2020 has been a tough year for many people, and that doesn’t exclude New York Yankees 3rd baseman Gio Urshela.
Urshela recovered from COVID-19 last month and experience symptoms for several days. Luckily, he is healthy now but was forced to undergo surgery two weeks ago on his throwing elbow. He had a bone chip removed, an issue that stemmed earlier in the season.
“I’m feeling way better,†said Urshela, who is rehabbing in New York. “I’m feeling every dayâ€
The Yankees expect Gio to be ready for the 2021 season, but he is still healing, and his rehabilitation could find its way into spring training. Nonetheless, he is not going to rush his recovery, and he will be ready when he’s ready.
“I’m going to be ready when I’m ready,†Urshela said. “I’m not going to push. I’m going to get ready 100%, then go out there and play.â€
Urshela had another great performance in 2020, hitting .298 with six homers and 30 RBIs. He earned a career-high walk percentage at 10.3% and once again was a stellar fielder on the hot corner. He finished the campaign with a .992 fielding percentage, one error, and 10 double plays turned.
With Gio’s value skyrocketing, he’s expected to be the long-term starter at third base, and since his offense has taken off in such a big way, general manager Brian Cashman once again looks like a hero.
The New York Yankees are likely out on Kyle Schwarber:
There were rumors circulating that the Yankees could be interested in former Cub Kyle Schwarber, who was not tendered a contract this off-season.
When healthy, Schwarber is a fantastic slugger, having posted 38 homers in 2019 over 610 plate appearances. However, he has significantly high strikeout rates, striking out almost 30% of the time in 2020. He played 59 or 60 games, though, indicating a nice string of health that kept him productive.
“Clearly, we would expect him to do damage at Yankee Stadium, whether he’s in an opposing uniform or our uniform,â€Â GM Brian Cashman said Wednesday on WFAN’s “Carton and Roberts.â€
The way Cashman phrased his comments on Kyle did not indicate they were interested at this point, despite being linked to him on numerous occasions in the past. His slugging ability matches up perfectly with what the Yankees like to do on offense, but the stars don’t seem to be aligning at this point in time.