Yet another injury concern is now clouding the New York Yankees’ relief corps with the season starting in a little over a week. During the Bombers’ loss against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night, left-hander Justin Wilson, the last of the bullpen arms signed to a contract a couple of weeks ago, called the trainer immediately after throwing a pitch.
He ended up exiting the game at that point, and his injury was later diagnosed by the Yankees’ staff as left shoulder tightness. The team said that he would be reevaluated on Tuesday to know more about the nature of the ailment, but is safe to say that Wilson’s outlook for the start of the regular season is murky.
The lefty is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Tuesday, to see if there is any structural damage in his left shoulder.
The Yankees are concerned
The Yankees’ southpaw, who is returning to the Bronx after a very successful stint in 2015, showed diminished velocity during last night’s outing and couldn’t retire any of the four batters he faced. He allowed a single to Rhys Hoskins and a homer to Didi Gregorius, then walked Alex Bohm before exiting the game during Odubel Herrera’s at-bat.
Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone and athletic trainer Steve Donohue attended to the 33-year-old Wilson, who has had a rough spring.
“The way he described it was that he was having a hard time getting loose out there,†Boone said to the press after the game.
The Yankees signed Wilson to a $2.85 million contract with a player option, which would turn into a club option if declined by the pitcher.
The Yankees have the depth to absorb losing Wilson but it would be a blow nonetheless if he misses time.
“I’ve talked a lot about how impressed I’ve been with our depth,†Boone said. “I feel like there’s a number of guys that we could turn to if we got in a situation. First things first, we’ll get [Wilson’s shoulder] looked at [Tuesday] and hope that it’s not something that sets him back too much.â€