The New York Yankees have gone through a rough stretch of injuries the past few weeks, which has played a significant part in dismantling the team’s winning streak, plunging them into an abyss of inconsistencies and degradation.
However, there is hope on the horizon as the Yankees quickly move through the 2022 regular season and eye a playoff spot. After losing two of three games against the Seattle Mariners, they will hope to get back in the win column against the Boston Red Sox, who have been struggling as well.
The Yankees currently sit 30 games above .500 on the season with a 10-game lead in the AL East over the Toronto Blue Jays. As long as they can maintain a double-digit lead, they can withstand a few minor speed bumps.
Luckily, they will be getting a few impact players back down the stretch, who should help during the postseason.
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Yankees will get four impact players back before the playoffs:
1.) Luis Severino
Severino was extremely upset when he was placed on a 60-day injured list, having made good progress toward a comeback. However, general manager Brian Cashman needed to use his roster spot and figured keeping him healthy until the playoffs would be a more beneficial strategy. They needed to see which starting pitcher rises to the occasion and provides value down the stretch, and with Severino dealing with shoulder fatigue, playing it safe was the better move.
Severino hosts a 3.45 ERA with a 3.48 xFIP this season over 86 innings. His strikeouts are a bit down at 9.94 per nine, but he does host an 81.2% left on base rate and 43% groundball rate. His 15.6% HR/FB ratio is a bit high, but Severino has seen the return of his velocity and has mostly been efficient after three years on the comeback trail.
The Yankees expect to get him back in September, just in time to ramp him up to help out of the bullpen or even take on a spot in the playoff rotation if need be.
2.) Zack Britton
Zack Britton has made tremendous progress lately, participating in a 14-pitch live batting practice in Tampa. Everything went smoothly, according to manager Aaron Boone, meaning they could get his lethal sinker back, injecting another veteran bullpen arm into the equation.
Britton made his most recent appearance last season, tossing only 18.1 innings before going down with an elbow injury. If he can make a full recovery and support the Yankees down the stretch, he could help smooth over the loss of Michael King, which has obviously played a major part in the bullpen’s struggles.
3.) Miguel Castro
Another player the Yankees placed on the 60-day injured list was bullpen arm Miguel Castro. Castro has had his fair share of ups and downs lately, hosting a 4.00 ERA this season over 27 innings. However, with elite velocity and solid ground ball percentages, he is a useful option in the middle innings.
Having Castro back should help Boone expand his relief options come the playoffs, but it is possible he’s left out if they want to push any starting pitchers into a relief role.
4.) Matt Carpenter
Lefty slugger Matt Carpenter learned some fantastic injury news on Wednesday. It was reported that Carpenter suffered a clean break of his foot, meaning he will only miss 6–8 weeks, getting him back before the postseason begins.
Carpenter has been the engine of the offense the past few weeks, hitting .305 with a 41.2% on base rate and .727 slugging percentage. He’s hit 15 homers with 37 RBIs over 47 games this season, once again displaying a master-class find from Cashman’s scouting department.
The Yankees have been supplementing the loss of Carpenter with Miguel Andujar, who simply can’t replicate his unbelievable metrics up to this point. Getting him back will be a huge bonus in the postseason, especially if Giancarlo Stanton continues to battle Achilles tendinitis.