Yankees Hopeful Zack Britton's Return to the Injured List Won't Last Long
Zack Britton is headed back to the injured list.
The Yankees reliever exited Friday night's game with a hamstring injury, possibly a reaggravation of the strain that resulted in a stint on the IL last summer.
While Britton is "doing pretty well," according to manager Aaron Boone, the discomfort still warranted a trip to the injured list.
"Based on what we initially saw last night, I feel like the news was better than we thought," Boone said on Saturday afternoon. "We just thought with him, especially with him coming back [from elbow surgery], obviously not something we want to push through and risk something else popping up."
New York also placed reliever Wandy Peralta on the injured list Saturday. The left-hander has been managing a "back issue" for the last several days, per Boone, allowing the team to backdate his timeline on the injured list.
In place of Britton and Peralta, the Yankees have called up right-handers Albert Abreu and Brooks Kriske from Triple-A Scranton/Wiles-Barre.
After he delivered the 11th pitch of his outing in the eighth inning on Friday night, Britton hobbled off the mound, limping straight to the dugout and down into the tunnel. He grabbed toward the back of his left leg after missing badly on a slider.
It was just his fifth appearance of the season. Left elbow surgery—done back in March—kept him on the 60-day injured list until earlier this month.
The skipper added that he feels encouraged about where Britton is at one day later, eager to get his setup man back in the 'pen.
"I think we erred on the side of caution here," he said. "We know what Britt means to our bullpen and the back end of that bullpen. So not the best thing, but hopefully something that's a short stint for him."
New York has some reinforcements on the way in the bullpen as well. Relievers Darren O'Day and Justin Wilson are wrapping up their rehab assignments in Triple-A and could rejoin the team during the homestand, beginning on Monday against the Angels.
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