The New York Yankees continue to deal with injuries to their pitching staff as Marcus Stroman becomes the latest to go down.
Stroman received a cortisone shot in his left knee to reduce swelling.
“The MRI was good, but he had some swelling in there somewhere,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Sunday. “So try to eliminate that, hopefully get him ramped up pretty quick and, hopefully, something that really helps him move it forward.”
Boone was unclear on how Stroman injured his knee in the first place.
“I’m not even sure,” Boone said. “Even watching the video, watching how [he was] not finishing properly on his front leg and I think that was due to the knee.”
The Yankees will hope to see Stroman return to the mound as soon as possible as their pitching options diminish.
Yankees’ Ben Rice thriving in lead-off spot
The New York Yankees were unsure who would fill their lead-off hitter role, but designated hitter Ben Rice has shown to be a solid candidate early in the season.
Through 13 games played and 42 at-bats so far this season, Rice is batting .310 with four home runs and five RBIs. His performance has impressed manager Aaron Boone.
“Benny’s done such a good job up there,” Boone said via The Athletic. “He controls the strike zone, and then he’s so dangerous, too.”
In addition to impressing Boone, Rice’s productivity in the lead-off role has caught the attention of his teammates.
“Same thing that we saw in spring,” Cody Bellinger said of Rice. “It hasn’t really changed. Just locked in. Locked into his plan. Locked into his approach. Guy who hits the ball extremely hard. It’s very fun to watch. It’s very impressive.”
Rice’s primary objective? To keep doing what he has been doing so far this season.
“I think the biggest thing is when you move to a certain spot in the order, you’re probably there for a reason,” Rice said. “I think the biggest thing is really not to change too much.”
Boone has been particularly pleased with the contact Rice has been able to make at the plate.
“You would think,” Boone said. “Those were a lot of things that were kind of underneath last year, even. Even when he went through some struggles, he was still not being rewarded for some pretty good contact at the time. I feel like he’s taken that to another level.
“I feel that he’s in a way better place and a way better hitter and just a year more mature physically, mentally and playing with a lot of confidence. His at-bat quality is really good.”
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