New York Yankees interim closer Andrew Miller suffered a chip fracture in his non-throwing wrist yesterday against the Atlanta Braves, causing some concern in Yankee land.
Up until today, this was the healthiest Yankee camp in recent memory. Yet baseball can change drastically with one pitch, and one swing of the bat.
In the seventh inning of yesterday’s ballgame against the Atlanta Braves, the first pitch that Andrew Miller threw rocketed off the bat of Willians Astudillo right back at him. It deflected off his right wrist causing him to exit the contest immediately, but not after throwing his hat and glove in frustration.
Miller traveled back to Tampa for X-rays, which showed no damage. However, after a CT scan, doctors discovered a chip fracture in his wrist.
The next step for Miller is to visit a hand specialist to determine the next step. Jack Curry of the YES Network was the first to report the chip fracture.
There’s a lot of uncertainty with Miller’s injury. Information will come to us once he sees the specialist, but one things for sure, the Yankees are in trouble if they lose him for a long period.
Here are the reasons why panic city should be buzzing over Andrew Miller’s injury.
Ever since word got out that general manager Brian Cashman acquired closer Aroldis Chapman off the clearance rack, the bullpen earned the nickname “the three headed monster.”
It was going to be historically epic. In 2015, the trio of Chapman, Andrew Miller, and Dellin Betances combined for a 1.70 ERA with 347 strikeouts in 212 2/3 innings in 2015 and made up the top three in strikeouts among relievers.
No team in history has ever had three relief pitchers with 100+ strikeouts in the same season, there was a legitimate chance these Yankees could reach that mark since this trio has posted 100 Ks apiece in each of the past two years.
Did I convince you that this threesome is really good yet? Alright, perfect!
The hype train slowed down when Chapman was suspended by major league baseball for his involvement in a domestic violence incident with his girlfriend. He is expected to return to the Yankees on May 9th, and given last year’s April success by Miller and Betances (0.00 ERA), the Bombers would have been OK.
However, yesterday, the hype train completely derailed after the chip fracture in Miller’s non-throwing hand was discovered.
That leaves the closer responsibilities with Betances, who could get the job done, but not as easy as the “three headed monster” could.
This is not the start the 2016 New York Yankees wanted to get off to, but they have to figure out a way to survive until the two injured members of the beast, that is the Yankee ‘pen, return from injury.
Today, after Miller hurt his wrist, Dellin Betances was all optimistic in the clubhouse saying how in a week the left handed reliever will be laughing about the situation.
Following the contest against the Braves, Brian Cashman said the initial diagnosis is a bone bruise on his right wrist. A couple hours after that, the entire fan base was relieved after an X-Ray came back negative.
Boy was that relief short lived.
At approximately eight o’clock at night, Curry tweeted out that the CT Scan on Millers wrist revealed a chip fracture. The next step, as previously mentioned, is to send Miller to a specialist to determine where to go from here.
We saw a similar situation with Mark Teixeira last season, when his initial X-Ray revealed no structural damage, but a CT scan showed he had broken his leg. Teixeira went on to miss the rest of the 2015 season.
How long with a chip fracture keep Miller on the shelf for? I don’t know. In fact, only the specialist could tell. But according to bonesfracture.com, a chip fracture can take can take up to two months to heal properly and rehabilitation may be required in severe cases.
So, this injury could be way worse than we think, like Teixeira’s was, and we may not experience “Miller Time” until Mid-May/June.
Of course, it’s only his glove hand but he still has to field his position, cover first base, and be able to go through his normal delivery on the mound.
Taking the way he reacted into consideration (throwing his hat and glove in disgust), it seems as if this injury could lead to some significant DL time.
When Aroldis Chapman was suspended, the fan base didn’t go insane when they found out New York will be without the flamethrower until early-May. The addition of Chapman was only meant to enhance an elite bullpen.
In the month of April last year, Miller was 8-for-8 in save opportunities, had an ERA of 0.00, batters only batted .081 against him, and the lefty had 20 strikeouts in 11.1 innings pitched. So no Chapman for April was just fine.
Now, however, they have to deal with no Chapman and no Miller. Leaving Betances to be a loner in the back end of the ‘pen.
The 6’8″ righty will do just fine as closer, but what about the bridge to get to him?
Don’t forget, Bryan Mitchell (.057 ERA this spring) went down with a toe injury on his planting foot in the same game Miller was hurt in. If his injury turns out to be serious, the Yankees lost two of their best relievers yesterday.
Chasen Shreve would likely step into the eighth-inning setup role with, but he’s still a question mark after having a 13.50 ERA in 10 September appearances.
He has not allowed a run in spring training, but we need to see some consistency in the regular season before we deem him worthy of manning the eight inning.
The other pitchers that will make up the bullpen, assuming Mitchell misses significant time, are Johnny Barbato, Kirby Yates, and Ivan Nova.
None of these guys have significant service time out of the bullpen, and both Nova and Yates had an ERA above five last season. Barbato has yet to make his major league debut.
If Miller misses significant time, the Yankees will find themselves in a crummy predicament.
Although they get Chapman back in May, the AL East has no clear favorite and will be a tight knit race all year long. New York could use any win they could get.
Ellsbury has already missed some time after being hit on the hand by a pitch, and catcher Brian McCann has encountered knee problems this spring.
This team has undeniable talent, but the key to success is seeing that talent take the field on a daily basis. If the 2016 New York Yankees are going to contend, staying healthy is imperative.
If this freak injury to Miller, and the odd toe injury to Mitchell are just the beginning, this is going to be one long year for the Bronx Bombers.
Christian Kouroupakis covers the New York Yankeesand is the Editorial Director for ESNY. Interact with him and view his daily work by “liking” his facebook pageand follow him on Twitter. All statistics are courtesy of Baseball Reference.com unless otherwise noted. Don’t hesitate to shoot him an emailwith any questions, criticisms, or concerns.