We may now finally have a concrete-ish timeline for Zack Britton’s return to the Yankees – and it’s roughly midseason.
WFAN’s Sweeny Murti Tweeted on Wednesday some text from Yankees team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad’s website, which explains the general timeline for pitchers returning from bone chip removal surgery.
In short, Ahmad’s program recommends resumption of throwing in six weeks “if range of motion and strength have fully returned.” Ahmad’s theory notes that six weeks of flat-ground throwing can “restore a position player to full team practice,” but pitchers then need to be progressed into mound-specific work, and return to competition is typically “three to four months.”
June 1 is 12 weeks from Tuesday, when Britton’s diagnosis was announced, so adding however many days it is until he undergoes surgery, it could be early-June at best when Britton returns to mound-specific work, and needs a second spring training to ramp up.
Ahmad notes that all timelines “are meant as a guide and individual players’ timelines may vary,” but considering that four months from Wednesday is July 11 (the final day before the All-Star break), it may be safe to say that Britton returning before the break would be “ahead of schedule.”
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