And Just Like That, Yankees Infield Is Less Crowded

Yankees manager Joe Girardi confirmed that Tyler Austin will miss the next six weeks with a broken bone in his left foot following an errant BP foul tip.

The rest of Spring Training. That’s how long it will take Tyler Austin to recover from a small fracture of the navicular bone in his left foot. In an effort to make the Yankees opening day roster, Austin toughed it out as long as he could, even taking batting practice on Thursday afternoon.

Although an initial X-ray showed nothing, Austin was unable to run since the incident first occurred earlier in the week. Girardi said Austin informed the team of the severity of the injury on Friday. Soon after, an MRI revealed the extent of the damage.

"“He was fighting for that first base spot and it’s unfortunate,” Girardi said. “A young man here trying to get better and facing live BP, and he hit a ball off his foot.”"

On Monday, it was reported that Austin was trying his hand at multiple positions, including third base (he played three games at third for Triple-A Scranton in 2016) first base, and both corner outfield positions.

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Austin recently told Mike Mazzeo of the New York Daily News:

"“I’m just going to come in and try to make the team any way I can. … I’ve been doing work at all four positions and I feel really good,” Austin said. “Once we get some game experience out there in left and third I’ll feel a lot better, but I feel pretty good.”"

The first notable injury of the spring certainly makes the recent signing of Chris Carter look that much smarter.

With Austin set to be in a walking boot for the next three weeks — having already been ruled out for an opening day roster spot, according to WFAN’s Sweeny Murti — Greg Bird, Carter and Matt Holliday are each expected to see time at first base the remainder of camp.

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Should Austin heal faster than usual, he’ll likely need to attend extended Spring Training and then a Minor League rehab stint before getting his crack back in the big leagues.