The New York Yankees mostly escaped spring training without any significant injuries, but the team held out Luke Voit from Saturday’s contest due to a partially torn meniscus that will require surgery.
At 30 years old, repairing his meniscus in his left knee will likely keep them out for a minimum of three weeks, as manager Aaron Boone stated that Voit has been playing through the injury he suffered during camp, but swelling forced him to undergo an MRI which exposed the tear. Getting it cleaned up now and ensured his health for the rest of the regular season is justified, especially with a few days left of training.
It was clear that Voit was being bothered by something, as he was hitting .219 with zero homers and five RBIs this spring. Compared to his 2020 statistics, where he hit .277 with 22 homers, which led the MLB, and 52 RBIs, it was strange that he was struggling so much.
Clearly, the Yankees felt as though this was a necessary course of action, so he will miss the first few weeks of the regular season but will be good to go in the long term. While this is terrible news short term, we should be glad they caught this early and decided to get it over with instead of potentially hurting himself further.
With Voit being left off the 40 man roster due to the injury, the Yankees officially signed Jay Bruce to a major league contract, who will carry a $1.5 million hit to their salary. Despite him missing the last two days of camp, he just squeaked in due to the injury, despite falling off in recent days. He’s historically a double-digit home run hitter and fits their outfield mold well.
Per the Yankees:
- Released C Robinson Chirinos and INF Derek Dietrich from their minor league contracts.
- Signed 1B/OF Jay Bruce to a Major League contract and selected him to the 40-man roster.
- Placed RHP Clarke Schmidt on the 60-day injured list with a right elbow strain.