WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – So much for the Yankees’ perfect spring.
Didi Gregorius, their starting shortstop, is shut down with a shoulder injury he incurred playing for the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic. He is on his way back to Tampa from Los Angeles and will undergo further tests.
Looks like Tyler Wade could be the Opening Day shortstop.
Joe Girardi dropped the news Monday morning at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches before the Yankees played the Nationals.
“He had stiffness in his arm, so we had an MRI out in LA,’’ Girardi said. “He has a hematoma of his subscapularis muscle. Because we haven’t seen him, we don’t know exactly what it means. He is going to have more tests [Tuesday]. He’s flying back [Monday].’’
The subscapularis is the strongest of the four rotator cuff muscles.
“They had speculated that it was a lat strain, but it wasn’t a lat,’’ general manager Brian Cashman said. “We’ll do further testing to see what we are dealing with. I’ll wait to determine what we are dealing with.’’
Gregorius, 27, hit .276/.304/.447 with 20 home runs and 70 RBIs in 2016 in a breakout second season with the Yankees.
“That’s a big loss,’’ Girardi said. “We saw the strides he took last year. That’s a big loss. We’ll know a lot more [Tuesday].’’
The Yankees lost Mark Teixeira to a severe wrist injury during the WBC in 2013. The Netherlands, minus Gregorius, will play Puerto Rico on Monday night at Dodger Stadium.
“I talked to him Sunday morning, and knew he was going to get an MRI,’’ Girardi said. “We’ll keep our fingers crossed. He hasn’t been in our company for three weeks.’’
The backup shortstop is Ronald Torreyes, and he could find himself starting if Gregorius can’t go and the Yankees opt not to go with a youngster.
At this point, the Yankees still are expecting shortstop phenom Gleyber Torres to start the season in the minor leagues, but that could change. Wade, 22, spent last season at Double-A.
“I’ll look at anybody,’’ Girardi said.
Girardi added the best-case scenario is for Gregorius to be back Opening Day, but keep in mind when Teixeira was hurt in the 2013 WBC, the initial reports said he would be out two weeks. He played 15 games that season.
