One comes back from the IL, another goes back to the IL. This has been an endless, repeating cycle that continues to spiral out of control. The New York Yankees have dealt with a total of 29 players on the IL stint this season, which is absurd and incomprehensible.
Positive news never seems to arrive without a price to pay. This time, Luke Voit returned from rehab and was reinstated from the 10-day IL. On a negative note, Gio Urshela, who has been an inferno hitting machine this season, was placed in the 10-day IL with a left groin strain. Supposedly, (and I say this with a grain of salt) Urshela is expected to be out until at least the 8th of September.
Prior to tonight’s game, the Yankees returned from rehab & reinstated 1B Luke Voit from the 10-day IL and placed INF Gio Urshela on the 10-day IL with a left groin strain (retro to 8/29).
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 30, 2019
Urshela was very optimistic about returning on Friday to face the Oakland Athletics, but the baseball universe had a different plan in mind. Aaron Boone stated that Urshela was removed from Wednesday’s game vs the Seattle Mariners for insurance reasons. When questioned about the matter after the game, Boone said: “We wanted to be safe with that and hopefully it’s something that is not a big deal.” Unfortunately, this was not the case.
Aaron Boone: "They're very resilient and they're very hungry." #YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/WWnNTVKHq4
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) August 28, 2019
To put into perspective just how much of a blow this is, Urshela has acquired a .331 AVG, .370 OBS, .555 SLG, .924 OPS and a 140 wRC+ in 414 plate appearances this season. Urshela has also collected 18 HR and 67 RBI in 114 games. Among qualified players who have 300 or more plate appearances, he is ranked the following in the American League:
- AVG (3rd) / OBP (17th) / SLG (11th) / OPS (11th) / wRC+ (14th)
In spite of not being as superior as the likes of Mike Trout and Christian Yelich, to say Urshela hasn’t been an impact player offensively is ludicrous.
On the bright side, several key competitors are expected to make a full return soon. Ben Heller, Dellin Betances, Edwin Encarnacion, Giancarlo Stanton, Jordan Montgomery and (wait for it) Luis Severino are all expected to be back in September. The only major impact player that is in-between returning in September and October is Aaron Hicks, who is dealing with a strain in his right elbow. Boone is taking extra precautions on the matter, considering it’s extremely close to Hicks’ ulnar collateral ligament.
Although Urshela will not participate in any baseball activities, for the time being, Voit is prepared to resume where he last left off. Voit has acquired a .278 AVG, .392 OBP, .493 SLG, .885 OPS and a 134 wRC+ in 416 plate appearances this season. Voit has also collected 19 HR and 59 RBI in 94 games. I think it’s safe to say the majority of Yankees fans are excited to witness Voit resume major league activities. In the meantime, here is the last homer Voit recorded before moving to the IL.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1153476777857232903