UPDATE: YES Network confirms that Jacoby Ellsbury will start his rehab assignment Monday, June 29.
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The New York Yankees could soon get back a huge piece of their offense and defense as they see about sending center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury on a Minor League rehab assignment within the next few days. MLB.com's Bryan Hoch reports that Ellsbury has worked out with the Yankees in Houston over the weekend, and if the evaluation that follows shows that he is ready, the center fielder could begin his assignment at some point this coming week.
Hoch quoted Yankees manager Joe Girardi Saturday discussing the two-day workout and its importance in determining when Ellsbury could advance in his rehab. Said Girardi Saturday,
"The next two days are kind of important. If we can get through these couple of days where he does well, we could really start to talk about a rehab assignment. Then you're talking about him getting pretty close. The next two days are important, the running and being able to go 100 percent."
In addition, before Saturday's game, YES Network's Meredith Marakovitz also discussed the workout and its implications on Ellsbury's progress.
During Sunday afternoon's broadcast between the Yankees and the Houston Astros, Marakovitz added that Ellsbury will head to Yankees' training complex in Tampa Monday, saying, "The Yankees anticipate he'll be playing in some rehab games this week," which verifies the earlier reports.
It is still unclear how many rehab games Ellsbury would need before getting back into the Yankees' lineup, but the sooner the better for the entire team. Girardi said that Ellsbury may not need many at bats, but it depends mainly on how Ellsbury feels physically. Girardi added,
"We'll evaluate that. It's really hard to tell. You've got to really know how a guy is feeling. If he feels good at the plate, sometimes they don't need many. If they don't feel good they may need a few more. I don't ever put a number on it. I think the important thing is, once he plays, how does he feel the next day? That's the important thing for me."
Ellsbury is on the disabled list with a strained right knee. He last played on May 19 and strained the lateral collateral ligament in that knee. He was hitting .324/.412/.372 with 1 HR, 6 RBI, 14 SB, and 29 R in 37 games as the Yankees' primary lead-off hitter. He was among the league leaders in average, on-base percentage, stolen bases, and runs scored at the time of his injury.
In his absence, the Yankees have used Brett Gardner, Chris Young, Mason Williams, and Slade Heathcott in center field with Gardner leading off most games. Williams (jammed shoulder) and Heathcott (right quad strain) are both injured as well.