Zack Britton was involved in the least-publicized of the Yankees’ three transactions on Sunday, getting placed officially on the 60-day injured list to open up a roster spot needed after the three-for-two trade that brought Josh Donaldson, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Ben Rortvedt to the Bronx in exchange for Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela.
He was sad to see his former teammates go, but understands the nature of the game.
“I woke up to the news…first and foremost, it’s a fresh start for Gary, and hopefully he can perform the way he wants to perform,” Britton said. “He and Gio have been great teammates and I wish them the best. Sad to see them go, but hopefully they find a lot of success in Minnesota, and I’m excited to add a couple of guys who can plug some holes for us and make our team better.”
Britton, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery this past winter, is also someone whose Yankees future is cloudy; this is the final year of his three-year deal, and it’s unclear if he’ll be able to get back on a mound this season.
As Yankees camp opened, he told the media his recovery is going well, and he remains hopeful he hasn’t thrown his final pitch in pinstripes.
“When I had the surgery, there was definitely the possibility of me pitching again this year,” Britton said, “and if everything goes as planned, hopefully that’s in the cards for me.”
Britton is already throwing after having the surgery in September, about a month into his program of throwing on flat ground. The rehab timeline for relievers is usually shorter than the 12-16 months starters undergo when they have Tommy John, and as he is already about halfway through the lower end of that spectrum, a return late in the season isn’t infeasible.
The fact that there was no communication between teams and players for 100 days could have been a hindrance to that, but as Britton told Lindsey Adler of The Athletic last week, he was in communication with the team as soon as the lockout ended.
“I talked to Aaron Boone to kind of just touch base because you know, there hasn’t been direct communication there since November. I just wanted to fill them in on where I’m at physically even though my physical therapist here in Texas has been in contact with the Yankees as a middle person,” Britton told Adler. “They have had all of my rehab notes and charts, and Matt Blake and Mike Harkey also sent texts to all of the pitchers just to say that we’ll all catch up in Tampa.”
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch