Latest on Jacoby Ellsbury and Starlin Castro Injuries

The New York Yankees received good news on two of their injured regulars, center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury and second baseman Starlin Castro, on Sunday.

Both Jacoby Ellsbury and Starlin Castro left the New York Yankees 6-5 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Saturday with injuries and were sent back to New York for further examination by the team’s medical staff. Each player underwent an MRI and met with New York’s head doctor, Christopher Ahmad.

The team released the results of the examination Sunday, and it is basically the best case scenario for both players. Starlin Castro was diagnosed with a Grade 1 hamstring strain and Jacoby Ellsbury was found to have a bone bruise on his right knee.

A Grade 1 strain is the least severe. It basically means that the hamstring is very tight, but there should be no long-term effects. Triple-A infielder Donovan Solano was called up Sunday afternoon to provide New York with some additional infield depth until Castro’s return.

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The 28-year-old Solano hit .319/.349/.436 in 546 plate appearances for the International League champion Scranton Wilkes-Barre Railriders and earned a place on the league’s All-Star team. It’s nice to see him get an unexpected big league nod as a reward for his strong campaign in the minors. He’s in the starting lineup for the fourth and final game of the Boston series.

A bone bruise for Ellsbury is not as bad as it could have been, but it is still worrying for the 33-year-old. The bone bruise Brett Gardner suffered in the second half of last season lingered into spring training this year. Some of them can take a long time to heal, and Ellsbury has a history of constantly dealing with these types of nagging ailments. A leg injury especially could have a big impact on his performance.

With Aaron Hicks and Aaron Judge also sidelined with injuries, the team’s outfield depth is getting a little thin. Mason Williams will get the start in center field in Ellsbury’s place Sunday night against the Sox.

The Yankees press release said both injured players would be treated in New York on Sunday and Monday before rejoining the team Tuesday in Tampa. That doesn’t necessarily mean they will return to action right away, but it does sound like neither player is done for the year.

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If you had asked me yesterday, I would have said that the chances of seeing either guy again this year were under 10%, so this is a bit of surprising good news for a club that really needs it at the moment.