After the Yankees' day off on Monday, they return to action on Tuesday to face the Diamondbacks in the Bronx. And looking at the lineup for tonight's game, there are just a few players missing to say the least.
Manager Aaron Boone addressed the media ahead of the game, and gave some good and bad news about those Yankees on the IL at the moment. Here's what he had to say about each of them...
DJ LeMahieu (groin)
LeMahieu was still not in the Yanks' lineup tonight, as he'll miss his third game due to a low-level groin strain. However, Boone said this move is to be extra cautious.
"Just trying to be smart with it as best we can, especially with an off day here, an off day coming up Thursday," he said. "We'll kinda continue to evaluate it. We're excited about where he's at in the fact that he's been able to avoid the IL because of how he's responded. The running he did today went well."
Boone noted that he'll think about placing LeMahieu back in the lineup tomorrow, but with that off day Thursday, the Yankees could continue their caution a little while longer.
Luis Severino (lat)/Dellin Betances (shoulder, lat)
Severino and Betances are both working their way back to the Yankees together, but Boone noted something in particular about the former that should have Yankee fans smiling a little bit.
"Today is a no-throw day, but both are doing well," Boone said. "Sevy's getting close to being on a mound."
Of course, Severino will basically need an entire spring training down in Tampa before he returns to the rotation. Still great to see his progress here.
Gary Sanchez (groin)
Boone is liking what he's seen from his All-Star catcher, and his work will continue to get back as soon as possible. He's eligible to come off the IL this Saturday, but Boone says that "isn't in the cards" right now.
"Gary's doing well. Gary is probably doing a little better than we anticipated at this point, so we're encouraged there. He ran inside today. He'll hit in the cage today. I believe he's going to run outside possibly tomorrow."
Brett Gardner (knee)
Gardner's knee injury is taking longer than expected to heal, but Boone believes he's close. And by close, it could be this weekend that the veteran outfielder returns.
"Gardy did really well today," he said. "He kinda passed all his arc runs and everything. The shot seemed to really work for him and just the extra few days off seemed to really work. So I do believe he'll be an option for us this weekend."
Giancarlo Stanton (knee)
Stanton's update wasn't as optimistic as the others. Boone noted the slugger still moving slow on his journey back to the lineup. His PCL strain requires his right leg to get stronger around the knee, and that will certainly take some time.
"Still moving slow just trying to build up the quad strength," Boone said. "Not doing baseball activities yet. Hopefully he'll get to a point where he'll go down to Tampa and start ramping back up, but not there yet."
CC Sabathia
And last but not least, Sabathia's right knee inflammation -- an ailment that the Yankees and himself are used to seeing the past few seasons -- doesn't necessarily have an update. Boone said he was getting a shot today, and the team will evaluate after that.