New York Yankees centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury left Friday night’s game against the Boston Red Sox after the first inning due to what the team is calling a “tight hip”, and is listed as day-to-day, according to Ryan Hatch of NJ Advanced Media. More will be known after Ellsbury undergoes an MRI.
“He’s got a little strain on a hip muscle,” manager Joe Girardi said. “He’s day-to-day. My guess is it’ll be a couple of days and we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Ellsbury, the Yankees leadoff hitter, was 6 for 15 with three doubles in May after a very poor April. He walked on four straight pitches from Red Sox right-hander Rick Porcello to start off the game Friday night. The Yankees leadoff hitter would steal second base and then swipe third. It was then that he appeared to suffer the injury. Ellsbury would stay in the game and come into score on Brian McCann’s double.
Unfortunately for the Yankees, this is nothing new when it comes to Ellsbury. Going into last year, he had missed 277 games over the previous five years due to a variety of injuries. In 2015, he missed fifty-one games, mostly due to a sprained right knee, which kept him out of action for nearly eight weeks. He also dealt with some discomfort in his hip last year, but it never caused him to miss any games.
The Yankees, who are currently in last place in the American League East, had already lost a key member of their lineup earlier this week when designated hitter Alex Rodriguez had to go on the 15-day disabled list with a hamstring injury. To make things worse, the Yankees had to place CC Sabathia on the DL with a groin injury Friday afternoon.
With a core group of players as old as the one the Yankees have, injuries are to be expected. Ellsbury is 32, while Sabathia is 35 and Rodriguez is 40.
Ellsbury is now in the third year of a seven-year, $153 million contract.
Aaron Hicks, the Yankees fourth outfielder, will likely play the majority of centerfield with Brett Gardner playing there as well. This will also shift Carlos Beltran back to the field (he’s filling in for Rodriguez at DH), or they could play Dustin Ackley more in right field. Then there’s rookie Ben Gamel, who was called up to the majors on Friday and could fill in at right field too, but that’s an option that doesn’t provide much help in the long-term.
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