NEW YORK — New York Yankees left-hander Zack Britton had surgery Monday to remove a bone chip from his pitching elbow.
The reliever is likely to be out until at least May and perhaps until summer. The team has not specified a timeframe.
Yankees head team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad operated at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.
“Want to thank Dr. Ahmad and his staff for their excellent work today,” Britton wrote on Twitter. “Excited to start the process of getting myself ready to rejoin the boys.”
Left-hander Aroldis Chapman is the Yankees’ closer, and manager Aaron Boone said he will mix and match during the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Boone has said right-hander Chad Green, side-arming right-hander Darren O’Day, right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga and left-hander Justin Wilson are options.
Chapman is suspended for the first two games of the season by Major League Baseball for throwing a 101 mph fastball near the head of Tampa Bay’s Mike Brosseau on Sept. 1.
Britton, 33, is a two-time All-Star who was 1-2 with a 1.89 ERA and eight saves in 20 appearances during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He filled in as closer for the first 3 1/2 weeks while Chapman missed 21 games recovering from COVID-19.
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