Yankees CF Hicks on 10-Day Injured List With Flexor Strain
NEW YORK—Yankees center fielder Aaron Hicks was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a flexor strain in his right elbow, the latest blow to an injury-ravaged team leading the AL East nonetheless.
After getting hurt on a throw Saturday night, Hicks had an MRI on Sunday and New York considered the results pretty good news because the team feared he had a torn ligament that could require season-ending Tommy John surgery.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Hicks will be shut down from throwing for a week to 10 days but is expected back this season - although it was too soon to project a timeframe. The ligament is intact, however, and Tommy John surgery has been ruled out.
Hicks became the 16th player on the Yankees' current injured list, joining a pair of slugging first basemen who just went down: Edwin Encarnacion broke his right wrist when he was hit by a pitch Saturday, and Luke Voit has a sports hernia.
New York also is missing All-Star catcher Gary Sanchez (left groin strain), outfielder Giancarlo Stanton (sprained right knee) and pitchers Luis Severino (lat muscle), Dellin Betances (lat muscle) and CC Sabathia (right knee inflammation).
Sanchez is likely to begin a minor league rehab assignment this week and could rejoin the Yankees next weekend.
Despite all the injuries, New York began the day with the American League's best record at 71-39 and an eight-game advantage in the AL East over Tampa Bay.
Hicks was injured when he made a strong throw toward third base, holding a runner at second. He was removed from the game two innings later.
The roster move was made Sunday afternoon before New York tried for a four-game sweep of the rival Red Sox. Left-hander J.A. Happ, scheduled to start the series finale, was reinstated from the paternity list, taking Hicks' spot on the active roster.
Brett Gardner was set to play center field, with Mike Tauchman in left and Cameron Maybin in right. Aaron Judge was the designated hitter.
Hicks began the season on the IL after hurting his back early in spring training and didn't play his first game until May 15. In the first season of a $70 million, seven-year contract, the 29-year-old switch-hitter is batting .235 with 12 homers and 36 RBIs in 59 games.
