Granderson hit by pitch, breaks arm
Credit: Getty Images
The Yankees were dealt a crushing blow to already questionable offense on Sunday.
Curtis Granderson was hit by a pitch from Toronto’s J.A. Happ in his first at-bat in Sunday’s spring training game and suffered a fractured right forearm. The injury will not require surgery, but he will be out about 10 weeks. That timetable means Granderson will be out until mid-May.
“It’s just a little bump in the road,” Granderson said. “It’s definitely not the end of everything.”
He left the game in considerable pain and X-rays taken at the hospital confirmed the fracture.
The Yankees were counting on Granderson to provide power for a lineup which lost Nick Swisher and his 24 home runs from last year. They will also be without Alex Rodriguez, who will miss at least the first half of the season after offseason hip surgery.
With Granderson gone — and both Raul Ibanez and Andruw Jones leaving to free agency in the offseason — the team is without any power in the outfield. Brett Gardner and Ichiro Suzuki are penciled into the starting lineup, but they have very few options to replace Granderson. Melky Mesa and maybe even defensively challenged infielder Eduardo Nunez could be options. The only other outfielders on the 40-man roster are prospect Ramon Flores, a 20-year-old in Single-A last season, and Zoilo Almonte, who hit a homer in his first spring training game on Saturday but batted just .277 in Double-A last season.
Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports.
