Yankees Get Bad Break, Announce Hobbled Teixeira Is Done For The Year
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- If the Yankees are going to make the playoffs and then do something significant, they are going to have to do so without Mark Teixeira.
General manager Brian Cashman announced late Friday afternoon that the veteran first baseman has a fracture in his right leg and will miss the rest of the season.
Teixeira, who leads the Yankees with 31 home runs and is second with 79 RBIs, had all of three at-bats since fouling a ball off his right shin against Minnesota on Aug. 17. The deep bone bruise did not improve and Teixeira remained on crutches into this week, prompting Cashman to fear the worst.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Cashman said Teixeira received several injections "to try to calm the nerve down because he feels nerve issues up and down the leg when he puts pressure" on it.
With issues in their rotation and a deficit to make up in the AL East race, the Yankees can ill afford to not have one of their best offensive players available for the stretch run.
When asked at the time if Teixeira had possibly played his last game this season, Cashman said "I do wonder."
"It's been a long time and he's still having issues," Cashman added. "I can't predict what's going to happen here. There is a lot of time left … between now and the end of the season. I just don't know."
While not the power hitter or fielder that Teixeira is, rookie Greg Bird has done a solid job since making his major league debut on Aug. 13, hitting .241 with five homers and 17 RBIs in 83 at-bats.
Expect Bird to play first base for the rest of the season.
The Yankees (77-61) entered Friday's opener of their pivotal four-game series with the first-place Blue Jays 1 1/2 games out.
