NEW YORK -- Brett Gardner's late-season slide may have been the result of attempting to play through a nagging right wrist injury, new Yankees hitting coach Alan Cockrell said on a conference call Wednesday.
Gardner was selected to his first career All-Star Game as an injury replacement for the Royals' Alex Gordon, but the outfielder's production fell off in the second half, as he batted just .206 in 69 games.
Cockrell said that he believed the trouble could have started with an April 13 hit-by-pitch in a game at Baltimore, followed by similar injuries to the same area.