TAMPA, Fla. _ Shortstop Didi Gregorius will miss at least the first month of the season with a shoulder injury suffered playing second base for the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic, Yankees manager Joe Girardi announced on Tuesday.
The Yankees have been bracing for bad news about Gregorius ever since Sunday, when they learned about the injury to Gregorius' throwing shoulder. Gregorius returned to the Yankees on Monday and underwent tests on Tuesday, including a dye-contrast MRI. The tests confirmed a strain of the subscapularis, a large triangular muscle in the shoulder.
Gregorius will be shut down completely for two weeks before beginning a throwing program. The Yankees open the season on April 2 at Tampa Bay.
General manager Brian Cashman mentioned five players as possible fill-ins while Gregorius is out: utility man Ronald Torreyes, who started Tuesday night's exhibition game against the Red Sox; non-roster players Ruben Tejada and Pete Kozma; prospect Tyler Wade, who has never played above Double A; and second baseman Starlin Castro, who could slide over to his original position. But that would create an opening at second.
Cashman ruled out super prospect Gleyber Torres, who is batting .464 in spring training but has never played above Class A.
Cashman said he hoped Gregorius would return in six weeks, but added that was just a "guesstimate" based on what the doctors told him.
