Mark Teixeira is expected to miss 8-10 weeks thanks to a strained right wrist. The power hitting first baseman hurt his wrist while he was taking batting drills off a hitting tee . Teixera becomes just the latest casualty of a New York Yankees team that is going to start the year without their three best power hitters.
Earlier this Spring, Curtis Granderson suffered a broken forearm thanks to being hit by a pitch and he is expected to be out about the same amount of time. Derek Jeter is also trying to come back from injury and while he’s expected to be back later this spring, it doesn’t seem likely that he’ll be at full strength for a while yet.
The New York Yankees are also going to be without third baseman Alex Rodriguez for at least half the season. It is widely accepted that Arod could be out for the entire season.
This is hardly the first time that Mark Teixeira has missed time with injury. Teixeira sat out a portion of 2012 with a similar kind of wrist injury.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman tried to remain upbeat, saying that it was only March 6 and that alot can happen between the start of the regular season and now.
Teixeira’s injury is not only a loss for the Yankees, but also for the United States’ WBC team. Teixeira was slated to be the team’s starting first baseman. He was replaced on the roster by Eric Hosmer late Wednesday afternoon.
If now appears that Juan Rivera will be the Yankees’ starting first baseman until Teixeira can return. That means that New York will have a starting first baseman who hit nine homers in 109 games played in 2012 replacing one who hit 24 in just 123 games.
Mark Teixeiera’s absence will almost surely be felt on a lineup suddenly struggling to find a way to bring power to the plate.