Despite owning the best record in the big leagues, not all is well in Yankee land.
One of the team's most important bullpen components and the game's second most potent strikeout artist, David Robertson, will be sidelined with elbow stiffness. Robertson, who has 61 strikeouts in 41 innings, will be evaluated by Dr. James Andrews. His 13.39 strikeouts per nine innings ranks second among MLB pitchers with at least 40 innings pitched, behind Jonathan Broxton of the Dodgers .
“The stiffness has not went away in the last 10 days or two weeks,” manager Joe Girardi told The New York Times. “It’s a concern of mine, because he’s been a huge part of our bullpen, and his ability to get a strikeout is important. He’s been as good as anyone in baseball, really, at doing that.”
Despite a trip to the sport's most recognizable arm doc, the 24-year-old is confident he will return by season's end.
“I feel confident it’s not going to be anything,” Robertson said. “I feel like I’m going to come back. It’s just a little rest. I’ll just go to Dr. Andrews and get his opinion. That’s really all I can do.”
Girardi has kept Robertson from working back-to-back games since early August. In his last four outings, Robertson has picked up six strikeouts while allowing three hits and one walk over 3 1/3 shutout innings.
“I don’t want to write him off,” Girardi said. “He’s down until he sees Dr. Andrews and we figure out what we need to do. Whether he’s here or not, guys are still going to feel pressure. One thing it does is it gives you less weapons. We don’t necessarily have as much flexibility as we did.”
