Jacoby Ellsbury to miss six months after left hip surgery, Yankees say

CHICAGO – A 2018 season that never really got started for Jacoby Ellsbury officially came to an end Tuesday.

The Yankees announced that the 34-year-old outfielder, who missed most of spring training and began the season on the disabled list, would be sidelined for at least six months after having an operation on his left hip.

According to the Yankees, Ellsbury underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn labrum on Monday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan.

“We were trying to kind of exhaust every other way to try and get him back and get him right,” manager Aaron Boone said before the Yankees played the White Sox Tuesday night. “But finally they decided surgery was the best way to go.”

Ellsbury started the season on the disabled list with a right oblique strain. He then had a hip issue, a bout of plantar fasciitis and a problem with the sacroiliac joint in his back that required him to see a specialist.

“Ultimately, I think it all points back to the hip as far as creating the hamstring initially, the SI [sacroiliac joint dysfunction], all those things,” Boone said. “Now that we’re post-surgery, I think they feel like it all kind of traces back to the hip … Hopefully, this is something that gets him right. He can start back on the mend, and from what I understand it's a six-month recovering process, which would put him in line for spring training.”

    It seems difficult to envision a role with the Yankees for a healthy Ellsbury, who after this season still has two years left on the seven-year, $153-million contract he signed before the 2014 season. Boone wasn’t so quick to dismiss the possibility.

“Ultimately, you’re going to need a fourth outfielder or perhaps even a fifth outfielder, it depends who the fourth and fifth outfielders are,” Boone said. “It’s hard to speculate what our roster will look like in April of next year, when hopefully Jacoby will be a part of that.

"So, no, it’s not that hard for me to envision, if he’s starting somewhere in the outfield, or if he’s that extra outfielder. As long as he’s healthy, we know we still potentially have a really good player on our hands.”

Ellsbury had been confident he could contribute on the field this season. "Yeah, oh yeah,” he said June 22 after getting treatment at the Yankees’ minor-league complex. “That’s the plan.”

He reiterated as much July 23 but acknowledged the days were starting to come off the calendar. 

“You try to say that you’re hopeful,” Ellsbury said. “You come in, get your work in and do everything you can to play this season. I want to play. It’s tough watching the guys play on TV. I’m watching every night. You want to be a part of the mix. It’s a fun group. Team’s playing well and you want to be a part of that.”

Ellsbury hit .264 with a .348 on-base percentage with seven home runs and 39 RBIs in 112 games last season. He hit .263 with a .330 OBP with nine homers and 56 RBIs in 148 games in 2016.

On June 22, Ellsbury said he was “happy the team’s playing well,” but that it was rough watching the season unfold while rehabbing in Tampa.

“You want to be out there,” he said. “That’s all you can really say.”