Mark Teixeira is getting closer to returning to the disabled list.
The Yankees first baseman, who had a cortisone shot administered to his injured right wrist on Sunday, did not suffer a re-injury which would have kept him out of action for the first two months of the season. He was only found to have inflammation in an MRI exam, but general manager Brian Cashman is “leaning” towards giving him extra time to recover.
“I am leaning personally toward the disabled list,” Cashman said on a conference call with reporters on Monday. “Just because I have been informed he took the shot, he’ll be down because of the shot for a few days and then you will be getting him going slowly. With tee-work and eventually building him up to batting practice, he wouldn’t be a player for us for seven days at the minimum. I think the extra week will make a lot more sense.I haven’t done anything there yet, but I am leaning toward list.”
Teixeira returned to New York from Anaheim on Saturday, with pain he felt when he was batting from the left side. In 15 games this season, the switch-hitter was batting .151 with three home runs, hitting .278 from the right side and .086 from the left side.
Because the pain Teixeira experiences only occurs when batting from the left side, Cashman was asked if the team would platoon him with Lyle Overbay, but Cashman he would rather not do that.
Now, the Yankees wait once again, unsure how the $180 million man will recover.
“Like before the season started, he’ll either get through it or he’ll need to have surgery,” Cashman said. “The MRI showed no new tear. It’s not a re-injury. Is it something that is a re-occuring theme because of the injury? If that’s the case he’ll have to have surgery.”
Teixeira made his season debut on May 31, the same date of Kevin Youkilis’ return from a back injury. But with the third baseman back on the DL with back issues again, Cashman didn’t seem to have much confidence the first-year Yankee would be back in the lineup anytime soon.
“Back issues usually don’t get better,” Cashman said. “They are very debilitating and hard to get a handle on. It’s definitely a concern, as of right now I am not planning on him until they tell me I can plan on him. I am certainly not expecting, and can’t say I am expecting bad news, good news, any news, I just know he’s not the player he can be because of the back.”
Youkilis has hit .219 in 28 games in his first season with the Yankees.