Yankees injury round up

June 25, 2008   ·   Paul Raymond   ·   Jump to comments

Numerous injuries and returns to talk about when it comes to the New York Yankees. Two key players (Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon) have some nagging injuries, while two young prospects (J.B. Cox and Humberto Sanchez) make their returns. So let’s not waste any time and get right into it.

LF Hideki Matsui - Matsui is being bothered by a couple things right now. Last week he had fluid drained from his left knee, that knee is still swollen as I write. Due to that Matsui was ruled out for outfield play, but yet eligible for pinch-hit duty for the Pittsburgh Pirates series. Unfortunately for the Yankees, Matsui woke up Tuesday morning with neck soreness, and is now ruled out for the entire series this includes pinch-hitting. Matsui is currently holding out hope that he won’t need off-season surgery like he did on his right knee. “At this point, I don’t know,” Matsui said. “I just have to hope that that’s not the case.”

LF Johnny Damon - Damon is currently experiencing pain in his left foot. First off, what is it with the left fielders and left leg pain? Funny coincidence probably only I thought of. Damon is reportedly experiencing so much in pain in the arch of that foot, that on Sunday he “just couldn’t move” which gives him “no chance” of chasing down balls in left. He’s missed Sunday, Tuesday and is not in the lineup for Wednesday’s game either. If absolutely needed thou, Damon would be available to pinch-hit Wednesday.

“Hopefully I can go (tonight), but I can’t promise anything right now,” Damon said. “I definitely need my legs to help this team.”

P J.B. Cox - Cox made a return to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre yesterday night, throwing a scoreless inning. This is a good sign for the Yankees as Cox was in line for a call-up to the majors before being shut down about two weeks ago. Cox has been sidelined with shoulder tendinitis and original time table was 3 to 5 weeks, so to come back this quickly is a pretty good sign. If he shows he’s healthy you may once again seeing him set-up for Mariano Rivera before the All-Star break.

I personally can’t wait to see this kid in the majors. I still remember when he was drafted and the thought was he could be a potential closer for the Yankees when Mo decided to hang it up. While it looks Cox isn’t going to be that good anymore, he’s still got the goods to be a solid late inning reliever. And what do the Yankees need the most? A 7th or 8th inning pitcher, even more then they need a starter.

P Humberto Sanchez - Sanchez could be a big wild card for the Yankees come September. No one has even expected to have this guy in the big leagues this year as he’s still working his way back from Tommy John surgery last season. Well Tuesday he made his first appearance going two thirds of an inning for the Rookie Gulf Coast Yankees. He wasn’t to impressive but yet it was his first appearance in over a year.

Sanchez was the centerpiece of the Gary Sheffield trade with the Detroit Tigers. At the time of the trade he was a huge starting pitching prospect, but even before the injury it began to look like the Yankees would like him in a late inning relief role as well. He’s still a long shot to contribute this year, but if his next 2 months go well in his rehab appearances there is a chance you can see him on the September call-up list. If that happens there would be a chance for him to be on the post-season roster as well, with him being on the 40 man roster. Wouldn’t be a bad thing to have another young power arm back there if healthy.

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In other minor injury updates, we have Philip Hughes and Ian Kennedy. Yes, I’ve now bumped them to minor news status for the time being. Hughes has been cleared to start throwing, and began a program earlier today in Tampa. No rehab apperaances are scheduled yet as toda was the first day he’s thrown. So basically the mid-August time frame remains. Now, Kennedy. Kennedy will make another rehab start this Saturday for Single-A Tampa, he’s scheduled to throw 65-75 pitches. With him scheduled to throw so little, I’d assume at least one more minor league start would come afterward.

The Yankees return to the Bronx for a home stand on June 30th. They’ll be facing the Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, and the Tampa Bay Rays. A tough stretch, why not take a trip to the Bronx and support the Bombers!

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