Yankees and Brandon Drury look to dodge injury bug

In sports, the one thing you can rarely control is an injury. Luckily, initial reports state that Yankees third baseman Brandon Drury escaped significant injury after getting plucked in the elbow with an 87-mph pitch.

As March 29 rapidly approaches, could the Yankees already be without the services of their starting third baseman, Brandon Drury?

Thankfully, as of right now, it appears that won’t be the case. After being hit square on the left elbow by Red Sox reliever Brian Johnson, Drury was in obvious pain. Although he stayed in the game long enough to go from first to third on Neil Walker’s double, Drury was then removed to ice the area.

Following the Yankees’ 5-0 loss, manager Aaron Boone gave up an update to the NY Daily News on the status of his 25-year-old infielder.

"“X-rays were negative, but there is definitely some swelling in there,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We have to see how he responds. He got a pretty good shot there.”"

Immediately, tentative plans began to be made as to whom would handle hot corner duties should Drury hit the shelf. Although Tyler Wade has all the ability to play third, with Ronald Torreyes on the 25-man roster and his 63 career games at the position, Toe would likely get the first shot.

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A literal painful start to his career in pinstripes, Drury’s first at-bat this spring as a member of the Yankees ended when he was hit in the hand. So it comes as no surprise that the former Diamondback will not only wear a protective arm guard, but he’ll also continue to take a page out of Giancarlo Stanton’s book and don an extended face protector on his helmet.

Better to be safe than sorry, I always say.

Following Aaron Boone’s announcement, Drury gave his own to the NY Daily News.

"“I’ll be ready Thursday for sure,” Brandon Drury said. “I couldn’t squeeze my hand at the time. I was just so numb so I needed to come in and get some ice on it.”"

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So for now, it looks like the Yanks dodged a major bullet. Although an extended disabled list stint could have resulted in Miguel Andujar getting the call from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, such a decision would have only convoluted essential roster decisions upon Drury’s return.