BOSTON -- Just as the New York Yankees were beginning to dig themselves out of the barrage of injuries they have endured this season, they suffered yet another blow, with outfielder Mike Tauchman being diagnosed with a Grade 2 calf strain with which he'll miss the rest of the season.
Tauchman left Sunday night's game at the bottom of the fourth inning with what the Yankees called "calf tightness" and traveled to New York to undergo an MRI, after which he was diagnosed with the strain, which will require between four and six weeks to heal, effectively ending his season.
The team has been affected by a myriad of injuries all season.
"I hurt for him," manager Aaron Boone said Monday before the Yankees' 5-0 win over the Boston Red Sox. "Obviously he's been such an important player for us. I'm trying to support him and I look forward to seeing him when he does get back with us. I know he's a big part of us moving forward even though obviously it's not going to be on the playing field for a while. Right now I'm just bummed out for him, but we've got to keep moving."
Tauchman, 28, became the second Yankees outfielder out for the season, joining Aaron Hicks, who has had several setbacks on his rehab from a flexor strain near his right elbow, and who Boone said will probably not have enough time to go get healthy before the end of the season. Before heading to New York, Tauchman, who was hitting .315 (46-for-146) since the All-Star break, called his injury "incredibly disheartening.''
Boone said that even though losing Tauchman is a blow for the Yankees, the team has enough options in his absence to finish out the season without putting more pressure on the possible return of Giancarlo Stanton, whom Boone expects to rejoin the team during its next homestand.
"With our roster now and how we're built up, in the short term, we're very much covered between [Cameron] Maybin, between Tyler Wade being able to go out there. Breyvic Valera can go out there and play," Boone said. "It doesn't speed [Stanton] up. When Giancarlo is ready, he'll be here. We believe that's getting close but we won't speed that up as a result of this."
According to Boone, Stanton has been ramping up his rehab and is now expected to rejoin the team for its final homestand of the regular season, which starts Sept. 17.
"I did hear that [Stanton] hit and everything went well and he's continuing to do well and things are moving as we hope," Boone said. "He's ramping up pretty good and he's getting close to where it's full baserunning. He's doing his full defense already. We're going to have him slide and kind of do everything, and hopefully he'll be back in the mix with us sometime in the next week."