Yankees: Jacoby Ellsbury plans on playing this year, probably

Prior to Friday’s game in Tampa, Jacoby Ellsbury dropped by the Yankee clubhouse to let it be known he still plans on playing this season. The Yankees then went out and lost 2-1 to the Rays.

Clubhouse chemistry is essential, especially for a Yankees roster that has an average age of 27.6 years old. As a measuring stick, only six teams in all of baseball are younger — the White Sox being the least experienced at 26.2 years.

With veteran leadership being paramount, especially during the dog days of summer leading up to the Postseason, would the Yanks welcome back 12-year veteran Jacoby Ellsbury if for nothing more than mentorship?

It remains to be seen when exactly Ellsbury will make his 2018 debut, if at all. As I wrote about at the beginning of June, the Yankees have a robust insurance policy on Ellsbury — meaning as long as he is “unable” to play due to injury, the more money the club collects to offset his $21.1 million salary this season.

Encompassing 12.60 percent of the entire team’s payroll, it’s hard to imagine a severely overpaid, under-utilized player taking up a vital 25-man roster spot. However, Ellsbury is getting checks one way or the other, and for now, continues to tell the world he intends to suit up in ’18, per NJ.com.

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"“I’m getting better,” he said. “I’m doing just exercises and treatment (and) ice, that sort of thing. Moving ahead in the right direction. I’m excited about it. Hopefully will be playing in some games in the near future.”"

With rehab games being next on the docket for the career .281 hitter, Ellsbury will need to prove he is free of his left hip ailment, a right oblique strain, plantar fasciitis in his right foot and pain in the sacroiliac joint in his back before the Yanks are to make another complicated roster move.

No one knows how long it will take the 34-year-old to get into game shape, but for now, the one place the Yanks do not lack in statistics or bodies is in the outfield.

Of course, injuries can always alter the plan. As it stands, it’s hard enough for 23-year-old Clint Frazier to find playing time in the Bronx, and his production in the minors is more than deserving of a full-time promotion.

The possibility does remain that the Yankees wait until September when the rosters expand to add Ellsbury to the fold. By that point in the season, playing time will be at a premium, especially if the Yanks are still running neck and neck with the Red Sox to win the division. So again, Ellsbury may become nothing more than a glorified pinch runner and late inning defensive replacement.

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For now, the simplest solution is to take a wait and see approach as manager Aaron Boone recently told NorthJersey.com.

"“He’s in some ways probably close to getting there, but he still has to clear some hurdles.” Boone added that it’s “a good bit down the road to be even considering’’ what role Ellsbury might play on his 2018 club.“So much can happen between now and then,’’ Boone said. It’s only after Ellsbury works up to the point of getting into minor league rehab games that “you start to consider where you’re at or what your needs are.’’"