Ellsbury will miss start of spring training due to plantar fasciitis

New York Yankees outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury will miss the start of spring training due to plantar fascia issues, manager Aaron Boone told reporters Wednesday.

"He won't be in camp with us initially," Boone said. "Obviously, he had hip surgery late in the year, we expected him to be here as an active player from the start.

"Just some issues that he had with his plantar fascia that kind of crept up as he was going through his rehab this winter. We feel like he is making really good progress but he's going to stay in Arizona for the next couple of weeks. Hopefully when he's really ready to dive into baseball activities, sometime in March, then he'll join us."

Ellsbury is owed $48 million over the next two seasons - including a $5-million buyout on his 2021 option. Reports surfaced recently about the Yankees potentially looking to trade the one-time All-Star.

He signed a seven-year, $153-million contract before the start of the 2014 season but underperformance and injuries have plagued his time in the Bronx.

The 35-year-old owns a .264/.330/.386 slash line with 39 home runs and 198 RBIs in 520 career games with the Yankees. He finished second in AL MVP voting in 2011 while with the Boston Red Sox.

Injuries forced Ellsbury to miss the entire 2018 campaign.