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Yankees Place Zack Britton On 10-Day Injured List

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AUGUST 24: Britton is going for a second opinion, manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Lindsey Adler of the Athletic). Some form of surgery is apparently on the table as a potential outcome.

AUGUST 23: The Yankees announced Monday that they’ve placed lefty Zack Britton on the 10-day injured list with a left elbow sprain, recalled outfielder Jonathan Davis from Triple-A Scranton and reinstated righty Clay Holmes from the Covid-19-related injured list. Additionally, the Yankees paused Miguel Andujar’s minor league rehab assignment and transferred him to the 60-day injured list.

Last October, the Yankees picked up Britton’s $14MM option for 2022, as declining it would have allowed the lefty to become a free agent.  In a sense, the club made a $27MM commitment for 2021-22.  In March of this year, it became apparent that Britton would require arthroscopic surgery to remove a bone chip in his left elbow.  This delayed his season debut until June 12th.  Not long after, he returned to the IL with a hamstring strain.  Never a control pitcher, Britton saw his walk rate this year balloon to 17.1% in 22 appearances.  His typically ridiculous groundball rate has remained, but Britton also lost his seeming ability to repress batting average on balls in play (.230 from 2018-20).  The result has been heavy traffic on the bases and a 5.89 ERA, perhaps related to a drop in fastball velocity exceeding two miles per hour.

Britton had already tumbled down the Yankees’ bullpen depth chart, with the team’s highest-leverage work this month going to Jonathan Loaisiga, Wandy Peralta, and Chad Green.  Another pricey reliever, Aroldis Chapman, returned from an IL stint for elbow inflammation on August 18th.

Andujar has been on the 10-day injured list since July 10 due to a left wrist sprain, so since his 60-day clock is retroactive to that date, he now isn’t eligible to return until well into September. There hasn’t been any specific word on a setback, though since Andujar hasn’t played in any minor league rehab games since last Wednesday, something certainly appears to be amiss. Andujar only began his rehab assignment last Tuesday, appearing in two games.

Between this injury and his prior status of getting shuttled back and forth between Triple-A and the Yankees’ roster, 2021 is shaping up as another lost season for Andujar, who has hit .253/.284/.383 in 162 plate appearances over 45 games this year. Since finishing second in AL Rookie Of The Year voting in 2018, Andujar has managed only a .588 OPS over 276 PA at the big league level, due to both injuries and the fact that the Yankees seem to have largely moved on. Gio Urshela’s emergence in 2019 covered Andujar’s old spot at third base, and recent attempts to convert him to an outfielder also haven’t yielded any additional playing time.

AL East Notes: Archer, Cruz, Urshela, Blue Jays

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Chris Archer’s long-awaited return from the IL didn’t go as planned. The righty returned to the hill today after spending more than four months on the shelf, but then left the game after throwing 41 pitches over two innings due to hip tightness. Although Archer initially went on the IL in April because of forearm tightness, his rehab was slowed by hip soreness in recent weeks. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times relays word from Rays’ manager Kevin Cash, who says that today’s hip soreness was not in the same spot as the previous hip issues. Archer himself told Joey Johnston of the Tampa Bay Times that coming out of the game was precautionary. “I noticed a little drop in my fastball [velocity], and I felt the tightness in my hip,” Archer said. “…I thought it was smart to take a little breather, leave it at two innings.” The hurler has now thrown just 6 1/3 innings since the end of the 2019 season, after missing all of 2020 because of undergoing surgery to correct thoracic outlet syndrome. Whether this is a minor setback or something more serious remains to be seen. In spite of his early exit, the Rays racked up a 9-0 victory over the White Sox, moving to 4 1/2 games ahead of the Yankees.

More from the AL East…

  • Nelson Cruz was placed on the COVID IL earlier today, but it seems that was mostly precautionary. Per Topkin, Cruz just didn’t feel well this morning. Assuming he doesn’t test positive, Cruz should return to the squad as soon as he feels better. (The COVID IL has no minimum stay.) The 41-year-old was in the midst of yet another excellent season at the plate when he was traded from Minnesota to Tampa, though he’s slumped a bit since then. His .198/.257/.448 line since joining the Rays is a far cry from the numbers he put up before the move, though in a small sample size of just 24 games.
  • Yankees’ infielder Gio Urshela is beginning a rehab assignment tonight, per a team announcement. The 29-year-old has been on the IL for about three weeks due to a hamstring strain. It’s been a frustrating few weeks for Urshela, having only played six games since mid-July because of this hamstring issue as well as the Yankees’ lengthy COVID situation. Despite all that, Urshela still has a nice line of .274/.315/.439 on the year, producing a wRC+ of 106. That’s a drop-off from his excellent 2019-2020 production, but still above league average and would be an upgrade to the Yankees’ current lineup. With Gleyber Torres also on the IL, the Yanks have largely been using Rougned Odor and Andrew Velazquez on the left side of the diamond, neither of whom have matched Urshela’s production on the year. Since joining the Yankees, Odor’s slash line is .216/.297/.404, wRC+ of 92, whereas Velazquez is at .242/.265/.424, wRC+ of 84.
  • Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi provides updates on some injured Blue Jays. (Twitter links) Catcher Danny Jansen is close to starting a rehab assignment as he works his way back from a hamstring strain. Ross Stripling has started throwing after being shut down due to an oblique injury. But of course, the most notable wounded Blue Jay is George Springer, who recently landed on the IL with a knee sprain. The star outfielder has only been able to play 49 games this year due to various injuries, but has been outstanding when healthy. His .269/.362/.610 slash line is 58% better than league average, per wRC+. Amongst MLB players with more than 200 plate appearances this year, only four of them are above Springer in that regard. In other words, his health is tremendously important to a team that is 4 1/2 games out of a playoff spot. But as Davidi says, despite doing some hitting, Springer still has to run the bases before being considered for game action.

2021-22 Qualifying Offer Candidates

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With the trade deadline in the rearview mirror and a little more than six weeks remaining in the regular season, plenty of front offices are turning their attention towards the upcoming offseason. The first notable decision for many clubs will be to decide whether to tag one or more of their top impending free agents with a qualifying offer.

As a reminder, the qualifying offer is a one-year contract offer teams can make to certain impending free agents. The precise value of the QO has yet to be calculated, but it’s determined as the average salary of the game’s 125 highest-paid players. Last season, the QO value was set at $18.9MM. If the player accepts the offer, he returns to his current team on that one-year deal. If he rejects, his previous team would receive draft pick compensation should he sign elsewhere.

Last season, six players (George Springer, Trevor Bauer, J.T. Realmuto, DJ LeMahieu, Kevin Gausman and Marcus Stroman) received qualifying offers. Gausman and Stroman accepted the QO, while Realmuto and LeMahieu re-signed with their current clubs as free agents. The Reds and Astros received compensatory picks (used on Jay Allen and Chayce McDermott, respectively) when Bauer and Springer departed.

The collective bargaining agreement prohibits a player from being tagged with a qualifying offer multiple times in his career. (A list of every active big leaguer who has previously received a QO is available here). Similarly, in order to be eligible, the player must have spent the entire preceding season on the same team. Players traded midseason cannot be tagged with a QO.

With the majority of the 2021 season in the books, we can take a look at the upcoming free agent class to predict which players might wind up receiving qualifying offer this winter.

Locks

This group is fairly straightforward, as there’s very little chance any of these players would accept a qualifying offer. Correa, Seager and Freeman all have MVP-caliber upside and are locks to pull in long-term deals this winter. Semien didn’t receive a QO from the A’s after a down year in 2020, took a pillow contract with the Jays for almost the value of the QO ($18MM), and has essentially replicated his 2019 form that earned him a third place finish in AL MVP voting. He should find a big multi-year deal this time around.

Story is having a bit of a down year, but there’s no doubt the Rockies will make him a qualifying offer after not trading him at the deadline. Nick Groke of the Athletic wrote this week that Colorado hasn’t given up hope of convincing him to sign a long-term extension, but that seems unlikely given Story’s own bewilderment he wasn’t moved to a contender this summer. Whether Story is willing to return to Denver or not, he’ll receive a QO.

Kershaw, Ray and Rodón will be among the top pitchers on the market. Kershaw has spent the past couple months on the injured list due to forearm soreness, but he’s expected back in September and is in the midst of another fantastic season. So long as he’s healthy, he’s a lock for a QO. Ray and Rodón both had to settle for one-year deals after poor 2020 seasons, but they’ve each been among the best pitchers in the American League this year.

Likely

Over the past two seasons, Taylor has somewhat quietly been one of the game’s top 25 qualified hitters by measure of wRC+ and he’s versatile enough to cover any non-catcher position on the diamond. He’s not a true everyday player at any one spot and he’s making contact at a career-worst rate this season, so he falls just short of being an absolute lock for a QO. But the Dodgers would be as willing as any team to shoulder a significant one-year salary were Taylor to accept, and his body of work should be sufficient to warrant a multi-year deal regardless.

The Mets’ players in this group are two of the more interesting free agents in the class. Conforto entered the season looking like a lock for a QO and seemingly having a chance at landing nine figures with a strong platform year. He missed a month with injury, though, and hasn’t made anywhere near his typical level of impact at the plate. He’s shown some life over the past few weeks, and between his track record and age (28), Conforto still seems a good bet to land a long-term deal.

Syndergaard was a top-of-the-rotation starter at his peak, but he hasn’t pitched since 2019 because of Tommy John surgery. He’s eyeing a September return — likely in relief, given his dwindling time to build up arm strength — and his late-season form will obviously be critical to his market. The Mets should run one of the higher payrolls in the league, and Syndergaard has the upside to be an ace if healthy, so New York still seems more likely than not to make the offer.

Similarly, Verlander has essentially missed two full seasons because of his own Tommy John procedure. That’s a scary development for a pitcher who’ll be 39 on Opening Day 2022, but he was still every bit an ace when we last saw him in 2018-19. The Astros are a win-now club that runs high payrolls, so Verlander accepting a QO wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. If he declines and signs elsewhere, Houston would recoup some much-needed draft compensation after losing their past two first-round picks as punishment for the sign-stealing scandal.

Colorado reportedly showed even less interest in trading Gray than they did with Story at the deadline. There’s apparently mutual interest about working out a multi-year extension, and the QO could serve as a temporary measure to keep Gray in Denver while the Rockies and Gray’s representatives work on a long-term deal.

Rodríguez has bounced back to take the ball every fifth day this year after a scary bout with myocarditis cost him all of 2020. His ERA’s pushing 5.00, but his peripherals are far better than that bottom line run prevention and the southpaw has an established track record of mid-rotation production.

The Mariners are facing a difficult decision regarding Kikuchi, as MLBTR’s Steve Adams explored last month. Seattle must decide whether to exercise a package deal of four successive club options at $16.5MM apiece (essentially a four-year, $66MM extension) this winter. If the Mariners don’t exercise their four-year option, Kikuchi has a $13MM player option to return to Seattle for 2022. If both parties decline their ends, the 30-year-old would hit free agency this offseason, although the M’s could then tag Kikuchi with a qualifying offer.

Given that Kikuchi will only be a free agent if he passes on a $13MM player option, the Mariners would likely make him a QO worth a few million dollars more if it comes to that — either with the expectation he’ll decline in search of a longer-term deal, or with the hope he accepts and Seattle can keep him in the fold next season without committing themselves to the additional three years of guaranteed money.

Possible

The Giants have plenty of payroll space this offseason and seem likely to try to keep most of this season’s core together. Belt has been one of the sport’s most productive offensive players on a rate basis over the past two years. But he’s also 33 years old, has a long injury history and is striking out at the highest rate of his career.

San Francisco bought low on DeSclafani over the winter after he had a tough 2020 season with the Reds. He’s bounced back to post a very strong 3.26 ERA, although his peripherals are closer to average and he’s benefitted from opponents’ .257 batting average on balls in play. The Giants will likely see 4/5 of their starting rotation hit free agency this winter, so they could be eager to bring DeSclafani back, even if that comes via a lofty 2022 salary.

Morton has had another productive season in his first year as a Brave, but his previous two teams (the Astros in 2018 and the Rays in 2020) let him reach free agency without making a qualifying offer despite his consistently strong track record. That’s presumably due to concerns about his past injury history and age. He’ll turn 38 this winter and might check his potential earning power by limiting himself to teams in the Southeastern part of the country — as he reportedly did last offseason. That could inspire the Braves to pass on a QO, but Morton continually reels off above-average performances, and this is an Atlanta front office that has been eager to dole out hefty single-year salaries for key veteran upgrades in recent years.

Iglesias looks like the top impending free agent reliever (assuming the White Sox exercise their option over Craig Kimbrel). He’s sporting an ERA under 3.00 for the fifth time in his six seasons since moving to the bullpen, and he’s never had a single-season SIERA above 3.55. Home runs have been an issue, but Iglesias gets above-average results year in and year out and has some of the best strikeout and walk numbers in the game in 2021.

Long Shots

The Giants hold a $22MM club option (with a $3MM buyout) over Posey’s services for next season. If the front office is willing to commit him a significant salary, they’ll just exercise the option rather than going the QO route. Indeed, they’re reportedly planning to do exactly that (or to potentially pursue a multi-year extension with the franchise icon). Either way, there’s no real reason to involve the qualifying offer here.

Canha would be a very plausible qualifying offer candidate on many teams. He’s been a well above-average hitter and overall performer three years running and is generally one of the game’s more underrated players. The A’s, though, didn’t make a QO to either of Semien or Liam Hendriks last season. Canha’s a Bay Area native, and his age (33 in February) will cap the length of offers he receives from other clubs. Given that, it’s not hard to envision him accepting a QO if offered. The A’s, who perennially run low payrolls and will have a loaded class of arbitration-eligible players this winter, don’t seem likely to take that risk.

Wainwright has had a fantastic 2021 season, and the Cardinals figure to be motivated to keep the franchise icon in St. Louis in some capacity. But that also looked to be true after his strong 2020 campaign, and Wainwright only wound up landing a one-year, $8MM deal. He’d be well-deserved in demanding a raise over that sum to return next season, but it remains to be seen if the Cardinals would be willing to chance more than doubling his salary  — particularly if they feel Wainwright’s motivated to remain in St. Louis rather than pursue the highest possible offers in free agency.

Kluber signed an $11MM deal with the Yankees last offseason after back-to-back seasons wrecked by injury. He pitched well through ten starts but has been out since late May with a shoulder strain. Kluber’s nearing a return to action, but his missing nearly three months only adds to prior concerns about his ability to handle a significant workload at this stage of his career.

Kim, García and Wood are all having strong 2021 seasons and could plausibly land solid multi-year deals this winter. Each has enough question marks that their teams don’t seem especially likely to offer a salary in the range of the qualifying offer, though. Kim doesn’t miss many bats; García has had extreme highs and lows throughout his career; Wood has a checkered injury history. García’s contract contains a $12MM club option that vests into a mutual option if he reaches 492 plate appearances this season. If that option doesn’t vest, the Brewers would obviously have no incentive to decline the option only to make a qualifying offer at a higher price point.

Opt-Out Clauses

Each of Arenado (six years, $179MM), Castellanos (two years, $34MM) and Martinez (one year, $19.35MM) has significant guaranteed money remaining on their contracts but can opt out of those deals this winter. Arenado and Castellanos would be locks to reject qualifying offers if they trigger their opt-out provisions, since they’d be foregoing bigger guarantees to test the market.

Martinez’s player option is of similar enough value to the projected value of the qualifying offer that he could plausibly trigger the opt-out but then accept a QO. Even if that proved to be the case, the Red Sox would probably be happy to keep him in the middle of the lineup for another season.

Ineligible

Yankees Activate Anthony Rizzo, Aroldis Chapman

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The Yankees announced they’ve activated first baseman Anthony Rizzo from the COVID-19 injured list. He’s in tonight’s lineup against the archrival Red Sox, hitting second. Additionally, closer Aroldis Chapman is back from the 10-day IL. In corresponding moves, outfielder Jonathan Davis and reliever Nick Nelson were optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

To create space for Rizzo on the 40-man roster, New York activated outfielder Trey Amburgey from the 10-day IL and returned him to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Because Amburgey was originally selected to the big league roster as a replacement for a player who had gone on the COVID-19 IL, he could be removed from the 40-man and sent back to the minors without being placed on waivers.

Rizzo returns ten days after testing positive for the coronavirus. For the first time, he’ll pair with Luke Voit, who was activated from his own IL stint at the time Rizzo landed on the shelf. It’s an abundance of offensive riches for the Yankees, who’ll have to also find playing time for Joey Gallo, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton between the outfield, first base and designated hitter.

Chapman landed on the IL on August 7 with inflammation in his throwing elbow. While a bit of an ominous-sounding diagnosis, it turned out to only require a near-minimal stint. In his absence, Chad Green, Zack Britton and Jonathan Loáisiga picked up save opportunities, but that role will again fall to Chapman, manager Aaron Boone confirmed to reporters (via Erik Boland of Newsday). The hard-throwing southpaw rebounded from a dreadful few weeks in the middle of the season to post seven consecutive scoreless outings leading up to his IL stint.

The Yankees have almost completely bounced back from the spread of COVID-19 in the clubhouse over the past couple weeks. Reliever Clay Holmes is the only player remaining on the COVID IL for the red-hot Yankees, who have won twelve of their last fifteen to catch the Red Sox and A’s in the American League Wild Card race.

Yankees, Nick Goody Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Yankees are in agreement to bring right-hander Nick Goody back to the organization on a minor league contract, reports Conor Foley of the Scranton Times-Tribune (Twitter link). He’ll head back to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre for the time being.

Goody, 30, opened the season with the Yankees on a minor league deal and pitched quite well for their top affiliate in Scranton, logging 22 innings of 2.86 ERA ball with a massive 36.5 percent strikeout rate against just an 8.2 percent walk rate. Goody exercised an early July opt-out clause in that deal, however, and the Yankees elected to let him become a free agent rather than add him to the MLB roster at the time. He went on to sign with the Nationals but didn’t fare as well with their Triple-A club in Rochester; in 14 innings there, Goody yielded eight runs on 13 hits and seven walks with 13 strikeouts (5.40 ERA).

Originally a sixth-round pick by the Yankees back in 2012, Goody made his big league debut with them back in 2015. He was traded to the Indians in a 2016 deal that netted minor league reliever Yoiber Marquina, and he went on to enjoy a solid three-year run in Cleveland from 2017-19: 107 innings, 3.53 ERA, 29.6 percent strikeout rate, 10.4 percent walk rate. After going to the Rangers via waivers in the 2019-20 offseason, Goody was hit hard in the 2020 season, yielding 11 runs on 14 hits and eight walks with 13 punchouts through 11 innings.

Now back with the Yankees, Goody will provide some depth to a bullpen that has a different composition than when he left the organization. In the six weeks since that time, the Yankees have lost Darren O’Day to a season-ending hamstring injury; traded Luis Cessa and Justin Wilson; and acquired both Clay Holmes and Joely Rodriguez in separate deals. They’re also currently without closer Aroldis Chapman, who has been on the injured list since Aug. 7 owing to elbow inflammation.

Yankees Activate Jordan Montgomery, Gary Sanchez

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8:58 am: Indeed, the Yankees announced this morning they’ve activated Montgomery and Sánchez from the injured list. Luis Gil has also been recalled as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader.

8:20 am: The Yankees announced last night they’ve returned reliever Stephen Ridings and catcher Rob Brantly to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Both players were selected to the big league roster as replacements for players who had tested positive for COVID-19, so they could removed from the active and 40-man rosters without being exposed to waivers.

While New York has yet to formally announce corresponding roster moves, it’s apparent they’re made with the intention of activating left-hander Jordan Montgomery and catcher Gary Sánchez from the COVID-19 injured list before today’s doubleheader against the Red Sox. New York had already indicated Montgomery would get the ball for one half of the twin bill. It was less clear whether Sánchez would be ready to return today, but Brantly’s removal leaves Kyle Higashioka as the only catcher on the big league roster — suggesting Sánchez will indeed make it back onto the field this afternoon.

Ridings was selected two weeks ago and has made his first five MLB appearances this year. He allowed two runs over five frames, punching out seven while issuing a pair of walks. Ridings averaged a huge 97.2 MPH on his sinker and generated swinging strikes on a fantastic 18.9% of his offerings during his brief big league time. Between that impressive showing and his ludicrous minor league numbers this season — a 1.24 ERA with a 38.2% strikeout rate split between Double-A and Triple-A — the 26-year-old figures to get another MLB look before long.

Brantly has come up as a COVID replacement on two separate occasions, tallying 21 plate appearances in a backup role. He’s had a very good season with the RailRiders, hitting .286/.397/.496 over 141 plate appearances.

The Yankees are moving closer to returning to full strength after the recent spread of the coronavirus throughout their clubhouse. Assuming Montgomery and Sánchez are activated today, that’ll leave just Anthony Rizzo and Clay Holmes on the COVID IL. It’s an opportune time for New York to get two key players back, as the Yankees kick off a three-game set against their archrivals in Boston, whom they trail by two games in the American League Wild Card race (with the A’s 1.5 games up on New York for the final AL postseason spot).

Yankees Activate Gerrit Cole, Transfer Clint Frazier To 60-Day IL

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The Yankees have reinstated Gerrit Cole from the injured list, per a club announcement. Right-hander Brooks Kriske, who’d been up as a replacement player, was returned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in a corresponding move.

Meanwhile, the Yankees transferred outfielder Clint Frazier from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. That opens up a 40-man spot for Cole, who’d temporarily been removed while on the Covid list, but the Yankees also indicated that Frazier’s rehab stint in Triple-A has been halted. No further word has been provided on his status at this time. Frazier has already been out since July 1; the move to the 60-day IL means he can’t return until the end of August.

Cole tested positive for Covid-19 back on Aug. 2 and wound up missing two weeks of action. He’ll jump back into the mix at a time when the Yankees have won 12 of 16 games since the July 30 trade deadline to pull within five and a half games of the American League East lead and just two and a half games of the second American League Wild Card spot.

Cole, who signed the largest contract of any pitcher in MLB history two offseasons ago, has pitched to a 3.11 ERA with a 34.4 percent strikeout rate and 5.5 percent walk rate in 130 1/3 frames thus far for the Yankees in 2021. He was one of the focal points of Major League Baseball’s crackdown on the usage of foreign substances by pitchers. He’s had his share of slips along the way since the league implemented foreign-substance checks for pitchers, but Cole has also looked like every bit the ace that signed that record contract at times since the new enforcement of the policy; he punched out 12 hitters in a shutout of the Astros on July 10 and followed with 11 strikeouts in six innings of one-run ball against the Red Sox his next time out.

As for Frazier, it’s a concerning development in the outfielder’s health outlook. He was placed originally placed on the injured list with dizziness, vision problems and other symptoms perhaps consistent with vertigo. That was said to have been ruled out early in the process, however, and there’s been no firm indication as to what is at the root of the issue. He’d recently returned the field and gone 4-for-10 with a double in three games, but it now seems he’ll step back from playing in games as the team further evaluates his status.

Frazier, 26, had a big showing in 2020, hitting .267/.394/.511 with eight homers, six doubles and a triple through 39 games and 160 plate appearances. He looked poised to step up as an everyday option in left field for the Yanks, but in 218 plate appearances this year he’s batted just .186/.317/.317.

Yankees Notes: Cole, Montgomery, Sanchez, Rizzo, German

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In the wake of another COVID-19 outbreak in the Yankees clubhouse, some of the impacted players are preparing to return to the field.  Manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Kristie Ackert of The New York Daily News) that Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery will be activated from the COVID-related injury list to start the Yankees’ next two games.  Cole will face the Angels on Monday, while Montgomery will face the Red Sox on Tuesday in one half of a doubleheader.

Additionally, catcher Gary Sanchez started a Double-A rehab assignment today, and could potentially be activated for one of those games against the Red Sox.  “We’ll see if we want to do another rehab game with them, potentially on Tuesday, but the idea would be he plays [today] and then come be with us tomorrow and work out, have a full day with us and then we’ll kind of evaluate the next step,” Boone said.

Six players are currently on the COVID list, which only added to roster issues for the injury-riddled Yankees.  Despite all these absences, however, the Yankees have been one of baseball’s hottest teams, with a 19-9 record since the All-Star break.

Anthony Rizzo was a big part of that hot streak, batting .281/.400/.563 in his first 40 plate appearances in the pinstripes since being acquired by the Cubs at the trade deadline.  Rizzo was also hit by a positive COVID test, and after over a week away, will begin to take steps towards returning to the field by undergoing cardiac testing on Monday.

Domingo German has been sidelined by right shoulder inflammation since August 1, and the right-hander tossed a bullpen session yesterday to continue his recovery process.  Boone said German threw all fastballs yesterday and will add more pitches in his next bullpen, which could take place as early as Monday.

Luis Severino To Undergo MRI On Right Shoulder

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Yankees right-hander Luis Severino reported tightness in his throwing shoulder yesterday, and was scratched from a planned Triple-A rehab start.  MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link) reported that Severino will see doctors on Monday, with Yankees manager Aaron Boone telling reporters (including Newsday’s Erik Boland) that Severino will undergo an MRI.  More will be known once Severino is examined, with Boone expressing hope at this point that the injury is only “something minor,” and saying “I feel awful for [Severino]” in the wake of yet another potential injury setback.

Severino missed much of the 2019 season due to shoulder and lat injuries, and then didn’t pitch at all in 2020 because of Tommy John surgery.  His return from that rehab was tentatively scheduled for around the All-Star break before he suffered a groin injury in June that pushed his timetable back another month.  The righty had already made four minor league rehab appearances, and it is possible Friday’s outing might have been his final hurdle before finally returning to the Yankees’ active roster.

Now, it is fair to wonder if Severino might be sidelined for another full season, given the timing of this shoulder issue.  Anything beyond basic soreness could require another shutdown, so it could conceivably be September before Severino again appears in a game.  It’s worth noting that Severino didn’t make his 2019 debut until September 17 (appearing in three regular-season games before starting two postseason contests), though even this usage may not be feasible depending on the nature of this new shoulder problem.  After such a long layoff, the last thing the Yankees would want is for Severino to incur yet another injury due to a desire just to get any game action in for the 2021 season.

The Bronx Bombers have long been counting on Severino to provide a late boost to the pitching staff, especially considering the team’s pitching ranks have been decimated by other injuries and a COVID-19 outbreak.  On the latter front, there is some good news, as Boone said Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery threw bullpen sessions yesterday and are on pace to be activated from the COVID list early next week.

Yankees Sign Sal Romano To Minors Contract

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The Yankees have signed righty Sal Romano to a minor league contract.  Conor Foley of The Scranton Times-Tribune (Twitter link) was the first to report that Romano was working out today with the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate.

Romano is back with the Yankees less than three weeks after being designated for assignment by New York and then claimed off waivers by the Brewers.  Romano pitched in just one game for Milwaukee before being designated again, and he chose to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment to the Brewers’ Triple-A club.

This makes it four uniform changes in less than three months for Romano, who began the season with the Reds before declining another outright assignment to catch on with the Yankees on his previous minor league deal.  Romano is out of minor league options, so he could face yet another round of DFA limbo should New York recall him to the big leagues and then again cut ties to make roster space for another player.

Amidst all the movement, Romano has a 5.63 ERA over 24 total innings in 2021 (one with the Brewers, 2 1/3 IP with the Yankees, and 20 2/3 with the Reds).  A veteran of five Major League seasons, Romano has a 5.18 ERA over 274 1/3 career innings, all with Cincinnati prior to 2021.

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