The Yankees continue to be MLB’s most injured team. Now it’s Troy Tulowitzki’s turn to head to the hospital for additional testing.
When general manager Brian Cashman made the decision to sign Troy Tulowitzki in free agency the New York Yankees were well aware of his injury history. Unfortunately for the shortstop and his new team, a new injury has popped up at a really bad time.
Tulowitzki exited New York’s game against the Tigers on Wednesday with what the team called a left calf strain. That sort of injury certainly isn’t unusual for an infielder to suffer early in the season.
Going from Florida’s warm climate to the frigid northeast can wreak havoc on a player’s muscles.
The worrisome thing for Yankees fans is that the team elected to immediately transport Tulowitzki to the hospital for additional testing. Some might call that a justifiably conservative move considering the fact that he didn’t play a game in 2018.
On the other hand, subjecting him to an immediate MRI does open questions about whether or not the Yankees think the injury might be more serious.
Even if it does turn out to be relatively minor, it still comes at a terrible time for a Yankees team that is already struggling with a ton of injuries. The franchise already faces a nervous wait to find out whether or not Miguel Andujar will need season-ending surgery.
Andujar and Giancarlo Stanton joined Didi Gregorius, Luis Severino, Dellin Betances and CC Sabathia this week as big names on the team’s Injured List.
It will be interesting to see what sort of roster move the Yankees choose to make assuming Tulowitzki needs to miss time. Tyler Wade was already recalled to make up for Andujar’s absence. Thairo Estrada will likely be the next man up for New York.
He played well in spring training but was originally ticketed for at least one more full season in the minors.
Manager Aaron Boone won’t allow his team to use injuries as an excuse for not winning, but the team’s short-term goal might realistically need to shift to just surviving until their stars get healthy.
There’s a limit to how many injuries any team can take and the Yankees are dangerously close to theirs.