Surgery to repair the tendon sheath in Mark Teixeira’s right wrist has been recommended, the Yankees announced. He was examined by a total of four doctors: New York-based hand specialists Dr. Michelle Carlson (Hospital for Special Surgery) and Dr. Keith Raskin (NYU), team doctor Dr. Christopher Ahmad, and Dr. Melvin Rosenwasser. Recent tests “confirmed that the sheath has not adequately healed.”
“It’s very tough, especially in a season where the team could probably use me … I really would have loved to be a part of this,” said Teixeira, who confirmed he will likely have the surgery next week. It comes with 4-5 months worth of rehab work, and he won’t be 100% until six months out from surgery. That means he will be healthy in plenty of time for Spring Training barring any setbacks, but the procedure is obviously season-ending.
Teixeira, 33, originally suffered the injury while taking batting practice with Team USA in advance of the World Baseball Classic back in early-March. He rehabbed the wrist and remained on the DL until late-May, with the WBC picking up his salary during that time. In 15 games off the DL, he went 8-for-63 (58 wRC+) with three homers. Teixeira felt discomfort in the wrist two weeks ago and was placed back on the DL with what was originally called inflammation. He received a cortisone shot but still had nagging discomfort a week later.
The Yankees grabbed first baseman Lyle Overbay off the scrap heap as a temporary stopgap in Spring Training, and he’s hit .239/.282/.429 (90 wRC+) in 241 plate appearances this year. At the very least, the team figures to look to acquire a platoon partner given Overbay’s huge platoon split — 106 wRC+ against righties but a 46 wRC+ against lefties. Kevin Youkilis will miss at least 10-12 weeks following back surgery, so he is not an option. Until the Yankees acquire someone else, Overbay will be the everyday first baseman.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.