In a spring where the New York Yankees just keep getting bad news about their injuries, Monday morning’s update was a bit more lukewarm.
Gary Sanchez was originally slated to play for the New York Yankees either Monday or Tuesday after resting the previous two days with a sore back.
But manager Aaron Boone said he likely will not be in action until Friday. According to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, he wants to give the catcher extra rest with the team going across Florida on Wednesday and Thursday.
The soreness came after catching back-to-back days.
“It’s been a little tight, a little uncomfortable. After catching those games back-to-back, I just thought it was better for me to take care of it now. This is the right time to take care of anything,” Sanchez said, via ESPN’s Marly Rivera. “You don’t want to rush anything, especially in spring training. The idea is to take a couple of days and see how it goes. Hopefully, keep progressing.”
Sanchez had two injured list stints last year, but still led all catchers with 34 home runs. Sanchez’s career-high in games played is just 122, back in 2017.
But for once, the Yankees did receive good news on the injury front.
Lefty James Paxton is aiming to start throwing on Wednesday “if everything goes well,” according to Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News.
Paxton had a peridiscal cyst removed from his back and is expected to be out until at least May.
“I’m feeling really good right now,” Paxton said. “The nerve pain that was there before isn’t there anymore. Now it’s just about getting my body moving again and we’re adding new stuff every day.”
The Yankees are already without Luis Severino for this season, and maybe more, as he underwent Tommy John surgery last month. Gerrit Cole, Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ and Jordan Montgomery seem to look like the first four starters, with several others in contention for the fifth spot.
