Latest Gio Urshela update is a breath of fresh air for Yankees after recent injury woes

Yankees fans are getting some good injury news. Are we dreaming?

When the New York Yankees announced Gio Urshela would be undergoing elbow surgery about eight weeks ago, fans threw their hands up in the air and thought, “Here we go again.”

The Bombers have been unable to avoid unsavory injury news for the better part of the last four years, so Urshela’s status for Opening Day being put in question right after a disappointing playoff exit hit hard. Why can’t we get one offseason without this nonsense?

But we’re here to provide you some hope. Manager Aaron Boone spoke to the media on Friday and talked about the slugger’s status in his recovery (he had a bone chip removed back on Dec. 4) and it sure sounds promising.

Urshela is already in Tampa at the Yankees’ facility getting back up to speed and should be ready for the start of the 2021 campaign.

Are we finally turning the corner? Can we go a full offseason without devastating news? Urshela being healthy for the start of the year is extremely important because the Yankees don’t want to be shuffling their infield early on. Establishing the status quo of Luke Voit at first, DJ LeMahieu at second, Gleyber Torres at shortstop and Urshela at third will be crucial for continuity purposes. Not to mention, we’d like arguably the MLB’s best infield to be ready to go from the jump.

Initially, there was concern about Urshela’s readiness when he underwent the procedure almost two months ago. It was another surgery that fans felt occurred a little bit too late in the offseason, putting his timetable way too close to Opening Day. And the fact that it was his throwing elbow didn’t help the pessimism.

But here we are! The Yankees are making impactful transactions and receiving positive injury updates (for the most part, because we’re still a bit concerned about Luis Severino and Aaron Hicks).

Fans know the team is in good hands if Urshela had to miss time because LeMahieu can shift over to third and Tyler Wade’s skilled glove will take over at second, but we’d rather Gio the God picking balls out of the dirt at the hot corner. Life is better that way, after all.

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