As a surprise Yankees team currently sits at 1.5 games behind the Murderers’ Row Blue Jays for the AL East lead (what a role reversal, huh?), now they will have to continue through the rest of the uphill climb without their three-time All-Star first baseman.
Mark Teixeira will miss the remainder of the year after an MRI revealed a shin fracture in his troublesome right leg, the team announced on Friday.
The 35-year-old fouled a ball off the shin on August 17 against the Twins and was initially diagnosed with a deep bone bruise. He missed a week’s worth of action and returned briefly in the team’s series against the Astros later in the month, before finally being placed on the 15-day disabled list with lingering soreness and pain in the leg.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman suspects the fracture to Teixeira, who is expected to have a three-month recovery period, was there all along, and it’s not clear why it took so long to show up (though it might not have changed things had it been discovered earlier).
Latest MRI showed a fracture that had not been seen before, previous testings didnt show, Cashman doesnt know why.
— Daniel Barbarisi (@DanBarbarisi) September 11, 2015
Fracture has a 3 month recovery period, Cashman says. He expects it has been there all along but was simply not discovered.
— Daniel Barbarisi (@DanBarbarisi) September 11, 2015
Teixeira also says that if they had shut him down, put him in a cast immediately upon initial impact, still wouldn't be back in time for WS.
— Daniel Barbarisi (@DanBarbarisi) September 11, 2015
It’s awful timing for Teixeira and the Yankees, as the five-time Gold Glove Award winner, who had largely disappointed in his last few seasons with the team due to various injuries, had been having a major resurgence in the 2015 campaign. In just 111 games this season, Teixeira clubbed 31 home runs and notched 79 RBIs with a .905 OPS.
As for the Yankees, at 77-61, they are currently in possession of the first Wild Card spot in the American League and looked poised to clinch their first playoff berth in three seasons. But with the loftier goal of catching the Blue Jays and bringing home their first division title since 2012, the loss of Teixeira for the year will be difficult to overcome.
On the bright side, rookie first baseman Greg Bird has provided the Yankees’ offense with a mini-boost, posting a.257/.341/.500 slash line with a 130 wRC+ since Teixeira went down. Veteran Alex Rodriguez, who has been doing workouts at first base, could forseeably see situational work there against left-handed pitching as well. But trying to replicate the glove of one of the best defensive first basemen in the land will be no easy task, and the Yankees are now looking like a longshot to wrestle away the AL East crown from the loaded Blue Jays.
H/T theScore
*Stats courtesy of Fangraphs*
