Bryan Mitchell Injury: Updates on Yankees RP’s Toe and Return
March 31, 2016 · Tim Daniels · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
New York Yankees relief pitcher Bryan Mitchell is dealing with a toe injury that required surgery. It is uncertain when he will be able to return to action.
Continue for updates.
Mitchell Undergoes Surgery
Tuesday, April 5
Yankees manager Joe Girardi told reporters Mitchell had surgery on Monday and will miss at least four months as he recovers.
Severity of Mitchell’s Injury Revealed
Thursday, March 31
Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal reported on March 31 that Mitchell has a fractured toe on his left foot. Jack Curry of the YES Network stated it’s a “Grade 3 turf toe,” which will require a minimum of 12 weeks to recover.
Mitchell’s Injury Puts Pressure on Depleted Bullpen
Word of the setback comes just days after Mitchell was informed he earned a spot on the 25-man roster for Opening Day. Ryan Hatch of NJ Advance Media passed along comments from the right-handed reliever after he first suffered the injury on March 30:
“I honestly don’t know what to feel right now. I’m just trying to stay positive and hopefully when I wake up tomorrow it feels 10 times better than it does. Just trying to stay positive right now.”
The bullpen was expected to become a major part of the Yankees’ success coming into spring training. Now, it’s suddenly become a question mark.
Projected closer Aroldis Chapman was suspended 30 games under the league’s new domestic violence policy. Andrew Miller, who is expected to fill the closer void for the time being, is also dealing with a wrist injury but will pitch through the ailment.
Mitchell had shined during spring training with a 0.57 ERA across six appearances with 12 strikeouts in 15.2 innings. He also posted a 0.64 WHIP, and his batting-average against was just .132.
That success, combined with the suddenly unstable New York bullpen, made him a candidate to pitch some high-leverage innings early in the campaign. That seemed like a long shot at the start of camp after he finished last season with a 6.37 ERA in 20 games.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post noted the injury is a double whammy for the organization:
Dellin Betances will move behind Miller as the team’s lead setup man, and Chasen Shreve, Johnny Barbato and Kirby Yates are among the other relievers who will need to step up while the Yankees wait for Chapman and Mitchell to assume their expected roles.
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