Yankees’ Jacoby Ellsbury lands on DL with sprained knee
The New York Yankees suffered a significant blow Tuesday as Jacoby Ellsbury is headed to the 15-day disabled list after spraining his knee in New York’s 8-6 loss to Washington.
Ellsbury appeared to tweak his right knee during an at-bat in the fourth inning and was pulled from the game in the bottom part of the inning. The 31-year-old outfielder was playing terrific ball to start the year, hitting .324 with a .412 OBP and leading the AL with 14 stolen bases in 37 games. He’ll be out for at least the next two weeks and possibly longer if the knee pain lingers, though the initial thought is that it shouldn’t be too serious.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman offered a positive — if hesitant — outlook on the center fielder’s condition when reached by phone Wednesday.
“At the early juncture, I don’t think it’s a long-term issue,” Cashman said.
Injuries are nothing new for Ellsbury either. He played 149 games in 2014, the first season of a seven-year, $153 million deal he signed with the Yankees, but buring his six years as a regular with the Boston Red Sox he missed considerable chunks of two of those seasons. Ellsbury was limited to 18 games in 2010 (ribs) and 74 games in 2012 (shoulder) and had already dealt with both hip and oblique issues this season. Slade Heathcott was called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre to fill Ellsbury’s spot on the roster.
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Now with Ellsbury banged-up, right-hander Chase Whitley done for the season needing Tommy John surgery, and the status of Masahiro Tanaka’s return up in the air, the Yankees’ depth is going to be tested. They’ve lost six of their last seven and are suddenly sharing first place in the AL East with the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Bronx isn’t burning quite yet, but the Ellsbury injury does accelerate the timeline on when legitimate concern might creep in on the Bombers’ chances this season.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
