Cervelli Suffers A Setback In Rehab

Francisco Cervelli was hoping to return to the Yankees sometime after the All-Star break, but now we won't see the Yankees Opening Day catcher back in the Bronx until at least August.

Cervelli has suffered a setback in his rehab, after it was announced the he has a “stress reaction” in his right elbow, according to manager Joe Girardi. “It’s not what we want,” Girardi said. “But we're dealing with it.”

An MRI revealed on Wednesday that there was a stress fracture in this elbow, and the Yankee medical staff told Girardi that it's related to his original injury. A stress reaction is the precursor to a stress fracture, and a sign of fatigue in the bones.

“They talked about it being an old injury,” Girardi said. “For whatever reason, it reared its ugly head. You don’t know if because of the broken hand, maybe he was throwing a little bit different, or what it is.”

Cervelli had the pins removed from his right hand just a couple weeks ago, and he had been taking batting practice and catching simulated games.

He's only played in 17 games for the Yankees this season since taking a foul tip off his hand in late April, batting .269 with three homers and eight RBIs. In his place, Chris Stewart has been slotted into the starting catcher role, with the struggling Austin Romine playing backup.

"They've done a pretty good job," Girardi said. "We talk about the first thing is handling our staff, and I think they've done a pretty good job handling our staff. We'll just keep going with the guys that we have."

This type of injury is nothing new to the Yankees this season, though it's in a different body part, as a stress fracture is the same thing that popped up in Jeter's ankle during spring training and has kept him off the field since then.

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