After the injury to Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera while playing for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic, the injury to New York Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius marks the second MLB star to be hurt during the tournament.
Recently, I posed the question of whether or not these stars should actually be playing in the World Baseball Classic. It’s hard to say, but the New York Yankees will now certainly be feeling the pain of losing an important player because of the WBC.
It’s a pain they’ve felt before when former first baseman Mark Teixeira injured his wrist during the tournament in 2013.
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Gregorius injured his right throwing shoulder while playing for the Netherlands and was flown back to the Yankees’ training camp in Tampa on Monday.
There he underwent more tests after a preliminary MRI showed a “hematoma of the subcapsular muscle,” according to Newsday.
He appeared in six games for the Netherlands, playing one at shortstop and appearing in five games as the team’s designated hitter. It is not clear how he sustained the injury.
Unfortunately for the Bronx Bombers, Gregorius was diagnosed with a strained shoulder that will keep him out until at least May, per ESPN.com.
The question now becomes who will the Yankees replace him with at shortstop? There are a number of options, none of which is exactly ideal. Although when it comes to injuries, things rarely are.
The Yankees have been adamant that their Opening Day shortstop will NOT be their 20-year-old top prospect Gleyber Torres. That’s an extremely smart move on the Yankees’ part.
Whether or not he plays like he should be in the big leagues doesn’t mean he’d thrive in them. It may even set him back or perhaps he’d never realize his full potential. You need only look at Seattle Mariners catcher Mike Zunino to know that rushing prospects up from the minors is not a good idea.
The minor leagues exist for a reason. It may not be the same as it was when they were actual farmhands playing on farm teams, but they allow players to develop their talents and prepare their bodies for the long 162-game major league season.
Having only played in A-ball, the Yankees don’t want to mess with a kid that everyone believes to be a future star, according toESPN’s Andrew Marchand.
The Yankees will be looking at internal options other than Torres, of course. There are a few names that might be suitable for a month or so.
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Ronald Torreyes could be their go-to for a stopgap guy, as he has been having a hot spring batting .282. But at just five-feet, seven-inches tall he won’t supply the team with any power in Gregorius’ absence.
They’ve got 29-year-old Pete Kozma and 27-year-old Ruben Tejada, both of whom have experience playing shortstop in the major leagues. Kozma is likely the team’s best defensive option but he wouldn’t provide any offensive help.
Tejada would likely be a runner up to Torreyes, being that Torreyes is seeing the ball better than Tejada’s .259 average this spring.
They could even take second baseman Starlin Castro and move him to shortstop for a month but that seems like the least likely option since it is hopefully, for Gregorius’ sake, only going to be until May.
The best option, or at least the most exciting, would be 22-year-old Tyler Wade. They look at him as their future super-utility man. Having him play at solely at short right now would mean putting those plans on hold for the time being, which gives the edge to the hottest hitter coming out of spring training, Torreyes.
It’s still a mystery as to how the Yankees will deal with this unexpected hardship, but what is known is that Gregorius was injured while playing in the WBC, that he will return in a few weeks’ time and that they will not be utilizing their top prospect in his place.
Next: Expectations for Masahiro Tanaka
Will the Yankees consider trading Masahiro Tanaka?