Gregorius activated 8 months after TJ surgery

CLEVELAND — Eight months after undergoing offseason Tommy John surgery, Didi Gregorius is back in a big league uniform, and he’s using social media to indicate just how excited he is about that opportunity.

The New York Yankees shortstop returned Friday from his rehab assignment at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, reinstated off the Yankees’ 60-day injured list. He is expected to make his 2019 debut when the Yankees open a three-game series Friday at the Cleveland Indians. Manager Aaron Boone said Thursday that Gregorius “should be in the lineup.”

To add Gregorius back onto their 40-man roster, the Yankees transferred shortstop Troy Tulowitzki from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL. Thairo Estrada, who had been helping fill in for both injured middle infielders, was optioned back to Triple-A following the Yankees’ win in Toronto on Thursday.

Minutes before the Yankees made the roster moves official, Gregorius posted to Twitter a digital cartoon that he designed himself. An artist and photographer on the side, Gregorius has long had talents that extend off the baseball field.

After 3️⃣.5️⃣ months of almost a 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ digital ✍️ layers to put this clip together for this day pic.twitter.com/zx2id8114o

— Sir Didi Gregorius (@DidiG18) June 7, 2019

According to his tweet, it took three and a half months and nearly 1,000 digital layers for the shortstop to put together the video that helped him announce his return. The video features a cartoon version of Gregorius going through his first-inning, 2017 American League wild-card game at-bat against Minnesota’s Ervin Santana.

With the Yankees entering the bottom of the first already down 3-0, Gregorius stepped up with two on and one out. He promptly lined a full-count pitch out to right field for a game-tying three-run homer. The Yankees went on to win the game 8-4, and advanced all the way to the ALCS, before losing to eventual World Series champion Houston in seven games.

Also part of the minute-long cartoon is broadcaster Dan Schulman’s call of the actual home run. Near the end of the video, Yankees manager Aaron Boone, then in the booth with Schulman, can be heard remarking on the “big hit” from the shortstop. ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball crew, of which Boone was a part, called that game.

The lyrics “they counted me out” from the first verse of rapper J. Cole’s “Middle Child” also are featured prominently in the video.

Gregorius scuffled at the plate a bit during his rehab assignments with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and the High-A Tampa Tarpons. He hit a combined .156 with one home run, two RBIs and two runs scored in eight games.

It was during Game 2 of last year’s ALDS that Gregorius felt discomfort in his right elbow when he tried throwing back a ricocheted ball from near Fenway Park’s Green Monster. He played through the final two games of the series before undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Last year, Gregorius, who finished with a career-high 27 homers and a career-high .829 OPS, led all of baseball in slugging percentage, RBIs and homers across the first month of the season.