On Friday, the New York Yankees announced that reliever Dellin Betances' stint on the injured list is going to last for quite a while. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters that Betances will not participate in baseball activities for three weeks, and that it'll be six-to-seven weeks until he can make his return to the MLB team.
After Betances struggled in a simulated game on Thursday, the Yankees had the 31-year-old leave Tampa and head back to New York to undergo another MRI. The latest MRI revealed that Betances is suffering from inflammation in his throwing shoulder as a result of a pre-existing bone spur. He'll receive a cortisone injection on Saturday, Cashman said.
Dellin Betances will have a cortisone injection tomorrow. Brian Cashman says he’ll be down for three weeks with no activity, so his MLB timetable is six to seven weeks.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) April 13, 2019
"Dellin's a great pitcher, one of the elite relievers in the league. So there's no question that's a blow," manager Aarone Boone told reporters. "He's important to what we do, but in the meantime we've got to make sure we're working really hard to make sure we get our couple of guys that have really strong track records on track."
As the Yankees keep fighting through an already injury-riddled season, they'll at least still have a loaded bullpen while Betances is rehabbing. For now, Aroldis Chapman, Adam Ottavino, Chad Green and Zack Britton should be able to manage without Betances. The Yankees (5-8) currently sit in second place in the American League East, five and a half games behind the Tampa Bay Rays (11-3). New York continues a nine-game homestead on Saturday when it faces the Chicago White Sox at 1:05 p.m. ET. The game can be streamed regionally via fuboTV (try for free).
