Yankees reliever Zack Britton left his second rehab outing early on Saturday with an injury – not to his arm, but to his backside.
Britton, who was making his second rehab outing for Class-A Tampa on Saturday, threw 10 pitches over two-thirds of an inning, but as he wound up for No. 11, he stopped his motion, spiked the ball in disgust, and then kicked it as he left the mound with team trainers.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone then revealed after his team’s late-night loss to Oakland that Britton departed due to a glute issue, and thankfully not a setback with the left arm that underwent Tommy John surgery just under a year ago.
Britton also responded to a Tweet about his condition by saying, “I just know how things can get blown out of proportion. I’m good. Arm feels great.” He also reportedly put the onus on the heat and humidity in Florida for the cramp in a message to the New York Post.
Britton faced four batters in the sixth inning of Tampa’s win over Clearwater, allowing a run on two hits and getting a double play before departing while facing Justin Crawford, who later grounded out against Harold Cortijo.
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It is believed the glute issue was just a leg cramp, and while it hopefully won’t sideline him long if at all, it is still setback that could affect the Yankees’ September bullpen plans. The team revealed Thursday that after Britton’s first rehab outing Wednesday night, they wanted him to make “seven or eight more” outings before a return, which is likely on course for a mid-September return.
The Yankees’ MLB bullpen was dealt another blow Saturday when Aroldis Chapman went on the 15-day IL with a leg infection due to a recent tattoo, although the team did not make an immediate replacement move, as they expect to activate Clay Holmes on Monday as soon as he is eligible.
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