If Andrew Benintendi rejoins the Yankees this season, it won’t be until the playoffs.
The outfielder fractured his right hamate bone on Sept. 2 while swinging and has been out since. With only a few weeks left in the regular season, Benintendi doesn’t plan on having time for a major league tune-up.
“Numbers-wise, days-wise, I think it’s going to be the postseason,” Benintendi said Thursday regarding his return. “But it’s pretty safe to say the regular season’s out. That was kind of the thought process the whole time anyway.”
When asked if he had an early or late postseason target in mind, Benintendi added that it was too soon to know.
“I wish I knew, but I don’t,” he said.
Looking to supplant the struggling Joey Gallo, the Yankees acquired Benintendi in a trade with the Royals on July 27. The impending free agent has appeared in 33 games for New York, posting a .254/.331/.404 slash line with two home runs, nine doubles and 12 RBI.
If the 28-year-old Benintendi doesn’t make it back for the start of the postseason, rookie Oswaldo Cabrera is an option for the Yankees in left field.
Benintendi said he was not concerned about being short on days to recover his timing at the plate, even though he won’t get any major league at-bats before the postseason. He can always take batting practice off of teammates, and there are pitching machines he can use as well.
“I wouldn’t be too worried about it,” he said of his timing.
As for his wrist, Benintendi said “it feels good.”
He added: “[I] haven’t had a setback yet, knock on wood, so just keep going the course and see how it ends up.”
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