The mystery surrounding Mark Teixeira’s frustrating coughing spell appears to have been solved. All it took was a visit to an ear, nose and throat specialist at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.
After cameras took footage of his throat, Teixeira was diagnosed with nerve damage to one of his vocal cords.
“That’s really good news for me because they found the reason for all of this and she gave me some medicine that hopefully will help the nerve calm down,” Teixeira said.
The cough had confounded Teixeira to the point where he had to sit out a weekend series with the Reds last month, but when he returned it still lingered although tests came back negative.
He was advised to take two weeks of rest, but the only rest he will get will be the three days during next month’s All-Star break.
“My voice still isn’t near what it needs to be and I can’t yell out on the field,” Teixeira said. “As a first baseman, communicating with your pitcher, communicating with your catcher when guys are stealing; you want to be able to yell and use your voice. I’m still coughing and getting tightness in my ribs.”
Robertson throws, Gardner takes BP
David Robertson continued his rehab from a strained left oblique by throwing 25 pitches in batting practice at Yankee Stadium.
The next step could be more batting practice or a minor league rehab game. So far, that has not been decided by the Yankees.
As for Gardner, the Yankees said he felt a little stiffness Wednesday, but felt good in batting practice. Originally, he was going to play a minor league game for Single-A Tampa, but because of weather that will take place with the Single-A Charleston Riverdogs of the South Atlantic League.
Garcia returns to Venezuela
Freddy Garcia has returned to Venezuela following the death of his grandfather. The Yankees placed him on the bereavement list and will replace him with ex-Met Ryota Igarashi.
The Yankees claimed Igarashi off waivers from the Blue Jays and he appeared in three games for Scranton-Wilkes Barre. In the previous two seasons, he appeared in 79 games for the Mets while pitching to a 5.74 ERA.
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