1: 19 PM ET
-
Associated Press
TAMPA, Fla. — Predominant league house scoot champion Luke Voit wants knee surgical treatment to repair a partial meniscus scoot, an injury that opened a Fresh York Yankees roster assemble 22 situation for Jay Bruce on Saturday as a important baseman.
Voit will not possess any baseball actions for three weeks after the operation on his left knee, supervisor Aaron Boone stated. Voit is anticipated back in Could perchance moreover.
“Let’s possess the surgical treatment, gaze how the early days are, and then we are in a position to be ready to purchase into consideration,” Boone stated.
The injury to Voit, who hit 22 homers within the pandemic-shortened season to manual the majors, performed a feature within the selection so that you just can add Bruce, who attended spring coaching with a minor league contract.
“We will be lacking Luke, nonetheless I do know Jay Bruce goes to return in and attain some special issues for us,” Yankees appropriate fielder Aaron Think stated. “Luke is a mountainous share of this crew, mountainous share of this offense. He’s a truly vocal man within the clubhouse who gets us motivated. I am mad to possess Jay Bruce on this crew. Right here is why he got right here to this crew, used to be to abet any formula he can and abet us rob a championship.”
Voit had an MRI examination on Friday, which led to discussions that evening on whether or not the slugger would combat through a therapy program and purchase a explore at to play through it or possess surgical treatment and initiate the season on the injured list.
“Determined to traipse in and possess that cleaned up,” Boone stated. “Functionally he used to be playing, nonetheless used to be aloof dealing with some swelling in there after video games and issues admire that. Felt admire calendar-clever it used to be most effective to internet this looked after with confidently placing it within the back of him for the bulk of the season.”
Bruce, who turns 34 next Saturday, has performed 1,510 important league video games within the outfield and 54 originally immoral, including two closing season.
“It used to be share of the equation,” Boone stated. “So Jay is with us. I query him to play plenty and a quantity of first immoral for us. Enraged to gaze what he can attain for us.”
Bruce gets a contract paying $1.35 million whereas within the basic leagues and $150,000 ought to aloof he be assigned to the minors.
“I used to be waiting on the Yankees to let me know,” stated Bruce, who used to be told in regards to the selection early Saturday morning. “Clearly that is the place aside I needed to be. Right here is why I signed right here. I am extraordinarily mad.”
Bruce is hitting .194 with two homers and three RBIs in 31 at-bats for the period of spring coaching.
Boone stated Mike Tauchman, who’s out of juvenile league alternate choices, is determined to be a further outfielder.
Bruce is a uncommon left-handed bat on the heavily appropriate-handed Yankees. In their projected batting expose, switch-hitting heart fielder Aaron Hicks is joined by eight appropriate-handed hitters. Lefty-hitting outfielder Brett Gardner, projected as a reserve within the back of Clint Frazier, also figures to internet indispensable playing time.
Bruce hit .198 with six homers and 14 RBIs in 96 at-bats for Philadelphia for the period of the pandemic-shortened season. He’s a 3-time All-Star with a .245 moderate, 318 house runs and 948 RBIs for the period of 13 mountainous league seasons with Cincinnati (2008-15), the Fresh York Mets (2016-18), Cleveland (2018), Seattle (2019) and the Phillies.
Mike Ford, thought to be the front-runner to back up Voit when spring coaching started, went 4-for-4 with a solo homer in Saturday’s 5-1, eight-inning rob over Toronto. Ford used to be optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on March 19.
Gleyber Torres used to be 3-for-3 with a pair of homers, giving him five total.
Fresh York released infielder Derek Dietrich and injured catcher Robinson Chirinos from minor league contracts. Releasing them doesn’t preclude the Yankees from re-signing them.
Handsome-hander Clarke Schmidt used to be positioned on the 60-day injured list with an elbow stress, opening a assemble 22 situation for Bruce on the 40-man roster.
