Curtis Granderson Out 8-10 Weeks Due to Fractured Pinky
By Aaron Somers
Curtis Granderson is usually all smiles on the field in New York, but he’s got to be growing tired of getting hit by pitches. (Image Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)
Curtis Granderson has to be getting tired of getting hit by pitches. The outfielder missed the first few weeks of the regular season after breaking his forearm during his first at bat in Spring Training, the result of being hit by a pitch from Toronto’s J.A. Happ. He made his way back into the lineup for the New York Yankees just eleven days ago, but after taking a pitch off his left hand from Tampa Bay’s Cesar Ramos during Friday night’s game he’ll now likely miss another 8-10 weeks with a fractured pinky.
Granderson is set to reach free agency following the season. It’s become increasingly more common to see players have big years just before hitting the open market, the proverbial “contract year” as it’s become known across sports. Talk about poor timing for Granderson to fall victim to such a series of misfortunate events.
To his credit, Granderson doesn’t sound as though he’s letting things get him down. Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News asked Granderson after the game if he felt unlucky due to the series of injuries this season, to which he replied:
"No, not at all. I bounced back from this (earlier) one, I’ll bounce back from this. The hand is still on, it didn’t fall off. You can take a look at all the positives from everything. It’s a better break than the previous one, that’s a good thing, it should be back sooner than the last time so that’s a good thing. The team is playing well. Hopefully we come back and the team is right where we need it to be and continue to help this team move forward until the end"
Granderson’s hitting .250/.323/.393 in 31 PA on the year and will likely be out at least until the All Star Break. He’ll likely need a big second half to ensure that he’ll receive the significant payday at season’s end that he’s likely hoping for.
Brennan Boesch has been called up from Triple-A to take Granderson’s place on the active roster. He’s hit just .209/.244/.419 in 45 PA on the year, having been acquired from the Detroit Tigers late in Spring Training, seeing some time early on with the Yankees before being optioned down to the minors. In limited playing time with Scranton he’s mustered just a .179/.343/.214 line in 35 PA.