The way things have been going for the Yankees in terms of injuries this season, surely it's no shock that any good news comes with bad news.
The good: Miguel Andujar has been activated from the injured list. The bad: James Paxton has been placed on the injured list.
Let's deal with Paxton first. He was removed from his start Friday night after three innings. There was diminished velocity in the third and he had uncharacteristically walked three compared to just one strikeout. Paxton revealed after the game that he's been dealing with discomfort in his left knee all season, though he's not greatly concerned in it being a major problem. Via Yankees.com:
"It's frustrating, but I'm not real worried that it's going to be something long-term," Paxton said. "I think it's going to be a pretty quick fix. I'm looking forward to finding out what's going on so we can treat it and move forward."
Paxton is undergoing an MRI Saturday. His official injured list malady is "left knee inflammation." He's 3-2 with a 3.11 ERA (144 ERA+), 1.20 WHIP and 52 strikeouts against 13 walks in 37 2/3 innings this season.
Without Paxton, the Yankees rotation includes Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ, CC Sabathia, Domingo German and probably Jonathan Loaisiga.
On the good news front, Andujar is back from his shoulder injury. He played just three games before hitting the injured list this season. In his three rehab games for High-A Tampa, he went 0 for 4, 1 for 4 and then 2 for 2 with a home run, respectively.
Andujar, who finished second last season in Rookie of the Year voting. He hit .297/.328/.527 with 47 doubles, two triples, 27 homers and 92 RBI, is hitting cleanup for the Yankees in Saturday's game.
Despite all the injuries, the Yankees are 18-13 and have won 12 of their last 16 games. They trail the Rays by 2 1/2 games in the AL East.
