Two New York Yankees' veterans received good news on Friday. Reliever Andrew Miller will be able to pitch through his right wrist fracture and CC Sabathia will be the team's fifth starter.
Miller, who will be taking over as the team's closer during Aroldis Chapman's 30-game ban, took a line drive off his right hand earlier this week and underwent tests to determine any further issue. The initial X-rays came back negative, but a CT scan revealed a chip fracture, and it was unknown if he'd be able to start the season with New York.
The left-hander said Friday that he and Dr. Patrick Owens "don't feel we're really at risk to do anything worse to it." Owens cleared Miller to resume baseball activities yesterday. On Thursday, Miller said that he didn't know why he'd miss time for an injury to his right hand.
He tested his hand playing catch, but the Yankees are in contact with Major League Baseball to determine what modifications can be made to his glove in order to protect his right hand from further injury.
Either way, it's good news for the Yanks, who won't have to be without their two best relievers to start 2016.
In the rotation, Sabathia was competing for a job as a starter this spring with Ivan Nova. General manager Brian Cashman announced Friday that Sabathia would be the team's fifth starter "for now" and Nova will join the bullpen.
Sabathia, 35, checked into alcohol rehab just before the Yankees' wild-card playoff game against the Houston Astros and is now back with the team. However, the club's decision to put him in the rotation is questionable considering he had a poor 2015 campaign and allowed 10 earned runs in 16-1/3 innings (five starts) this spring. On the other hand, Nova allowed 11 earned runs over 24 innings (six starts) and had better numbers than Sabathia in every other category.
Manager Joe Girard said it's "hard to judge older players in spring training" because "it takes them a long time" to get back on track.
Still, the veteran is far from guaranteed that spot for the duration of 2016. Cashman noted that the fifth starter typically has a "shorter leash," and Girard said that the left-hander has "got to perform."
While Nova's move to the bullpen isn't ideal for the right-hander, it should benefit the team because pitcher Bryan Mitchell, who made the MLB roster and was expected to serve as a reliever, is expected to be sidelined for a while with a fractured big toe.
Then again, Nova has made only seven career appearances out of the bullpen, so it remains to be seen how that will go for him on a larger scale.
New York has some issues to deal with at the onset of 2016, but the team is confident that it will hold itself up until they're back at full strength.
