Yankees shortstop Troy Tulowitzki exited Tuesday’s game with a left calf strain and will “almost certainly” head to the injured list, manager Aaron Boone tells reporters (Twitter link via the YES Network’s Jack Curry). If and when Tulo does hit the IL, he’ll bring the Yankees’ total to a staggering 11 players on the shelf, including two left-side infielders in as many days. Third baseman Miguel Andujar went on the injured list due to a labrum tear yesterday, and with both him and Tulowitzki out of the picture, the Yankees will be relying on a mix of Gleyber Torres, DJ LeMahieu and Tyler Wade around the infield. Young Thairo Estrada is already on the 40-man roster and could get a call to help provide some depth while Tulowitzki is out. There’s no firm timetable for Tulo just yet.
Some more notable health updates from around baseball…
- Diamondbacks infielder Jake Lamb pulled up lame while legging out a double in this afternoon’s game, and the early diagnosis is a strained left quadriceps, per The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan (Twitter link). Lamb will undergo an MRI tomorrow to further evaluate the severity of the injury. If Lamb is to miss time with the injury, the D-backs can increase Christian Walker’s role at first base and perhaps mix in Alex Avila a bit as well. The 28-year-old Lamb has gotten off to a slow start in 2019 as he looks to rebound from a 2018 campaign that was ruined by shoulder troubles.
- Brewers righty Jeremy Jeffress is slated to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A San Antonio tomorrow, tweets MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. He’s been sidelined with some weakness in his shoulder but hasn’t been diagnosed with any structural damage or significant injury. Jeffress has been building strength since being slowed down in mid-March and will test out his shoulder over a series of appearances with San Antonio. President of baseball operations David Stearns recently suggested that mid or late April could be a reasonable return date for Jeffress, whose importance to the team only increased with the revelation that Corey Knebel will miss the entire 2019 season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.
- The Angels announced yesterday that a CT scan revealed “chronic changes to the elbow” in left-hander Andrew Heaney. Ominous as that sounds, Heaney will be cleared to resume a throwing program within the next week to 10 days. He’s also undergoing a cortisone shot to help combat the discomfort in his elbow. The good news for the Angels is that there seemingly wasn’t any evidence of structural damage regarding Heaney’s ulnar collateral ligament. Heaney has yet to appear in a game this season and was limited to just 1 2/3 innings early in Spring Training, so even once he does resume a throwing program, he’ll still be several weeks from surfacing as an option in the Halos’ rotation.