Yankees to re-evaluate Aroldis Chapman in two weeks
BALTIMORE -- New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman was administered a plasma-rich platelet injection Friday during evaluations for a knee injury that has bugged him much of the season, manager Aaron Boone said.
The manager said Chapman will be re-evaluated further in two weeks. At some point next week, Boone believed Chapman might resume playing catch and slowly returning to baseball activities.
"We're optimistic he'll return in an impactful way this season at some point," Boone said. "Hopefully this little timeout is something that can help freshen him up and get him back rolling for us before the end of the season."
Chapman, who has had left knee tendinitis since May, was evaluated in New York. This came after he went on the 10-day disabled list following his early departure from Tuesday night's game at the Miami Marlins.
The left-handed flamethrower made only six pitches in a 12th-inning relief appearance before motioning to New York's dugout and asking for the trainer. Although he had been able to pitch through the injury for most of the season, the pain had become too unbearable to continue.
Boone said Chapman's doctors visit went OK. Nothing new presented itself in the evaluations.
"It's everything we kind of thought it was from a tendinitis standpoint," Boone said.
In other Yankees injury news, Boone said catcher Gary Sanchez (groin) will play Saturday in his first rehab game in the Gulf Coast League. He will serve as a designated hitter.
Next week, while the Yankees are in New York, Sanchez will play with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. It's possible, Boone said, that Sanchez will be back with the big league club the week after, when the Yankees go on a pivotal three-city road trip to Oakland, Seattle and Minnesota.
Power hitter Aaron Judge (right wrist chip fracture) still has not swung a bat but continues working on his conditioning, while shortstop Didi Gregorius (bruised left heel) threw Friday as he progresses through his DL stint, which he hopes will end around the conclusion of that 10-day period.
"It's way better than it's supposed to be. So that's a good step. A good step forward," Gregorius said. Thanks to much reduced swelling, Boone said trainers were "encouraged" with the progress Gregorius' heel has made.
"So optimistic that'll be a shorter [DL] thing," Boone said. "But feel like, get through this weekend, we'll get back to our place where he's able to start doing stuff, and then we'll be able to make a good evaluation as far as the timeline."
