<p>NEW YORK — New York Yankees left-hander Zack Britton had surgery Monday to remove a bone chip from his pitching elbow.</p>
<p>The reliever is likely to be out until at least May and perhaps until summer. The team has not specified a timeframe.</p>
<p>Yankees head team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad operated at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.</p>
<p>“Want to thank Dr. Ahmad and his staff for their excellent work today," Britton wrote on Twitter. “Excited to start the process of getting myself ready to rejoin the boys.”</p>
<p>Left-hander Aroldis Chapman is the Yankees’ closer, and manager Aaron Boone said he will mix and match during the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Boone has said right-hander Chad Green, side-arming right-hander Darren O’Day, right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga and left-hander Justin Wilson are options.</p>
<p>Chapman is suspended for the first two games of the season by Major League Baseball for throwing a 101 mph fastball near the head of Tampa Bay’s Mike Brosseau on Sept. 1.</p>
<p>Britton, 33, is a two-time All-Star who was 1-2 with a 1.89 ERA and eight saves in 20 appearances during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He filled in as closer for the first 3 1/2 weeks while Chapman missed 21 games recovering from COVID-19.</p>
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