The New York Yankees have suffered another injury-plagued season, sending 15 players to the injured list and totaling 17 stints. After starting the season strong, the Yankees have since slipped in the playoff race and are in danger of missing it altogether, meaning September is a significant month that must be comprised of wins.
Snapping their five-game losing streak on Wednesday against the Toronto Blue Jays was a huge positive, carrying them into another series against the Baltimore Orioles, who they lost three consecutive games two in the last series.
The Bombers have been without their two best sluggers, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, which has set them back offensively and forced them to supplement with reserve players. That strategy has failed in 2020 when it similarly succeeded in 2019. The Yankees and manager Aaron Boone climbed to 103 wins, despite losing Stanton for virtually the entire season and Judge for 60 games.
However, their inadequate health has carried over into this year, but Boone released some positive news on Friday.
Aaron Boone hopes to have Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton back for the Yankees by next weekend: pic.twitter.com/DWh6x9dL75
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) September 11, 2020
The New York Yankees are trending in the right direction:
Judge, who has been rehabilitating a right calf strain, has missed 16 games on the year, including nine games on the injured list from August 14-24. Prior to his injury, he was hitting .292 with 16 runs and nine homers. He was a catalyst for the Yankees’ offense, which has since struggled significantly. Stanton, on the other hand, has a left hamstring strain, which he suffered on August 9. He has missed 29 games. Before he went down, Stanton was averaging .293 with three homers and 10 runs batted in.
Boone stated that he is hopeful both will be available next weekend, giving them one more week of rest and rehab time. It is just in time for the Yankees to make a late push for the postseason, as they currently sit at .500 on the year. They will enjoy a doubleheader against the Orioles on Friday, with the first game starting at 4 PM. Luckily, they have Gerrit Cole and Masahiro Tanaka on the mound, giving them a heightened probability of victory.