The New York Yankees were hoping to get healthier in August but unfortunately they lost several impact players to injury instead. The expectation is that most of them will make a return in mid-September, but the Yanks face an uphill battle winning games until they get those prominent names back in the starting pitching rotation and batting order.
Five players the Yankees have on the injured list:
1.) Luis Severino
Luis Severino is currently on the 60 day injured list with a lat issue. He recently threw a rehab game in the rain for Low-A Tampa on Friday. He touched 97.3 mph in his first assignment back from injury, tossing two scoreless innings and 22 pitches. He struck out three batters and gave up one hit in the outing, further convincing the Yankees brass he is nearly ready to return.
- Yankees’ super-utility man is seeing his numbers plummet back down to Earth
- Yankees’ $98 million slugger in the middle of another ice-cold stretch
- Yankees could see this interesting pitching prospect get an MLB promotion
Management placed Severino on the 60-day IL to keep him healthy and ready for the postseason, but the Yankees are getting dangerously close to losing their massive lead in the AL East.
This season, Severino features a 3.45 ERA, 9.94 strikeouts per nine, a 81.2% left on base rate, and 43% ground ball rate. In his first year back after three consecutive seasons of injury rehabilitation, Sevy is finally looking like his old self again.
2.) Matt Carpenter
The very moment the Yankees lost Matt Carpenter to injury, everything changed. Across 47 games this season, Carpenter was hitting .305 with a 41.2% on-base rate and .727 slugging percentage. He hosted a 218 wRC+, primarily featuring on offense, aside from a few spot starts on the defensive side.
Carpenter is still rolling around in a leg chair with a boot on his foot, indicating he could be done for the rest of the season. Unless by order of the baseball gods, Carpenter likely needs at least a few more weeks to even touch the baseball diamond once again.
3.) Nestor Cortes
The Yankees are gearing up for Nestor Cortes’s return from a groin issue he was dealing with. Some believe it was a phantom IL situation, helping mitigate fatigued down the stretch since Cortes plans to be a major part of the Yankees postseason strategy.
However, it seems as if they need his services once again soon, especially with the Yankees offense struggling to get anything going.
This season, Cortes features a 2.68 ERA, 9.14 strikeouts per nine, and 83.3% left on-base rate over 131 innings. This is the first time Cortes has ever passed 93 innings, let alone 100, so this break could be the difference between success and failure come the postseason.
4.) Andrew Benintendi
Yankees’ new left fielder, Andrew Benintendi, suffered right wrist inflammation after a swing on Friday. He was immediately taken out of the game and placed on the 10-day IL Saturday morning. The hope is that Benintendi‘s injury isn’t anything too significant, but the team will be cautious ahead of the playoffs, especially since they need his contact hitting abilities at 100%.
5.) Harrison Bader
At a time when the Yankees needed more starting pitching support, they decided to trade Jordan Montgomery to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Harrison Bader.
Bader hasn’t suited up for the Bombers just yet, but is getting close. He needs about one more week before starting his rehab assignment and ramping up his rehabilitation process with live action.
Bader will immediately contribute elite defense in center field and a fantastic base runner. He only gets on base at about a 30% clip, but when he does, he is extremely dangerous.
The Yankees hope that Harrison can make a positive impression on the team moving forward. They desperately need a spark to get out of their current funk.