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The Yankees sent the southpaw Zack Britton for an MRI yesterday after having felt discomfort in the left elbow following an enclosure session, director Aaron Boone revealed to journalists this morning (Twitter link via ESPN’s Marly Rivera). Britton finished his throwing session as usual, but he started to experience elbow pain later in the day and was sent for imaging. The results are expected today.
Boone declined to speculate on a timeline, simply acknowledging that, given the uncertainty, it is of course possible that Britton might not be ready for opening day. He indicated that the problem would not be related to Britton’s ulnar collateral ligament at this point (via James Wagner of the New York Times). Boone also noted that Britton had been delayed in preparing for camp after contracting Covid-19 in the past two months. Britton himself recently informed Dan Martin of the New York Post about it, saying the virus “hit me pretty well” in late January and caused him to lose a substantial amount of weight. The left-hander has yet to appear in a Spring Training game.
Britton, 33, was exceptional for the Yankees in 2020, holding opponents to just four earned runs on a dozen hits and seven goals with 16 strikeouts in 19 innings of relief. His power ballast again resulted in an elite ground ball rate (71.7%), as has become routine for the All-Star doubles. He then allowed a pair of points in 5 1/3 frames in the playoffs.
The performance led the Yankees to exercise a $ 13 million club option on Britton for the 2022 season at the end of the 2020 campaign. As part of his three-year contract, which covers the 2019-21 seasons, the The Yankees had to choose that 2022 option a year earlier or risk Britton opting out of the contract’s third guaranteed year (2021). He is now locked up as a Yankee until the end of his 34-year-old season.
Whether Britton is forced to run out of time or not, the Yankees still plan to have a solid bullpen in 2021. New York has traded Adam ottavino to the Red Sox a few months ago, but reallocated much of the cost savings from that deal to low-cost signings of Darren O’Day and Justin wilson. This pair of veterans will join Aroldis Chapman, Chad green and ideally, Britton, by forming a strong group of veterans to anchor the relief corps.
Luis Cessa, Jonathan loaisiga, Brooks kriske and Nick nelson are among the other reliever box contenders on the 40-man roster, and the Yankees have also recruited veterans Kyle barraclough, Adam warren, Tyler lyons and Nick goody on minor league pacts. Of course, selecting one of these unlisted veterans for contract would have some luxury tax implications. The Yankees have worked hard to stay south of the $ 210 million threshold and are currently about $ 3.5 million below that point, according to Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez.
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