The New York Yankees have struggled with injuries this offseason; there’s no question about it. However, most of their injured players are recovering nicely, notably James Paxton, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, and Aaron Hicks.
Hicks is a different case, though, as he played out the postseason in 2019 despite needing Tommy John surgery. The incredible amount of pain-tolerance and motivation Hicks contained last season is courageous.
Manager Aaron Boone provided injury updates on several players this week:
Hicks has officially started his comeback trail program — throwing down in Arizona at his house. Paxton is in Wisconsin with his family, continuing to progress through his throwing program. The lefty starter will inevitably return far sooner than Hicks, who is projected to miss the first half of the 2020 campaign.
Judge, who suffered a stress fracture in a rib last September supposedly, has seen minor improvements in recent days. He is finally resting and taking stress off the injury after scans unveiled a collapsed lung that has since healed. How he didn’t notice this is beyond me.
Stanton, the other Yankees’ slugger, is just about fully healed from a grade 1 calf strain. Despite all of the positive news, the team has not set a date for return, and the MLB is pondering the future season ahead. Will they extend it beyond October or cut games from the regular season? I would imagine the former option makes more sense, but the cold weather can play a detrimental factor for teams on the East Coast.
Boone stated regarding the future season:
“I’m still kind of optimistic [and] hoping for the best that we can get in as many games as possible,’’ Boone said during a conference call Wednesday.
“Obviously, the schedule is gonna be altered to some degree. But this is something that’s bigger,’’ Boone said. “We’re not gonna be able to have our way or our number or the perfect outcome. Our job when we come back, ultimately, is gonna be bigger than the game and all of us, as well.â€
For the average fan, getting baseball back is the goal; however, there are more dire situations unfolding across the planet that require far more awareness and concern.