The New York Yankees are currently ironing out their active roster, and injuries have forced them into a difficult situation. With starting first baseman Luke Voit hitting the injured list after receiving surgery to fix a partially torn meniscus, the Yanks elected to retain Jay Bruce, who will supplement the Voit’s loss over the next few weeks.
Bruce is also capable of playing in right field, as the Yankees currently have a dearth of outfield depth, including Brett Gardner and Mike Tauchman. In fact, teams were inquiring about Tauchman’s availability, but general manager Brian Cashman fended them off, asking him for value that matches Mike’s 2019 production.
Mike Tauchman had plenty of suitors:
As for Mike Tauchman, Cashman said the outfielder “was never leaving unless I found a deal that made sense for him to leave.â€
This spring, Tauchman is hitting .250 with three homers and four RBIs after struggling in 2020, failing to hit a HR, and recording a .242 average.
Aaron Judge update:
One potential concern was regarding slugger Aaron Judge, who has been feeling ill the last few days, missing several games. Judge is expected to be on the Opening Day roster, though, but fans certainly experienced a worry after missing the last two spring training games. Thankfully, Judge is simply under the weather, after testing negative for COVID-19, according to Cashman.
“Judge is going through the normal … [COVID-19] environment,†Cashman said during a Zoom call with reporters on Monday. “Any little issue that is conveyed, you kind of react [as if it is an emergency]. We just sent him through the protocols and thankfully, we eliminated all the stuff other than the fact that every now and then, you could come up with not feeling really well. But he is fine.â€