergoing offseason surgery to clean up his balky knee is just par for the course. He indicated that the procedure went well and his knee is all good on a R2C2 episode.

Clint Frazier

No Yankee had a worse year dealing with injuries than Frazier. Unfortunately, Red Thunder sustained a concussion in February of 2018, and was plagued by symptoms for the majority of the season. He was finally shut down for good at the beginning of September. He hasn’t posted any videos working out, or mentioned the injury on social media in several months. However, at the GM Meetings last month, Cashman said that both Frazier and Ellsbury should be ready come spring.

Jordan Montgomery

The Yankees sure sprung a lot of surprise surgeries on us this year. When Montgomery hit the disabled list, he was said to have a forearm strain, and he progressed all the way to throwing before they shut him down and revealed that he’d be having Tommy John surgery. The surgery happened on June 7th, and recovery time is typically 12-18 months for a pitcher. That means that the Yankees certainly can’t count on him in the rotation, but we could see him return next year.

Ben Heller

Heller is yet another TJS victim, but he had his procedure two months before Monty. It sounds like everything is progressing smoothly:

Jacoby Ellsbury

Time for your semi-annual reminder that Jacoby Ellsbury is still a Yankee. As you know, he missed the entire season with a laundry list of ailments. Everything from an oblique strain to plantar fasciitis. He finally underwent season-ending labrum surgery in August. There is really no place for him on the team, which is why the Bombers recently discussed sending him to Seattle for Robinson Cano. Still, Cashman does expect him to be healthy for spring training. I’m not sure I’ll even recognize him.