A DL Trip Might Be the Best Thing for Mark Teixeira

The neck spasms that temporarily sidelined first baseman Mark Teixeira have flared up once again, leaving him day to day. Texeira sat out Wednesday night’s game when the discomfort became too much to play through, and an MRI revealed severe inflammation of the joints.

While answering questions from reporters Thursday, Tex was visibly uncomfortable and with little range of motion in his neck. He told Laura Albanese of Newsday, “I never got 100 percent, but it was feeling pretty good and it just kind of flared up a little bit on me,I just can’t move it and it’s painful. There’s no other way to describe it, really.”

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This lingering issue has almost certainly played a role in Teixeira’s struggles this month. He has a .181/.306/.250 line over the course of May, and really hasn’t looked comfortable at the plate all year. The Yankees have been hesitant to put their regulars on the DL in 2016, attempting to get by shorthanded while crossing their fingers for a quick recovery. Considering the extent of Teixeira’s slump this season, the team should probably consider giving him two weeks to recover both physically and mentally. At 36-years-old with a history of chronic ailments, this issue could continue to sap Teixeira’s production for the entire season if it isn’t properly rehabbed. He certainly isn’t helping the team at the moment in the condition he is in.

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For the moment, Teixeira reportedly received a more aggressive cortisone treatment than the one from two weeks previous. The hope is that will reduce the inflammation enough for him to rejoin the lineup in two to three days. When asked how long he would be out, he told reporters, “Let’s hope not too long. It’s going to be a couple days and let the medicine work and let everything get a little bit better.”

Teixeira’s replacement at first, Dustin Ackley, has also had a rough start to his 2016 season, hitting .154/.262/.154, although his playing time has been sporadic. Nick Swisher remains in Triple-A, although he has tailed off considerably after a hot start with Scranton. Rob Refsnyder is always an option, but I wouldn’t hold my breath with zero professional reps at first base. The team’s lack of depth at first is an obstacle to putting Teixeira on the DL, but the prospect of getting a healthy Tex back in two weeks is preferable to watching him struggle to stay healthy for the remainder of his curtain call with the Yankees.