The Yankees should soon find out how long they will be without Tyler Austin, who is expected to have his appeal of the five-game suspension stemming from last week’s brawl at Fenway Park heard as soon as Thursday.
Austin has filled in well for Greg Bird at first while Bird rehabs after ankle surgery. Before his 0-for-4 on Tuesday, Austin had been 8-for-19 with three doubles in his previous five games.
The Yankees signed Adam Lind to a minor league deal on Wednesday, as insurance at first.
Lind was with the Yankees briefly during spring training and will report to the team’s player development complex in Tampa on Thursday for extended spring training, since he wasn’t picked up by another team after he was released by the Yankees on March 14.
The 34-year-old lefty hitter had an OPS of .875 in 314 plate appearances with the Nationals last season.
The Yankees may also turn to Neil Walker, who has so far struggled from both sides of the plate. Generally a better hitter as a lefty throughout his career (.796 OPS versus righties/.688 OPS vs. southpaws), Walker has been dreadful. He’s just 6-for-38 with no extra-base hits (.414 OPS) against right-handers and 3-for-14 with a double (.500 OPS) against lefties.
Walker still could be feeling the effect of not having a full spring training, since he didn’t sign with the Yankees until March 12.
CC Sabathia is scheduled to return to the mound Thursday after being shelved with a hip injury that landed him on the 10-day disabled list.
The lefty will be looking for a return to form after giving up three homers in four innings against the Orioles in The Bronx on April 6 before leaving with tightness in his hip.
The Yankees could use a solid start against the second-place Blue Jays. Sabathia pitched effectively for five innings in his first start of the year in Toronto, limiting the Blue Jays to two runs (one earned) in five innings.
Since pitching well as a group to start the season, the Yankees’ rotation has been inconsistent. After Masahiro Tanaka got pounded for seven runs (six earned) on Tuesday, Yankees’ starters had a combined ERA of 4.84. Just five teams in the AL entered Wednesday with a worse mark.
