Aroldis Chapman's knee will 'be reevaluated in a couple of weeks'
Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman had to leave the game after throwing six pitches on Tuesday. Credit: Getty Images/Mark Brown
BALTIMORE — Aroldis Chapman won’t be returning after the minimum 10 days expire on his disabled list stint.
“He’ll be reevaluated in a couple of weeks,” Aaron Boone said Friday.
Chapman was placed on the DL Wednesday with left knee tendinitis, a condition the closer has pitched with for most of the season but became untenable during Tuesday's outing against the Marlins. After six pitches, he signaled to the dugout that he needed to come out.
Boone said Chapman, who is 31-for-33 in save chances and has a 2.11 ERA, was evaluated by the team doctor Friday and received a PRP (platelet-rich plasma) injection.
“We’re optimistic he’ll be returning in an impactful way this season at some point,” Boone said. “In a lot of ways, it [the evaluation] went a little better than the doc thought, but we’ll see where we’re at in a couple of weeks with it.”
As he indicated Wednesday, Boone said he’ll rotate Dellin Betances, Zach Britton and David Robertson to close, depending on matchups. All three have closing experience.
Judging his progress
It's still a slow go for Aaron Judge (right wrist fracture), who again ran in the outfield Friday but is not yet ready to pick up a bat because of ongoing pain in the wrist.
“Not swinging yet,” Boone said. “Making progress but still feeling that [pain]. The fracture is still healing.”
Sanchez getting close?
Boone said it is “possible” that Gary Sanchez (right groin strain) will return to the Yankees by the time they start a six-game trip to Oakland and Seattle on Sept. 3. Sanchez is slated to DH in a GCL game Saturday and will play for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre starting Monday.
Didi optimistic
Didi Gregorius, who went on the DL Monday with a left heel contusion, hopes he’ll be able to return when his 10 days are up.
“I’m feeling way better than everybody thinks,” Gregorius said after playing catch. “Hopefully I’ll be back out there sooner [rather] than later.”
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
More Yankees headlines
