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The Yankees were hit hard by injuries during spring training and at the beginning of the season. However, the good news is that there are just five players on the disabled list at the moment. One of them is Ben Heller, who underwent Tommy John surgery several months ago. Let’s check in on the other injured Yankees.
Jordan Montgomery
Last week, right in the middle of the draft, Bryan Hoch broke the news that Montgomery needed Tommy John surgery. He was on the disabled list with a forearm strain, and was expected to miss 6-8 weeks. This information seemed to come out of nowhere, as the last update we had heard was that he was playing catch without any issues. Monty had the surgery on Thursday, and it will be a long time before we see him on the field again.
Masahiro Tanaka
To make matters in the rotation even worse, Tanaka was pulled from Friday’s start against the Mets after he tagged up and scored on a sac fly. The Yankees later announced that he had somehow managed to strain both of his hamstrings on the play. He was placed on the disabled list on Saturday, and any hope Yankees fans had that Tanaka would only miss one start went away quickly. Brian Cashman guessed Tanaka would be out for a month. Aaron Boone indicated that Tanaka could return before the All-Star break, which is five weeks away.
Jacoby Ellsbury
As of May 31st, Ellsbury was expected to resume baseball activities shortly. There haven’t been any updates available since, but hopefully no news is good news. At least we haven’t heard of him developing any new injuries.
Luis Cessa
Cessa was placed on the disabled listed in mid-April with an oblique strain. Nearly two months later, it sounds like he is finally close to returning. Cashman said that he has thrown twice in extended spring training, and will throw 60 pitches in Tampa today. It’s possible that he could take Tanaka’s next start.
Aroldis Chapman
This is something to keep an eye on: Chapman has been dealing with left knee tendinitis for the past few weeks, along with discomfort in his quad. The Yankees believe he can continue to pitch through it for now as he supposedly doesn’t feel it when he is on the mound.