Add another New York Yankees star to the injured list. Dellin Betances will start the year on the IL due to shoulder inflammation.
Injuries are an inevitability for every team over the course of a 162-game season. But starting the year as battered and bruised as the New York Yankees isn’t typical.
Dellin Betances is the latest Yank bitten by the injury bug. The hard-throwing lefthander has seen a dip in his velocity in spring training. He’ll hit the injured list with a shoulder impingement according to Lindsey Adler of The Athletic.
Cashman says his understanding is that Betances' inflammation was likely caused by him throwing less leading into spring and then trying to rush to catch up before the season started.
— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) March 19, 2019
This is bad news for Aaron Boone and the Yankees. There’s no denying it. That being said, Betances doesn’t sound too concerned and he feels that he’ll be better off for the long haul after his stint on the IL.
Betances says he's felt fatigue in his shoulder before, but it's always gone away as he's built up strength. This time he came into camp behind and pushed it too hard to make up for that. Says he's relieved to have more time to build up to his full strength.
— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) March 19, 2019
Betances joins Aaron Hicks, Luis Severino, and CC Sabathia as regulars who will miss Opening Day due to some type of ailment. Yankees fans are nearing panic mode, but it’s quite clear that the Yankees are playing the long game here.
There’s no sense in trying to rush someone along for games in March and April. September and October are far more important.
Furthermore, the rest of the bullpen can offset Betances’ absence to some degree. Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton, and Adam Ottavino can hold down the back-end of the pen for the time being.
For New York, the goal is to make sure Betances is fully healthy and ready to roll for the long haul. The All-Star reliever will play a big role for the Yanks this season and missing a few games in March and April does not mean the sky is falling.
