Last year, Austin was in the running for a bench spot with the Yankees out of camp, but a foul ball of his left foot caused a fracture and ended any hopes of being ready for Opening Day. Unfortunately when the same thing happened to Greg Bird and he eventually had to miss extended time Austin wasn’t available to step in as his replacement. Instead it was Chris Carter and the Yankee first base situation was a disaster for the first half of the season.
Austin recovered to join the team in late June, but a hamstring injury sidelined him again and he would be a non-factor for the rest of the season.