Yankees Officially Lose Harrison Bader For Significant Period

The official word is in, and it's not good for Harrison Bader or the New York Yankees. According to manager Aaron Boone, the team's starting center fielder will be shut down for six weeks.

According to Aaron Boone on the YES Broadcast, Harrison Bader is going to be shutdown for roughly 6 weeks, with Boone mentioning that it could be 2-3 weeks without Bader in the regular season. #NYY pic.twitter.com/ZxsaT0Dg5D
— Fireside Yankees (@FiresideYankees) March 11, 2023

Boone made the comment on the YES broadcast today, and added that means they'll be without their sparkplug for 2-to-3 weeks at least of the regular season (which begins in about three weeks).

Bader suffered a left oblique strain during a swing on Wednesday. Oblique injuries are notoriously difficult to recover from swiftly, and re-injury can often occur if trying to come back too soon.

The 28-year-old New York City native was on the injured list with plantar fasciitis when the Yankees acquired him last August in a trade deadline deal with the St. Louis Cardinals. He came back in late September and announced himself with a bang in the postseason, blasting five home runs and posting a 1.260 OPS.

Aaron Judge will most likely move over from right field until Bader returns; Judge played 78 games in center last season.

Photo: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports