The Injury Bug has returned from his stint on the IL.
With Edwin Encarnacion suffering a fractured wrist after getting hit by a pitch in the day game of the doubleheader on Sunday against the Boston Red Sox and Aaron Hicks landing on the 10-Day IL after suffering a flexor strain in the night game it seems the Yankees have an injury problem again.
Obviously, Jacoby Ellsbury and Greg Bird are still on the IL with no timetable on a return for either of them along with a myriad of players. However, recently more injuries have fallen upon the Yankees. Brett Gardner Just returned from injury, Gary Sanchez is close to a return, Luke Voit was just diagnosed with a sports hernia and is trying to avoid surgery that would put him out for about six weeks according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, Giancarlo Staton the oldest of these injures (June 25th) is out until September. And finally the last semi-recent injury is CC Sabathia who’s timetable is Mid-August.
All these injuries leave Yankees fans thinking: What’s next? Well, the fact that the Yankees did nothing at the trade deadline concerning a starter hurts, especially with the CC injury. However, as aforementioned CC will be returning in Mid-August and the opener has worked out very well for the Yankees this season becoming a real option for the regular season and the postseason. Also, Luis Severino is expected back in Late-August-September and it’s the same for Dellin Betances. Those two will be a wonderful addition to the pitching staff come October.
Jordan Montgomery is another name that hasn’t come back yet. There is no news on whether he will be back this year. During his recovery, he suffered a setback in June so a return seems bleak yet possible.
As for the injuries to Hicks and Stanton, this means a few things. Mike Tauchman is up in the majors for the time being and has been performing very well. Cameron Maybin has recently come off of the IL as has Brett Gardner so there are many outfield options. But with the Encarnacion and Voit getting hurt that leaves 2 holes at the DH and first base spots. Mike Ford has come up and Breyvic Valera is up. Valera is a journeyman who has had 10 seasons in the minors hitting a flat .300 with an OPS of .757 and 35 home runs with limited scattered MLB time. Also fun fact: he was apart of the deal that sent Manny Machado to the Dodgers.
All this does leave some questions though. For example, where’s Clint Frazier? Frazier has been in the triple-a and while his defense struggled while up in the MLB it is clear he is offensively capable to stay in the majors so it was a little strange seeing all these injuries and not one sign of Clint. A lot of people thought Clint was going to be traded at the deadline but when no deal was made it made Fraziers’ status with the Yankees very confusing.
Frazier has a lot of value considering how young, cheap, and talented he is so the Yankees can get package him and get a game-changer. So do the Yankees trade him in the offseason? Do they keep him? You got to think if they don’t want him on the major league roster for whatever reason, the best bet is to move him in a deal for a pitcher. But with all these injuries Frazier can be a great addition to the lineup.
The Yankees haven’t had the best of luck this year with injuries. They’re still in first. It will stay that way.
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