Zack Britton will return to New York for surgery after an MRI revealed a bone chip in his left elbow and could miss significant time.
New York Yankees lefty reliever Zack Britton has a bone chip in his pitching elbow and will return to New York for surgery tomorrow. The Yankees announced the update on Britton’s injury via an official statement.
LHP Zack Britton is expected to return to New York tomorrow and will undergo orthoscopic surgery to remove a bone chip from his left elbow in the upcoming days. The surgery is expected to be performed by Dr. Christopher Ahmad at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 9, 2021
Per Lindsey Adler of The Athletic, manager Aaron Boone has said there is no timetable for Britton’s return. Contrastingly, Andy Martino of SNY reported Britton was expected to miss 3-4 months.
Since coming over in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles in 2018, Zack Britton has been the Yankees’ reliable setup man. His power sinker has led to him posting a 2.14 ERA in pinstripes and he signed a long-term deal with New York in 2019.
JB’s Take
Now, cue the panic button as Yankees fans are probably dreading yet another injury-riddled season. Britton is a key piece of the bullpen bridge to closer Aroldis Chapman, not to mention an important team leader. How will the pitching staff ever survive without him?
This is a one word answer: easily. How quickly we forget general manager Brian Cashman is the Leonardo da Vinci of building a bullpen from scratch. Remember, the Yankees lost Tommy Kahnle in free agency and Adam Ottavino in a trade. Soon after, Cashman signed Darren O’Day and Justin Wilson to fill their roles.
This just means O’Day and Wilson can expect to pitch in more high-leverage situations alongside Chad Green. While Zack Britton recovers, perhaps someone like Kyle Barraclough or Adam Warren can impress enough in spring training to take his roster spot.
The point is despite Britton being a significant loss, it’s still early and the Yankees have plenty of bullpen depth. They’ll be just fine.
Stay tuned to ESNY for more updates from spring training!