Yankees: Big surprise, Jacoby Ellsbury is still injured

In not so breaking news, it was reported on Wednesday that Yankees outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury would miss at least the first month of Spring Training as he deals with the continued effects of plantar fasciitis.

I have no doubt in my mind, had it not been for the lucrative insurance policy that the Yankees hold on Jacoby Ellsbury — that as long as he is unable to play due to injury, the team recoups $15.8 million on his $21.1 million salary per season — Ellsbury would have released this winter.

Although the 35-year-old outfielder missed the entire 2018 season because of a litany of injuries, he still counts for 10.93 percent of the Yankee payroll and is the third highest player on the club. Insurance policy or not, Ellsbury’s “dead money” directly influences the luxury tax.

While there was some recent speculation that the San Francisco Giants were interested in swapping bad contracts (Ellsbury for Johnn Cueto, who will likely miss the 2019 season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery), shedding Ellsbury always seemed like a pipe dream.

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Considering Ellsbury’s full no-trade clause and the financial workaround the two clubs would need to agree to since Cueto is owed $65.5M through 2021 proceeded by a $5M buyout, making a lateral move never made sense.

And so on Wednesday, manager Aaron Boone told the New York Post that Ellsbury will miss at least the first month of Spring Training, as he receives treatment in Arizona for plantar fasciitis.

Then it was Brian Cashman’s turn to address the never-ending Ellsbury saga.

"“It didn’t make sense for him to come out here at this point,’’ said Cashman, who added the plantar fasciitis popped up again “four or five weeks ago’’ after he began running on an anti-gravity machine.“Once he’s able to run and move forward from there, he’ll be here,’’ Cashman said."

I’m sorry, but the Yankees’ stance on Ellsbury is almost laughable at this point. First, there’s no room for him on the 25-man roster. With a crowded outfield that will make it hard enough for Clint Frazier to break into, Ellsbury last played 112 games in 2017 — so aside from a payroll standpoint, he doesn’t deserve a seat at the table that is the active roster (when and if he’s healthy enough actually to take the field).

Should the stars align and Ellsbury can make it to camp in March, as Boone suggested, the Yankees will be forced to make a difficult decision. Keep him up with the major league team and bump a promising talent like Frazier — or do like the Blue Jays did this offseason with Troy Tulowitzki — eat his remaining salary and send him on his way because the ends justify the means.

If the Yanks were able to push Alex Rodriguez out the door just four home runs shy of 700, and the Mets could convince David Wright to retire due to a chronic back injury, then the Yankees can do something similar with Ellsbury.