Yankees' Aaron Boone expects Luke Voit to return in May

Yankees manager Aaron Boone provided an update on injured first baseman Luke Voit on Saturday, per Marly Rivera of ESPN. Boone put a timeline of four to six weeks on Voit’s return, putting him on track for a May return. The reigning AL home run king had to have a torn meniscus in his left knee repaired, which has shut him down completely for three weeks. It’s sounding like he won’t make his debut this season until mid-May.

Voit’s 22 home runs in 56 games last year not only led the league, but it marked a career high for the now-29-year-old. He broke out as a 26-year-old for the Cardinals, but 2020 was the first time he was able to be a consistent everyday regular. His 118 games played in 2019 remain a career-high, however, because of the shortened season. Whenever healthy, Voit has been a power dynamo with a .254 career ISO, .527 career slugging, and 62 home runs in 1,029 plate appearances.

In the meantime, veteran Jay Bruce got the start on Opening Day, and he will be at first base again on Saturday. DJ LeMahieu slid to first late in the season opener as Tyler Wade took over at the keystone. That’s a likely defensive alignment that the Yankees will deploy late in games until Voit returns.