Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters Saturday that Bader (oblique) is doing "better than we anticipated," Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Bader was diagnosed with an oblique strain last week, and the expectation was that the outfielder would miss approximately six weeks. Based on Boone's comments, it's possible that timeline could be shortened, but it still seems likely Bader will open the year on the injured list. Assuming he continues to recover quickly, it could be a much shorter stay on the IL for the presumed starter in center for the Yankees.