Zack Britton Has MRI: Elbow Surgery Needed
Photo Via: Paul J. Bereswill
The Yankees picked up Zack Britton’s two-year option in the beginning of the offseason. At some point before pitchers and catchers reported to spring training, Britton was positive for COVID-19, which set his offseason activity back, according to manager Aaron Boone. Britton recovered, then showed up to spring training and has now suffered another setback in his throwing program.
After tossing a bullpen session, the lefty sinkerballer felt soreness in his throwing elbow. He was sent for an MRI, which revealed a bone injury. Thankfully, the UCL was unscathed, per Boone. Britton’s elbow has a bone chip which will be removed by Head Team Physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad, as the Yankees announced Tuesday. Per Dr. Ahmad’s website, full competitive recovery for the surgery is estimated at 3-4 months. That timeline suggests a return between mid-June and mid-July for the shutdown reliever.
In a peculiar offseason of luxury tax limbo, the Yankees shaved Adam Ottavino and his $9 million salary (for payroll calculation purposes) by sending him to Boston. To counter it, the team collected righty reliever Darren O’Day along with lefty reliever Justin Wilson. Now, O’Day’s and Wilson’s roles take more of a front seat for the first few months of the season.
With one more bullpen spot opening, a young pitcher like Albert Abreu or Nick Nelson may join the 26-man Opening Day roster if they were not penciled in already. However, with Britton being one of the few lefties in the Yankees’ relief pitching arsenal, it would not be surprising if veteran Lucas Luetge gets a shot to prove his worth. In 3 innings of spring training (yes, small sample size), Luetge has fanned 8 of the 11 hitters he faced and has yet to allow a run. He has not pitched in the big-leagues since 2015, but was a minor league All-Star in 2019 and served as an alternate site pitcher for the Oakland Athletics last year. Tyler Lyons is another southpaw option, who may be more familiar to Yankees fans. However, Luetge just might have passed Lyons in the pecking order with his spring performance so far.