Yankees’ Gregorius could miss opener
Bruised shoulder to keep shortstop ‘sidelined for a bit.’
New York Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius has a bruised right shoulder, ending his time at the World Baseball Classic and leaving his status for opening day in doubt.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi didn’t put a timetable on a return, only saying, “He’s going to be sidelined for a bit.” The Yankees start the regular season April 2 at Tampa Bay.
It is not certain how or when Gregorius got hurt while helping the Netherlands reach the semifinals of the WBC. He hit .348, driving in eight runs and scoring five in the tournament.
Gregorius had an MRI in Los Angeles on Sunday. He was returning to the Yankees’ spring training complex in Tampa and will be re-evaluated by team doctors.
Gregorius is among a handful of major leaguers to leave their WBC team because of injuries.
Miami third baseman Martin Prado strained his hamstring while playing for Venezuela and returned to the Marlins over the weekend. All-Star catcher Salvador Perez of the Royals injured his knee in a home plate collision and also left the Venezuelan team.
The Yankees have backup shortstops Ronald Torreyes and Ruben Tejada in camp, along with utilityman Tyler Wade and top prospect Gleyber Torres.
Gregorius, 27, hit .276 with 20 home runs and 70 RBIs last season.
Mets: Tim Tebow’s next team on his baseball journey will be Columbia Fireflies. The former two-time Heisman Trophy winner and NFL quarterback will start the regular season with the Mets’ Single-A club in South Carolina. Tebow, 29, is hitting .235 with four hits in 17 at-bats for the Mets in spring training. The outfielder will wear his football number, No. 15, with the Fireflies.
Rays: Center fielder Kevin Kiermaier finalized a six-year, $53.6 million contract extension that keeps him with the team through 2022. The twotime AL Gold Glove winner avoided salary arbitration in January when he agreed to a one-year contract that would pay him $2.975 million for the upcoming season.
Kiermaier, 26, made $514,400 last season while batting .246 with 12 homers, 37 RBIs and career-best 21 steals in 105 games.
Royals: Nathan Karns, acquired Jan. 6 from Seattle for outfielder Jarrod Dyson, beat out Chris Young and Travis Wood for the fifth spot in the rotation.
Reds: Newcomer Scott Feldman will start on opening day against the Phillies on April 3. It’ll be the third opening-day start for the 33-year-old right-hander, who also opened seasons for Texas in 2010 and Houston in 2014.
Phillies: Right-hander Jeremy Hellickson will become the first Phillies pitcher to start consecutive opening days since Roy Halladay started three in a row from 2010-12 when Philadelphia opens its season at Cincinnati on April 3.
Blue Jays: Josh Donaldson made his spring training debut, going 0 for 2 with a walk in his first game since injuring his right calf more than a month ago. The 2015 AL MVP was the designated hitter, and is scheduled to play at his normal third base position Wednesday. “It was nice to get on the field and run a little bit,” Donaldson said. “As far as how my calf is feeling right now, it feels normal. That’s what we want.”
Second baseman Devon Travis, who had surgery on his right knee in the offseason and is slowed by a bone bruise, played defense for the first time in a minor league game. He could rejoin the Blue Jays for Friday’s game with Boston.