NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 18: James Paxton #65 of the New York Yankees walks back to the dugout after closing out the top of the top of the second inning against the Houston Astros in game five of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium on October 18, 2019 in New York City.
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Although James Paxton’s injury dealt a major blow to the New York Yankees, manager Aaron Boone brings good news on the lefty.

The New York Yankees are the walking wounded once again this spring. The rotation has been hit especially hard, but lefty starter James Paxton appears to be making excellent progress after undergoing surgery to remove a peridiscal cyst earlier in February.

Manager Aaron Boone spoke to the YES Network broadcast during the Yankees’ first spring training game. From what Boone is saying, the outlook is quite positive for Paxton.

“As far as [Paxton], we feel really good about where he is,” Boone said on Saturday. “Surgery went well. He’s moving around, progressing how he should so we feel like he’s on a pretty good timeline. He’s probably getting set to start throwing here in the next hopefully week or 10 days or so. He’ll be off and running and those nagging issues he was dealing with, hopefully, we’ll put them behind him.”

Of course, just because Paxton is throwing doesn’t mean he’s close to returning to the rotation. The initial timeline given was somewhere between three and four months before he’s back. The lefty believes he’ll be back on the earlier side, but as Yankee fans know, unfortunate setbacks are always possible.

New York is down three starters at the moment. Luis Severino is in New York undergoing a battery of tests after experiencing arm soreness while Domingo German will miss the first 81 games with a domestic violence suspension.

For the time being, Gerrit Cole and Masahiro Tanaka are going to have to carry the load for the Bronx Bombers. It sounds like Paxton’s progressing nicely, but he’s still a long way off from returning.

NY/NJ hoops reporter (NBA/NCAA) & sports betting writer for XL Media. Never had the makings of a varsity athlete.