The New York Yankees received some unfortunate news regarding their starting shortstop. Even though he will likely be back in 2019, the team is expected to be active in searching for temporary replacement options.
According to a Tweet by Marc Carig of The Athletic, Didi Gregorius will undergo Tommy John surgery on his throwing arm due to a ligament tear in his elbow. Although this is not a 2019 season ending injury, he will likely miss at least the majority of the first half of next season.
After scoring the winning run to clinch home field advantage for the Wild Card game on September 23, 2018, Gregorius ended up with torn cartilage in his right wrist following a head first slide into home plate. He was able to return to the lineup before the season ended, and played in all five of the Yankees postseason games.
However, during one of the games at Fenway Park during the American League Division Series, Gregorius felt pain in his elbow, which was discovered as a torn ligament during an MRI that took place after the Yankees were eliminated from the postseason.
The New York Yankees have refrained from spending large amounts of money in free agency in order to reach an organizational goal of resetting the luxury tax ahead of the upcoming free agency period. As the Yankees were successful in staying under the luxury tax threshold despite the addition of Giancarlo Stanton, it is expected that the team will open the check book during the upcoming offseason.
Although the team is likely to prioritize upgrades to their starting pitching staff and reinforcements for the bullpen, they will now likely seek upgrades to their infield as well. Due to this, here are four options that Yankees general manager Brian Cashman could possibly consider during the upcoming offseason.