Yankees: Jacoby Ellsbury likely to start the season on DL

Yankees outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury has been dealing with a strained oblique muscle and yesterday manager Aaron Boone announced it would likely force him to start the season on the DL.

Ellsbury has been sidelined since suffering the injury all the way back on March 2nd. The Yankees say the strain has healed, but he’s way behind the eight ball in his preparation for the season.

Here’s Boone on his status for Opening Day, per Erik Boland of Newsday.

“I don’t think so at this point. It’s just going to be too hard to get him into enough games, get him enough at-bats,” Boone said. “We haven’t totally closed the door on that yet, but I would say it’s very unlikely.”

What a shocker. Another year another injury for Ellsbury. Since coming to the Bronx in 2014 the oft-injured center fielder has struggled to stay on the field and that’s been the case for most of his big league career. Ellsbury hasn’t been a terrible player during his time with the Yankees, but he certainly hasn’t been good. He’s looked like a shell of the player he was in Boston and is clearly on the decline in year four of his seven-year deal with the Yanks.

After losing his starting job to Aaron Hicks a season ago Ellsbury wasn’t expected to have much of a role on this year’s squad. However, he still leaves a coveted roster spot that needs to be filled before the opener in nine days. Who will take his place remains to be seen, but the Yankees have some nice options because of the depth they possess throughout the organization.

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Ideally, young outfielder Clint Frazier would have been the man to step in but he’s also been sidelined for most of the spring after suffering a concussion. The timetable for his return is even more unknown than Ellsbury’s at this point. Billy McKinney and Tyler Austin are also options, but according to Boone he and his staff are considering giving it to a pitcher.

Regardless of who gets the final roster spot, this is just another reminder that Ellsbury’s contract may be the worst deal in Yankees history. It’s management’s fault for giving him such a lucrative deal, but he hasn’t done anything to justify it during his time in pinstripes.

Fluke injuries in 2015 and 2017 haven’t helped his cause, but even when he’s been healthy he hasn’t been the impact player the Yankees were expecting when they signed him to a $153 million deal.

Next: Who will win the starting second base job?

When Ellsbury returns he’ll reclaim his spot on the team but it won’t be as the starting center fielder. Those days are over. Instead, he’ll just be the most expensive fourth outfielder in baseball history.