FORT MYERS, Fla. — Jacoby Ellsbury arrived at Steinbrenner Field Thursday expecting to take batting practice. Instead, he had an MRI exam taken on his tight right calf.
“Everything is great,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “It came back negative.”
Everything is great except the $153 million outfielder can’t get back on the field. The manager said the injury-prone Ellsbury hasn’t completely gotten over the injury that has kept him out since he last played March 14.
“You know, I think he feels it a little bit,” Girardi said before the Yankees 3-2 win over the Red Sox at JetBlue Park. “That’s why we’re just being cautious. We want to make sure he’s healthy.”
Ellsbury, according to Girardi, did not suffer a setback.
“No, no, no,” Girardi said. “Our people just decided, ‘Let’s just be cautious and be sure.’ This was good news. We got good news today.”
Though Opening Day is less than two weeks away and Ellsbury has missed a week, Girardi said he expects him to be in the lineup in Houston.
“I’m very confident he’ll be ready April 1,” said Girardi, adding he wasn’t worried about playing Ellsbury on the artificial turf in Toronto the following series.
The same can’t be said of backup shortstop Brendan Ryan, who was scratched shortly before the game with upper back spasms that he said were unrelated to the lower back stiffness he has been out with. Ryan, who felt the spasms on a hard throw before the game, hasn’t played since March 4.
Ryan and Girardi said he might not have enough time to be ready for Houston, because he has just eight at-bats this spring.
“It’s in jeopardy,” said Girardi, who didn’t believe the injury was related to the lengthy bus ride to Fort Myers.
If Ryan can’t go, Girardi said two of the players vying for utility roles, Eduardo Nunez, Dean Anna and Yangervis Solarte might make the team.
But as much as the Yankees figure to need Ryan, a lengthy absence by Ellsbury would be particularly damaging.
Girardi said Ellsbury is still day-to-day, but the days are now piling up, and the center fielder has been vague about exactly what’s been wrong with the calf.
Girardi didn’t rule out Ellsbury returning sometime this weekend, though with the team back in Fort Myers to face the Twins Saturday, a Sunday return against Toronto in Tampa would seem more likely. Girardi also pointed to Tuesday’s home game versus the Phillies as a possibility.
Girardi also said he wasn’t interested in shutting Ellsbury down for a length of time to ensure the injury is completely behind him.
“No, we want to get him out there because we’ve got to get him ready for the season,” Girardi said.
Girardi also said he believes there is still time to spare to get Ellsbury going at the plate.
“I think if he gets three or four [games] in, he’ll be fine,” Girardi said. “We can always accelerate it by getting him one of the days in the minor leagues where you get seven or eight at-bats.”
In the meantime, Ichiro Suzuki played center Thursday, but Girardi said he could move Brett Gardner from left to center.
“I’m not anticipating that, but if I need to cross that bridge, I will,” Girardi said. “I know he’s very capable of doing that. I know [Alfonso] Soriano is capable of playing left and [Carlos] Beltran’s a right fielder. … There’s a lot of different things I could do. Our outfielders give us some flexibility.”