Injured slugger Hideki Matsui is back with the New York Yankees and is likely to be activated Tuesday, when the club begins a six-game trip at Toronto.Matsui had 15 at-bats during a simulated game at the Yankees' spring training complex in Tampa, Fla. on Sunday, facing left- and right-handed pitching. Manager Joe Girardi said the balky left knee that has derailed the rehab process several times seems to be holding up.
"Every time he would get to bat, it would just blow up, but it hasn't this time," Girardi said. "So far the knee is good and we'll make a decision tomorrow," when the team has a day off.
"I'm very happy, definitely happy, and the only thing left is do whatever I can to help the team," Matsui said through a translator after his simulated game on Sunday. "I'll just have to try and see what happens, but I'm sure I'll be able to help the team."If he can hit like he had before the injury, his bat will be a great addition to the lineup. His clutch hitting will also be a huge boost. He's hitting .424 in late & close situations, .338 with RISP, and .364 in high leverage situations.
When he returns Matsui will be limited to DH.
The only problem I see is that this will create a logjam with the corner outfield positions and DH with Matsui, Damon, Abreu and Nady all fighting for playing time. But there are certainly worse problems a team can have.
2 Comments:
Forget those guys. Give me Gardner and Christian to start so we have speed. Blazing speed.
I definitely think they should start Gardner everyday, but I think Christian will be sent down if/when Matsui is activated.
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