Top Yanks prospect was shot, on mend

TAMPA — One of the Yankees’ top prospects, Thairo Estrada, was shot in his right hip late last month in his native Venezuela. Although Estrada remains sidelined, Aaron Boone believes the infielder will be available for the “bulk of the season.”

Estrada said he was approached by two people while ordering food in his hometown of Bejuma. The pair, who Estrada said appeared to be 15 or 16 years old, demanded cash and his cellphone, but he had neither, and he was then shot in his right hip. His wife, who was with him, was unharmed in the incident.

After initially not realizing he had been shot, Estrada noticed the wound and went to the hospital, where he remained for three days. The bullet remains lodged in his hip, but he does not expect it to affect him.

At first, he feared his career might be over.

“Of course it’s something I thought about,” Estrada said through an interpreter. “But I think I can come back to being 100 percent.”

Estrada spent last season with Double-A Trenton and then played in the Arizona Fall League, emerging as an integral part of the team’s youth movement.

For now, his path to the majors appears to be blocked by Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar, but general manager Brian Cashman mentioned Estrada — who turns 22 this week — as a possible replacement for Starlin Castro or Chase Headley.

That time frame has been slowed by the injury. Estrada has been able to do upper body work and hopes to be on a stationary bike next week.

Whether he’s ready to play by Opening Day remains to be seen.

“We’re just really thankful he’s OK,” Boone said. “He’s one of those infielders we’re really excited about and nothing changes this year, I don’t think, for him.”

Estrada noted one of the reasons he was shot was, like many people in Venezuela, he doesn’t often carry cash because of the political and economic turmoil engulfing the country.

He added that he has thought of relocating to the U.S.

“The situation there is not very safe,’’ Estrada said of Venezuela, which is also home to Torres. “As baseball players, it makes you think about going back anymore.”