New York Yankees: James Paxton preparing to take major positive step forward in recovery

New York Yankees, James Paxton

When the news broke that New York Yankees starting pitcher James Paxton would miss a minimum of three months after having surgery on his lower back, the fanbase expressed a cohesive sigh of defeat. Paxton had been feeling discomfort in his lower back for months after his final start against Houston in the 2019 ALCS. A cyst in the area was the diagnosis and treated appropriately, forcing him to undergo a recovery regimen for several months before returning to action.

The New York Yankees are making good progress with Paxton:

According to the New York Daily News’ Kristie Ackert, Paxton will begin throwing on Wednesday, “If everything goes well.” With the expected recovery timetable being 3-4 months, PPaxton’sreturn in May is looking on schedule.

“It’s all going to depend on how things go in this rehab process,” Paxton said back in February after the surgery. “They told me 4-6 weeks before I can start throwing, so if we’re on the closer side of that, that’s going to put me two weeks closer to being on the mound. I’m thinking that I’ll be back in a big league game some time in May.”

During spring training play, the Yankees lost Luis Severino and Paxton before either through a single pitch in live-action games. Getting their lefty back into the starting rotation will push Jordan Montgomery down to the fifth slot, which will solidify the starting unit for the foreseeable future. With Severino set to miss the entire 2020 campaign, they will need to supplement his loss with other options. With the injuries that the Yankees continue to pick up, we can anticipate them having to deal with more throughout the year.

Thankfully for the Bombers, they have Gerrit Cole slotted into their No. 1 spot, and his positive health history is calming among the consistent injuries plaguing the team.

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