May 21, 2021; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees third baseman Gio Urshela (29) high fives relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman (54) after turning a triple play on a ball hit by Chicago White Sox left fielder Andrew Vaughn (not pictured) during the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
The New York Yankees are dealing with a significant number of injuries, as starting pitcher, Corey Kluber suffered a shoulder injury that will keep him out for a minimum of four weeks. Experiencing shoulder tightness, the injury won’t be season-ending, but it could be two months until he sees the mound again for the Yankees, and after gaining so much momentum, this is a significant blow to his progress.
However, the Yankees must move on, as the rest of the league is also dealing with their fair share of struggles in the department.
“I know a lot of teams are dealing with the injury bug, us as well now,†Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We’re trying to live in the now and trying to do all we can to get the most out of our guys, but also make sure whenever we can try and prevent these kind of things.â€
It wasn’t only Kluber that went down, starting first baseman Luke Voit also experienced a setback with his knee, which forced him back to the injured list.
Aaron Boone on Luke Voit’s latest setback:
“After (Tuesday’s) game, he just felt like he couldn’t really let it go like he wanted to. He had such success with the knee (rehab) and coming back, so to have a setback here that’s going to land him on the IL, obviously he’s very frustrated. Hopefully it’s not something that keeps him down too long.â€
Reason for New York Yankees positivity!
Aside from the negativity, the Yankees are currently eight games above .500. They are playing far better baseball, and while they were nearly 10 games back a few weeks ago in the American League East, they have clawed their way to being just 1.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays and just 0.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox.
A valiant effort by a team that struggled considerably early on, and their offense has remained inefficient while their pitching picks up the load. Thanks to their most recent string of dominance starting pitching, the Yankees were on a six-game winning streak before falling to the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday. Again, it is their offense that continues to hold them back, as scoring 2-4 runs per game is simply unacceptable and will not carry them to the postseason.
The most frustrating part of this offensive deficiency is that they’re capable of breaking out at any moment and producing high-quality performances. It’s just a matter of waiting for everything to click on all cylinders, which could happen tomorrow or in another month. It’s a waiting game, but luckily the Yankees have done enough to strengthen their pitching to supplement the lack of run production lately.
