Yankees' outfielder Brett Gardner suffered an abdominal strain late in the season, which kept him out of action for a number of games down the stretch. He reportedly underwent surgery on the area in October. Additionally, Alfonso Soriano announced he is retiring from baseball.
In the beginning of September, Gardner began experiencing lower abdominal pain and missed a week of action because he said if he tried to play through the pain it would only get worse. He returned to the lineup after a six-game absence and went just 8-for-57 (.140) with one home run, two RBIs and six runs scored through the end of September. He also missed two of the team's final three games against the Boston Red Sox.
The injury Gardner suffered was to his right rectus abdominis muscle and he underwent surgery on October 16 to repair it. The recovery period is expected to be only four weeks, which means he'll be able to resume his customary offseason program by next week. Gardner batted .256 with 17 home runs, 58 RBIs and 21 stolen bases in 2014 after signing a four-year, $52 million extension prior to the season. The Yankees will need him to be healthy next season to avoid creating more roster issues in the Bronx.
"I think that here in the next week or two, I'll be pretty darn close to 100 percent and just be able to go through my normal offseason routine," Gardner said on Sirius XM/MLB Network Radio, via this ESPN article. "That's one of the reasons we just went ahead and got it done after the season."
Another outfielder that played for the Yankees this season, Alfonso Soriano, announced his retirement on Tuesday. The 38-year-old Soriano played 16 years in the MLB, including seven with the Yankees, where he began his career. New York released Soriano in July after he was batting just .221 with six home runs and 23 RBIs in 67 games with the team. They acquired him from the Cubs in a trade last season and he finished the final two years of his eight-year, $136 million contract he originally signed with Chicago.
"I've lost the love and passion to play the game," Soriano said in a radio interview in the Dominican Republic, via this ESPN article. "Right now, my family is the most important thing."
In 16 seasons, Soriano belted 412 home runs and 1,159 RBIs. He also maintained a .270 batting average and stole 289 bases. Two of his best years were with New York back in the early 2000s, during which he batted .300 with 39 home runs, 102 RBIs and 41 stolen bases in 2002 to go along with a .290 average with 38 home runs, 91 RBIs and 35 stolen bases in 2003 before he was traded to the Texas Rangers for Alex Rodriguez.
New York has been making noise in the media over the past couple of days, especially with Rodriguez's admission to using performance-enhancing drugs.
