This week just keeps getting worse for the New York Yankees and their fanbase.
Having just lost two games at home to get eliminated from the postseason against the Boston Red Sox, the Yankees began to look forward to what looks like another exciting season in 2019. But then a hard punch of reality hit the New York Yankees Friday afternoon.
Starting shortstop, and a guy who hit 25+ home runs in back to back seasons, Didi Gregorius, had an MRI that didn’t produce results to the Yankees liking. The 28-year-old is heading under the knife this winter, as he will undergo Tommy John surgery on his throwing arm.
“Realistic chance he plays the bulk of the season with us,” manager Aaron Boone said of the pending timetable for Gregorius’ return.
However, Brian Cashman’s timetable has him returning to the Yankees being the summer. Point being, the Yankees have some big decisions to make this offseason. With a free agent pool of Yankees being J.A. Happ, Lance Lynn, David Robertson, Zach Britton, C.C. Sabathia, and Neil Walker, New York is in store for a busy winter.
A good potential short-term signing for the Yankees would be Cubs second baseman, Daniel Murphy. The 33-year-old is coming off of a season that was plagued with a hip injury, and he never regained the power and sustained the success that he had in his previous two full seasons in Washington. In a day and age where players are taking one-year ‘show me’ contracts, Daniel Murphy only needs to be healthy and productive for four months while Gregorius rehabs.
Murphy can also play third and first, which can provide a great level of utility if they need to give Voit or Andujar a spell. Most importantly, he can hit both righties and lefties very well—Murphy is .279/.315/.399 lifetime vs. LHP.
This news makes the recovery from a humiliating display at home against the Red Sox that much harder. But they still are loaded with young talent under contract—New York will be fine.
