Gardner goes on DL with broken left thumb
Brett Gardner dives for a catch earlier this
Brett Gardner lined a triple and made two diving catches in centerfield Saturday with a broken left thumb.
Gardner suffered the injury while executing a hard takeout slide in the first inning, but the Yankees didn't know about it until after the game, when he said something was wrong and an X-ray showed the break. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list before yesterday's 7-5 victory over the Athletics.
Gardner's left (throwing) hand is in a cast that is due to come off in two to 21/2 weeks, when he'll be re-evaluated. "Best-case scenario, I'm back in 20, 25 days," he said. "It beats having to have surgery and missing the rest of the season."
Gardner visited hand specialist Dr. Melvin Rosenwasser Sunday morning, and it was determined he didn't need surgery. He has an avulsion fracture, which, according to the Mayo Clinic, occurs when a ligament or tendon is pulled from a bone.
Gardner was injured while sliding feet-first just to the right of second base and nearly upending Mark Ellis to break up a potential double play.
"I've done it hundreds of times and usually my hand slides right over the base,'' Gardner said. "But for some reason, my thumb didn't get up quite high enough, went into the side of the base. One of those freak things that happens.''
What was even odder was how well Gardner played after suffering the injury. He hit a line-drive RBI triple to right-center in the sixth and made consecutive diving grabs in shallow centerfield in the eighth.
"Completely shocked because I had no idea he was even hurt. He didn't even let anyone know," said manager Joe Girardi, who was told about the injury by general manager Brian Cashman 25 minutes after the game.
Gardner is batting .275 in 200 at-bats and has stolen 20 bases in 25 attempts. "It's possible we could miss him a lot,'' Girardi said. "You can't predict the type of games you're going to get in."
Reliever Jonathan Albaladejo was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Albaladejo, who warmed up in the sixth Sundaybut did not pitch, was promoted because Girardi gave David Robertson and Alfredo Aceves the day off. Another roster move is imminent, but it likely won't involve outfielder Austin Jackson because he wouldn't be playing every day.
Said Girardi, "We figured we'd just get through today and see where we're at and we can make some decisions."
