Gregorius could be out until May with shoulder strain

The New York Yankees won't have Didi Gregorius in their lineup Opening Day, as the 27-year-old shortstop has been diagnosed with a right shoulder strain and will be shut down from baseball activity for the next two weeks, manager Joe Girardi told Andrew Marchand of ESPN on Tuesday.

Gregorius, who suffered a hematoma of the subscapularis muscle in his shoulder while representing the Netherlands at the World Baseball Classic, could even be out until May, general manager Brian Cashman added, potentially creating a huge void in the Yankees' middle infield for the first month of the regular season.

"They are shooting for probably six weeks total," Cashman said. "That's a guesstimate, so don't hold me to it.".

In Gregorius' absence, the Yankees could have Starlin Castro temporarily shift back to shortstop, his old position, after spending the last year-plus at second base, though the club will also have Ronald Torreyes, Tyler Wade, and Ruben Tejada take some reps at shortstop before camp breaks.

"That's a big loss," Girardi told Kevin Kernan and George A. King III from the New York Post as the Yankees awaited the results of the MRI that Gregorius underwent Monday in Tampa. "We saw the strides he took last year."

In 2016, his second season in the Bronx, Gregorius enjoyed a breakout campaign offensively, setting career highs in OPS (.751), home runs (20), doubles (32), and stolen bases (seven) while managing 2.7 WAR in 153 games.