www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yank...
Zack Britton said he is ready.
The Yankees said wait and see and maybe. The lefty reliever who has worked his way back from elbow reconstruction surgery last October is done with minor league rehab appearances. The veteran went through all this for one reason; to help pitch this team to a World Series.
“I have the opportunity to and I want to help the team win,” Britton said before Wednesday night’s game against the Pirates at Yankee Stadium. “We have a really good team. I mean it doesn’t impact my future. I’m healthy. I know if I’m healthy, the future for me will be fine. The reason why I kind of push things is because I want to pitch this year for this team to help them win for no other reason. So there’s no benefit for me personally, other than the fact that maybe I can have an impact on a World Series championship team. That’s really the only goal for me at this stage of my career. I’ve gotten my contract. I am 34 years old. My reasons are much different now than when I was younger. I want to win a ring that’s why I pushed this to come back and be an option for the team. So whether or not they activate me that’s up to them.”
The Yankees are being indecisive about their roster moves. Britton made it clear he’s not going to waste time in the minor leagues. He’s a veteran who knows his body and his pitches, he’s just wasting bullets down there.
Aaron Boone seemed to say the indecision is related to how they will trim their roster going forward. They do plan to activate right-hander Scott Effross on Wednesday.
“We’re just in a little bit of a pitching crunch right now,” Boone said. “As far as needing the protection for German back into the rotation on Saturday, not being.. probably having his full allotment of pitches. So we just got to see where we are from a coverage standpoint, day by day.”
Britton is in the last year of his contract with the Yankees. He made just 22 appearances last season before he was shut down to have Tommy John surgery. Britton has 154 career saves and had a 1.89 ERA in 2020, his last full season.
