Chris

Gittens

The 30-year-old first baseman recently underwent knee surgery after he injured himself on the first swing he took during Grapefruit League play. He’ll start his 2024 season at Triple-A Sugar Land.

Hard hittin’ Gittens is back stateside following a two-year odyssey overseas with the Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. The 29-year-old slugger got a chance back in 2021 for the Yankees, batting .111 (4-for-36) with one homer and five RBI in 16 contests. He’ll compete in spring training for a spot on Houston’s season-opening roster, but will most likely wind up starting the 2024 campaign back at Triple-A Sugar Land.

Gittens joins former Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka in Japan for the upcoming 2022 season. The 27-year-old slugger was released by the Yankees to pursue an opportunity overseas back in November. The power-hitting first baseman tore the cover off the ball, clobbering 14 home runs in just 184 plate appearances at Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre, but struggled mightily in a brief 16-game major-league cameo, slashing .111/.250/.194 with one round-tripper in 44 plate appearances.

According to Lindsey Adler of The Athletic, Gittens plans on signing on with a team in Japan. The 27-year-old had 44 plate appearances for the Yankees and finished with a .111 average and .444 OPS in that limited opportunity. He’s shown considerable power in the minors, however, and he should get a chance to show off his pop in Japan.

Gittens is over his ankle injury but will head back to the minors. He’ll likely be back in September.

The 27-year-old has recently dealt with a sore Achilles so the Yankees were extra cautious when the first baseman came up lame in Saturday’s contest. The injury ended up being a sprained ankle, which is not great but still better than an Achilles injury. There is no timetable for Gittens’ return.

Gittens was clearly hobbled after an at-bat in the eighth inning and was removed from the contest. The next step for the first baseman will be determined by the results of the imaging, but there’s a very good chance an IL stint is coming for the first baseman.

Gitten appeared to come up lame in the eighth inning and the Yankees are not going to take any chances with a player that has been dealing with an Achilles injury. DJ LeMahieu has moved to first base, so New York gives up the DH spot. There should be an update on the infielder’s injury shortly.

That explains why the Yankees went with Rob Brantly at first base on Tuesday night against the Phillies after having to scratch DJ LeMahieu due to a stomach bug. It sounds like a day-to-day situation for Gittens.

With Luke Voit (knee) heading to the injured list on Friday, Gittens will get another opportunity to see fairly regular playing time at first base for the Bombers. He’s batting seventh against Eduardo Rodriguez and the Red Sox on Friday night.