It’s only the first day of April and the Yankees are already facing a budding injury crisis. Before the regular season had even begun, injuries to Jacoby Ellsbury, Clint Frazier, and Greg Bird forced the Yankees to adjust their Opening Day roster plans. Now, early injuries to Aaron Hicks, Billy McKinney, and Adam Warren leave the Yankees facing something of a conundrum.
McKinney was diagnosed with a left shoulder AC sprain after bashing into the wall during yesterday’s game. While X-rays thankfully came back negative, Aaron Boone announced after the game that he will be headed to the DL. Since the injury was to his throwing shoulder, it’s more than possible he could miss significant time.
Coming into spring training, the outfield was arguably the Yankees greatest strength. The wealth of major league talent left many fans eager to see Clint Frazier traded for pitching, or Jacoby Ellsbury and his massive salary dumped. Now, the Yankees are in the unenviable position of having just three healthy outfielders on the 40-man roster.
With the DL growing and the outfield especially thin, it is worth taking an early look at the depth pieces the Yankees have at their disposal moving forward this season.
The Staff
Active Roster: Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia, Sonny Gray, Jordan Montgomery, Aroldis Chapman, David Robertson, Dellin Betances, Chad Green, Tommy Kahnle, Chasen Shreve, Adam Warren, Jonathan Holder
40-Man Roster: Luis Cessa, Domingo German, Domingo Acevedo, Albert Abreu, Jonathan Loaisiga, Giovanny Gallegos, Ben Heller
Non-Roster Options: Chance Adams, Brady Lail, Cody Carroll, J.P. Feyereisen, Cale Coshow
While minor league reliever Giovanny Gallegos looks set to start the season on the DL with a groin injury, the rest of the roster started the season injury free. That is, until today when swiss army reliever Adam Warren was struck in the ankle by a comebacker. He’s been diagnosed with an ankle contusion, and it remains to be seen whether a DL stint will follow. The Yankees have a bevy of strong, young options in Triple-A to fill in should relievers like Warren go down throughout the year. Heller and Gallegos have both exhibited stuff that plays at the major league level, and are prime Scranton ShuttleTM candidates. With the embarrassment of riches the Yankees have in their bullpen, they likely won’t have to rely heavily on these unproven young options. While losing front-line starters such as Sevy or Tanaka would be devastating, the Yankees have the luxury of turning high ceiling youngsters to fill in should injuries strike. German and Adams are both highly touted prospects who would likely have broken camp on the major league roster of many teams in the league. While they are unproven, they are significantly more talented than the Quad-A options most MLB teams have at their disposal. The Yankees are blessed with talent on their active roster and depth in their system that is unmatched in the league.
The Infield
Active Roster: Didi Gregorius, Neil Walker, Brandon Drury, Tyler Wade, Tyler Austin, Ronald Torreyes, Miguel Andujar
40-Man Roster: Gleyber Torres, Thairo Estrada
Disabled List: Greg Bird
Non-Roster Options: Mike Ford, Ryan McBroom, Jace Peterson, Abiatal Avelino
There’s no denying that the spring training injury to Greg Bird was a huge blow to the Yankees infield. He looked set to potentially slot in between Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton as a big lefty masher and terrorize the short porch. Instead, he will likely miss the first month or two of the season after having surgery to remove a bone spur from the same right ankle that plagued him last year. However, the versatility of nearly every Yankees infielder leaves them well equipped to handle injuries that may be sustained throughout the season. In particular, the ability of Wade, Walker, and Torreyes to play multiple positions gives Boone a variety of options should key starters go down. Beyond the depth in talent the Yankees have on the active roster, top prospects Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres look prepared to prove their worth at the big league level. Andujar’s call-up following the McKinney injury shows that the Yankees front office is ready to give the kids a chance if, god forbid, key starters like Didi or Drury go down. Barring a nightmare scenario, the Yankees seem more than capable of dealing with injuries in the infield.
The Outfield
Active Roster: Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Brett Gardner
40-Man Roster: …yikes
Disabled List: Jacoby Ellsbury, Clint Frazier, Aaron Hicks, Billy McKinney
Non-Roster Options: Shane Robinson, Estevan Florial (?)
The outfield is where things get incredibly dicey for the Yankees in the short term. As things stand, the only true outfielders the Yankees can turn to are Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Brett Gardner. If you squint hard enough, there’s an argument to be made for Wade, Walker, and Austin as emergency fill-ins. Ellsbury is eligible to return from the disabled list later this week after suffering an oblique injury during spring training. However, the Yankees are facing a stark reality as the season progresses. Keeping Judge and Stanton fresh and healthy is vital to their success this year, and that means giving them regular DH time and off days. As the injuries pile up, the Yankees will be forced to either shift their utility infielders to increased outfield duty or risk losing members of the 40-man roster to make room for a depth piece like Shane Robinson. In all likelihood, Tyler Wade will see an increasing amount of time in the outfield to provide Boone with the flexibility he needs while he waits for the outfield to get healthy again.
