Jacoby Ellsbury could miss the start of the season. (Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports)
New York Yankees center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury is questionable for the start of the regular season due to an oblique injury.
After an MRI exam Wednesday found a low-grade strain, the Yankees shut down Ellsbury from baseball activities for seven days. That would leave him a week and a half to get ready for Opening Day, April 6 against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays.
On Tuesday, manager Joe Girardi termed Ellsbury’s injury nothing to be worried about, but the MRI changed the team’s view.
Ellsbury, 28, is hitting .222 with one RBI in nine games this spring. Last year, his first season on a seven-year, $153 million deal with the Yankees, he batted .271 with a .328 on-base percentage, a .419 slugging percentage, 16 homers, 70 RBIs and 39 stolen bases in 149 games.
If Ellsbury is sidelined, Brett Gardner likely would slide from left field to center field, with Chris Young taking over in left.
