The deep catching rotation for the Yankees just got a little thinner.
On Saturday, ESPN.com revealed that catcher Francisco Cervelli has a broken left foot and will miss a minimum of four weeks.
The backup catcher incurred the injury on Wednesday night after fouling a ball off of his foot. An MRI revealed a fracture “above the toes.”
Because Cervelli will be out several weeks, and Jorge Posada will serve as the designated hitter this season, rookies Jesus Montero and Austin Romine will compete for the backup position behind Russell Martin.
Manager Joe Girardi believes that his team has the depth to cope with such an injury.
“We’ve got two kids who we believe are very talented,” Girardi said. “When you look at Montero and Romine, the one thing they’re lacking is the big-league experience, but they’re not lacking in talent.”
Prior to the injury, Cervelli was 3-for-5 in spring training. In the past two seasons, he had a .278 batting average while backing up Posada.
Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia suffered a similar injury last summer against the Rockies, allowing him to only play 75 games last season. Due to the severity of a broken foot, particularly for a catcher, Cervelli likely will miss more than four weeks.
