The Yankees will start their regular season without one of their key arms in the bullpen. Zack Britton is scheduled to undergo arthroscopic surgery to remove a bone chip from his pitching elbow within the next several days.
The left-handed Britton is expected to return to New York this week (Wednesday). The procedure will be performed by team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, per the team’s announcement.
Britton, 33 years old, was sent for an MRI on Monday after experiencing soreness in his left elbow following his most recent bullpen session.
A 10-year big league veteran, Britton pitched to a 1.89 ERA in 20 appearances last season, finishing 10 games. The Yankees exercised his $14 million contract option in October.
“As far as timetables and stuff like that, we’ll have more in the coming day or two days,” manager Aaron Boone said after the Yankees’ 6-5 loss Exhibition loss to the Tigers at Publix Field.
Britton is expected to be shut down completely for six weeks, and he’s not likely to be back for another 3-4 months, per Andy Martino of the SNY Network.
Britton told The New York Post that he had COVID-19 in January and that it “hit me pretty good. I lost a good amount of weight.”
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