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New York Yankees News: Mark Teixeira Placed On 15-Day DL

By Kenneth Teape

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New York Yankees News: The Yankees were forced to place first baseman Mark Teixeira on the 15-day DL today as his shin injury is just not healing the way that they had hoped it would.

The New York Yankees were hoping to have Mark Teixeira back in the lineup already after he injured his shin August 17th against the Minnesota Twins. The recovery has been slow, but they have been trying to be patient with it. Well, they can no longer wait around for Teixeira to get healthy, as they placed their slugging first baseman on the 15-day DL today.

With the move being retroactive to August 27th, it means that he can return much sooner than if it was an assignment that started today, but that may not matter much. Teixeira is going to be on crutches for a few days and that will not change despite the retroactive date. In his place, the Yankees will be calling up Nick Rumbelow from Triple-A Scranton.

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This is an untimely injury for the Yankees and Teixeira to suffer, as they are trying to chase down the Toronto Blue Jays. The Yankees offense has been able to provide an outburst here and there without Teixeira in the lineup, but they do not perform as consistently as the Blue Jays, and not having their most dangerous power hitter in the middle of the lineup will not help that.

The Yankees are averaging 5.8 runs per game since Teixeira injured his shin in August 27th, which looks like a strong number. But, taking a deeper look, that is a number clearly buoyed by the 15 and 20 they scored in the series opener and finale against the Atlanta Braves, both games they followed up by scoring only three runs in the following contest. If you take those two games out, and not include the 13 run outburst in the series finale against the Boston Red Sox, the Yankees are averaging a paltry 3.3 runs per game.

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That kind of production from the lineup will not get it done when chasing the Blue Jays and their dominant offense. Scoring 3.3 runs per game the Yankees are putting a lot of pressure on a pitching staff that isn’t a pushover, but is far from dominant on an everyday basis.

The Yankees are currently trailing the Blue Jays by 1.5 games in the AL East, but hold a comfortable 5.5 game lead in the AL Wild Card race. They should be able to hold onto a playoff spot, but it will be difficult to catch the Blue Jays without consistent run production.

In his place, Gregory Bird will continue to man first base on a regular basis. The Yankees have decided to scrap the idea of using Alex Rodriguez at first, as he did not look comfortable over there. Brian McCann and Chase Headley have some experience playing first base as well, but for now, that is Bird’s job.

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