Yankees get some good news on a pair of injured stars

The New York Yankees took their series against the Minnesota Twins to open the week, even though they were stunned yesterday in the ninth inning and couldn’t complete the sweep. They have suffered some key injuries like Aaron Hicks, but at least they received two positive reports on the injury front in the last few hours.

Yankees’ first baseman Luke Voit, currently on the shelf with a Grade 2 right oblique strain, could potentially begin a rehab assignment on June 13 or June 15, per information provided by manager Aaron Boone by MLB.com.

That way, Voit would then build at-bats throughout the week. Boone also suggested that the slugger, who has missed most of the season with two separate injury list stints, may be able to come back by the beginning of the following week. The two potential dates are June 20 or June 22

The Yankees haven’t been able to enjoy much of Voit, who was last season’s home run leader with 22. A partially torn meniscus put him out of play until mid-May, and after a handful of games, he injured his oblique.

Yankees’ Zack Britton is a possibility for the weekend

Boone told reporters this week that left-handed reliever Zack Britton could “definitely” be back before the end of the Yankees’ road trip.

While the results of his rehab assignment haven’t been great – he recently allowed four runs in one third of an inning in an outing – he has experienced no setbacks, and threw a scoreless inning last night.

The current road trip ends next Thursday with a matchup against the Toronto Blue Jays in Buffalo, so Britton will surely return before that day.

However, there are still internal discussions in the Yankees’ offices about bringing him back this weekend or letting him pitch a couple of additional rehab games before inserting him back in the roster.

Meredith Marakovits reported yesterday that “there is a possibility Zack Britton could rejoin the team in Philadelphia this weekend.”