One of the few things keeping Boston Red Sox fans from a cataclysmic meltdown regarding the slow start to the season is that the New York Yankees are having an equally tough go of it in the early stages of 2019.
While it has been less than a week since Opening Day, the preseason runaway favorites in the American League East sit in the bottom two spots.
The Red Sox struggles are a little hard to figure out at the moment, as the team’s much-heralded starting rotation has simply not been itself thus far, but for the Yankees, the injury bug has bitten, and bitten hard.
Giancarlo Stanton already has hit the injured list with a strained bicep and figures to be out until later this month. Second-year star third baseman Miguel Andujar is battling a torn labrum and could opt to undergo surgery. Now, Troy Tulowitzki seems destined for an IL stint after exiting Wednesday’s game against the Detroit Tigers with a left calf strain.
It’s unclear how much time the infielder might miss, but this is yet another blow to the Bronx Bombers.
Here’s a list of players already on the IL: Stanton, Andujar, Aaron Hicks, Didi Gregorius, Luis Severino, CC Sabathia and Dellin Betances.
Tulowitzki, 34, was signed in the offseason partly to serve as a stopgap for Gregorious, who is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, and also to provide some depth to the infield. But the five-time All-Star has been plagued by his own history with injuries, missing all of 2018 after surgery on both of his heels, and missing a good chunk of 2017 with ankle and hamstring issues.
