Yankees: Tyler Austin Out Six Weeks with Broken Foot

Yankees 1B/OF Tyler Austin will miss at least six weeks after breaking a bone in his left foot in batting practice.

Spring training workouts have barely begun, but the New York Yankees will need to shelve one of their promising young players for the next several weeks. First baseman and outfielder Tyler Austin suffered a small fracture in his left foot after fouling a ball off it during batting practice. He is expected to miss six weeks, per the New York Post’s Joel Sherman.

According to that timeline, Austin is all but certain to sit out the entirety of spring training as he recovers. Once he resumes baseball activities in six weeks, it’s unknown how long it will take him to be ready for game action. He’ll likely start his year at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to get his feet under him. In any case, he is no longer a candidate for the Opening Day roster, according to WFAN’s Sweeny Murti.

If he made the team out of camp, 25-year-old Austin was expected to play something of a multi-purpose role for the Yankees in 2017, filling in at first base and in the outfield as needed. With fellow youngster Greg Bird returning from last year’s shoulder surgery, Austin figured to be solid insurance at first base in case Bird couldn’t get up to speed quickly enough. He would have at least been a better option at the position than veteran slugger Matt Holliday, who should be mostly confined to a designated hitter role.

Austin also may have seen more playing time in the outfield, particularly if Aaron Judge continued to struggle at the plate at the major league level.

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The injury suddenly makes the Yanks’ recent signing of Chris Carter seem much more vital. Rather than just a low-cost speculative pickup of a player with prodigious power, Carter’s addition provides a needed safety net, especially if the club plans to bring Bird along cautiously. The reigning NL home run leader should get his fair share of starts at first base, at least to begin the season.

Austin played 31 games last season in his first taste of big league action, slashing .241/.300/.458 with five home runs and 12 RBI over 90 plate appearances. He and Aaron Judge memorably hit back-to-back homers in their first career major league at-bats on August 13. While he struck out  a whopping 40 percent of the time in his limited big league cameo, Austin appeared to be heating up as the season drew to a close. He went six for his last 12 with two home runs and five runs batted in.

It was Austin’s impressive performance at the Triple-A level last year that boosted his stock within the Yankees organization. In 57 games for the SWB RailRiders, he slashed .323/.415/.637 with 13 homers and 49 RBI. He may not generate the fanfare of some of the Yanks’ other top prospects, but this is still a guy the franchise feels can be a part of its future.

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For now, that will have to wait. While missing all of spring training would be disappointing for any player, it is especially tough for a young one like Austin. Whenever he does return to action, he will likely need a chance to get his swings in and timing down. Fortunately, by then he should still have ample opportunity to contribute for the Yankees in 2017.