Mark Teixeira‘s first World Baseball Classic is going to be over before it even starts.
That’s the latest from FOX Sports’ baseball insider Jon Morosi, who is reporting (via Twitter) that the New York Yankees slugger will be removed from the United States’ WBC roster due to an injury to his right forearm.
Yahoo! Sports MLB columnist Jeff Passan confirms that the slugger’s injury is a “strained forearm” and that he could miss up to 10 days:
As MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch noted on Twitter, the injury just sort of crept up on Teixeira, and did so Tuesday during batting practice in the cages:
Teixeira was slated to start at first base for Team USA, providing a big bat in the middle of Joe Torre’s lineup and hopefully giving the Americans a good chance to contend for the first time in the three-tournament existence of the WBC.
However, he will be heading home early, and will now focus solely on getting ready for a return to the Yankees lineup that already is without Alex Rodriguez and Curtis Granderson, and lost Nick Swisher in free agency to the Cleveland Indians.
Tex had a down year in 2012, hitting just .251 while collecting 24 home runs and 84 RBI. However, he did win his fifth Gold Glove last season, and continues to be both a defensive force and offensive threat for one of the American League’s premier franchises.
It’s part of the reason Torre wanted Tex for Team USA.
As far as the approach to the rest of the WBC, Torre has a few options. He could move Joe Mauer to first base and start one of his other catchers (Jonathan Lucroy or J.P. Arencibia), or opt to use a utility player like Ben Zobrist in that role.
As Danny Knobler of CBS Sports reported, Teixeira will be replaced on the Team USA roster. There’s been no news regarding that name just yet, though:
While Teixeira’s return to the Yankees is probably more important to Joe Girardi and the rest of the organization, his exit from the Team USA lineup puts a big dent in their championship hopes.
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