The New York Yankees are slowly backsliding and might get beat to the top spot of the AL East. Aaron Boone’s squad is now just one game ahead of the Baltimore Orioles and has only won five out of their last 10 matchups. Despite big performances from Aaron Judge, they still need some more juice and help such that they create separation during these series against the Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals. Now would be the perfect time for Anthony Rizzo and Luis Gil to come back, wouldn’t it?
Well, it looks like Aaron Boone and the Yankees faithful might get their wishes fulfilled. Anthony Rizzo has been out since their 8-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox on June 16. Aaron Boone and the rest of the staff have been erring on the side of caution because the first baseman has been suffering from a right arm fracture.
Since then, he has been recovering and had a stint with Double-A Somerset. He will likely be having his return to the Yankees in the middle of their series with the Cardinals. His injury return timetable is set for August 31 or September 1, per MLB.com.
Yankees’ injury return timetable for Luis Gil
It is not only Anthony Rizzo that got a positive update. Aaron Boone’s Yankees are also set to have Luis Gil back in the middle of their series against the Cardinals. The right-handed pitcher got his start against the Cleveland Guardians cut short after his lower back started acting up. After that, he was placed on the 15-day injured list to recover from a tough lower back strain.
The Aaron Judge-led Yankees are expected to have Gil back no later than September 5th.
“It’s minor, just some lower back soreness. I think he feels better even already today. The hope is that he’ll be able to stay pretty active through this stint and hopefully be back pitching right around September 5. Hopefully, in the grand scheme of things, it serves as something that helps preserve him a little bit and saves some stuff for him down the stretch, too. We don’t expect it to be long,” the Yankees manager declared.
The last few games are going to be very crucial for the Yankees. It will determine if they win the AL East convincingly over the Orioles. If not, it could be a bad omen for the squad entering the postseason. Hopefully, it all works out.