New York Yankees provide updates on injured stars

Yesterday, it was announced that inflammation of the wrist was keeping first baseman Mark Teixeira out of the New York Yankees lineup. He missed the entire St. Louis series, but is being labeled as day-to-day moving forward.

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That wording usually means a player will avoid a trip to the disabled list and should be back in the lineup shortly. However, with Teixeira that is no sure thing. He has been battling with this wrist for two years now and the Yankees cannot feel good about this diagnosis no matter how minor it may appear.

In his stead, the Yankees have been using Kelly Johnson in the everyday lineup — even if Johnson isn’t always being slotted in at first base.

While Johnson is a versatile glove, he is not hitting nearly as well as Tex was before this latest setback. Johnson went 2-for-4 in last night’s game, raising his season average to a robust .207.

Teixeira was actually off to a tremendous start to the season, something not normally (or ever) said about the veteran. The unfortunate thing here is Tex’s absence coincides with outfielder Carlos Beltran being on the disabled list, shortening an already shallow Yankee bench.

Ichiro has been playing more with Beltran being out, though it looks like Beltran is making progress and trying to return from an injured elbow that still may or may not require surgery.

Beltran took swings from both sides of the plate at the Yankee Stadium batting cage and will do so again tomorrow. No discomfort was felt today. If he is pain-free again tomorrow, his return to the lineup could come earlier than anticipated.