Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira out for season with leg injury
New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira will miss the remainder of the season after an MRI revealed a fracture in his right leg, the team announced Friday.
Teixeira fouled a ball off his right leg on Aug. 17 and sat out a week before returning for the Yankees’ series against Houston. He appeared in two games, going hitless in three at-bats. Shortly after the series, he was placed on the disabled list, retroactive to Aug. 27.
General manager Brian Cashman told reporters Friday that he believes the injury was there all along, but wasn’t initially discovered. Teixeira had earlier told reporters that he expected to return from his initial diagnosis of a bone bruise before the season ended.
The injury is expected to take three months to heal. Rookie Greg Bird will continue to fill in for Teixeira at first for the rest of the season.
A 12-year veteran, Teixeira had been amid a bounce-back season, hitting .255/.357/.548 with 31 home runs and 79 RBIs in 111 games, posting his highest OPS (.905) since 2009. In July, he was named an All-Star for the third time in his career.
The Yankees are currently 77–61 and trail the Toronto Blue Jays by 1 1/2 games for first place in the American League East; New York is 4 1/2 games in front of the Texas Rangers for first in the AL wild card.
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