Same Old Story

Sam Vercruysse

The worst fears for the New York Yankees and their fans are coming true. It is undeniable that the Yankees have one of the most talented rosters in the MLB if not the most talented. Over the past few seasons one of their main issues has been staying healthy and that is basically the only thing that can derail a championship run in 2020. So far in this young season Yankees have been dropping like flies. Earlier in spring training starting pitcher James Paxton was ruled out until May or June after having to undergo back surgery. In the past week the Yankees have lost two more key players to injury most notably losing Louis Severino for the season as he elected to get Tommy John surgery. Not to forget that Domingo Herman is suspended for the first 80 games of this season as he serves a suspension for domestic violence. That is now three key pitchers that are missing significant time and starting pitching depth was an area of concern for the Yankees which is why they were big spenders in the offseason signing ace Garrett Cole. The Yankees do have some options to replace these players for the time being like 37-year-old J.A. Happ who is having a fantastic spring only allowing one run in five innings and Jordan Montgomery who is coming back from injury and has spent time as a starter on the big league roster in seasons past. New York also has some promising young pitching that they could bring up from the minors like Deivi Garcia who had a great season in the minors last year and impressed in the futures game. There have also been rumors of potential trade targets such as veterans Jeff Samardzija and Robbie Ray. It will be up to veterans like Garrett Cole and Masahiro Tanaka to carry the load early on this season while Paxton and Herman work their way back.

Finally, the extensive injury saga of Giancarlo Stanton continued this week as he strained his calf. These kind of injuries have been the story of his Yankees tenure and it is starting to give Yankees fans like myself some memories of Jacoby Ellsbury. Although the Stanton injury is not significant and he should not miss much if any regular season time it is hard for me to trust that he will stay healthy for an entire season. This could open doors for players like Clint Frazier to finally come up and get his fair shake in the majors. Although the Yankees still have a talented roster regardless of the recent injuries, there is still concern about the depth of this team and that is one of the keys to a deep run in October. I am very optimistic about this season as I have been for the past three seasons but being able to get healthy and stay healthy will be the key to this season not being a repeat of the disappointment of seasons past.