The New York Yankees were without first baseman Mark Teixeira for all but 15 games last season due to a wrist injury that even Teixeira admits isn’t completely 100 percent. In fact he was quoted by the Daily News on Tuesday saying,
“It’s never going to be normal. (There will be) a new normal and hopefully it will get stronger. We’ll see what that new normal is. Is it hitting the ball in the second row instead of the fifth? Hopefully that’s what it is.”
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The first baseman suffered another blow in Friday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Even though he was 1-1 with a RBI in the game, Teixeira was forced to leave the game in the bottom of the second inning. The diagnosis was a hamstring strain of unknown severity. He will receive an MRI Monday when the team returns to New York. The team immediately placed Teixeira on the 15-day disabled list and the first baseman agreed with their decision.
“I play through anything and everything, but the team’s being smart here. If it was October 30, I’d play the last game of the season. But there’s no reason to try that right now, and I’m hoping it’s only going to be two weeks.”
Although frustrated the injury both Teixeira and manager Joe Girardi said it is just something that the team will have to deal with. Kelly Johnson, who is currently filling in at third base for the suspended Alex Rodriguez, will be moved to first in Teixiera’s absence. It appears as though the team will likely use rookie Yangervis Solarte at third base with Dean Anna and Francisco Cervelli also available to play at third.
In his first 3 seasons with the Yankees Teixeira missed a total of 16 games but since 2012 he’s had multiple injuries landing him on the DL. He told the press Friday night,
“I was very blessed the first 10 years of my career to only land on the DL a couple of times, missing a few games here and there. The last year-and-change have not been fun, but it’s just a bump in the road hopefully.”
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