Yankees fortunate for Didi Gregorius’ speedy recovery

Just four days after injuring his right wrist and endangering the rest of his season, Didi Gregorius is already making tremendous strides toward returning.

New York Yankees fans can breathe a huge sigh of relief. After tearing cartilage in his right wrist Saturday night, shortstop Didi Gregorius has already been cleared to resume baseball activities, manager Aaron Boone confirmed Wednesday on “The Michael Kay Show.”

After an initially bleak outlook blindsided Yankees fans, Gregorius’ recovery has accelerated beyond even the most optimistic projection.

Gregorius scored the walk-off run in the Yankees’ playoff-clinching win over the Baltimore Orioles Saturday night, sliding headfirst into home plate. He apparently got his right wrist caught underneath his body as he reached for the plate with his left hand.

Feeling the adrenaline of a walk-off win compounded with the exhilaration of clinching a playoff spot, Gregorius didn’t know anything was wrong until Sunday morning.

He was held out of the lineup on Sunday, and Boone broke the news to reporters after the game, a loss to the Orioles. Boone told the media that there was a reasonable chance that Gregorius didn’t return for the rest of the regular season or the playoffs.

Yankees fans went into a panicked frenzy, as the news was not preceded by any sort of indication that anything serious was wrong with Gregorius, a fan favorite in the Bronx.

They prepared for life without Didi for the forseable future, toying with infield combinations that didn’t include the 28-year-old shortstop.

But, it looks like Gregorius will begin swinging the bat again much sooner than anyone anticipated. Boone said Wednesday that the shortstop could return to the lineup by the weekend.

The quick recovery comes as a much-needed lucky bounce for the Yankees, who have seen just about every main contributor spend some amount of time on the disabled list this season. They’ve been on a miniature hot streak over the last week, winning six of their last eight ballgames.

Things just might be starting to go their way.

Now would be a great time for that to happen, because the Oakland A’s have been the hottest team in baseball for a few months now. And they’re ready and waiting to pounce in the Wild Card game, a week from tonight.