Tyler Austin will miss most of spring training with the Yankees after fracturing his foot during batting practice yesterday, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
The 25-year old made quite the entrance for his debut, hitting a home run the first time he saw a major league mound. After that, Austin showed he had the makings of a power hitter, slugging .241/.300/.458 in 90 plate appearances. But his growing pains were apparent in his 36 strikeouts during that same time period.
Austin was billed as the Yankees backup for Greg Bird at first base or Aaron Judge in right field and could work as the ultimate utility player. The Yankees are starving for some kind of fluid versatility in their lineup, and if Austin could keep his strikeouts down he was in the position to add that. However, now after sustaining this injury it is unlikely that he’ll make the 25-man roster.
Earlier this year the Yankees signed 1B/DH Chris Carter to a one year, $3.5M deal that looked like a total bargain for New York. Now with Austin’s injury, that bargain looks has become an absolute and total steal. The veteran slugger from the Brewers was tied in the National League last year for most home runs with 41. He’ll be under control of Bronx Bombers for the next two seasons, which if he performs at the same standard this year, is bad news for Austin.