The New York Yankees are battling through many injuries this season. They had 13 players from the Opening Day roster on the injury list at one point. Some players have came back, but the big bats of Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton have yet to return, though it could be as early as June 17 when they do. This week is shaping up to be crucial for the Yankees, even if they are in a great spot, and here’s why:
Schedule
The Yankees will be hosting the Rays and Astros this week. The Rays trail the Yankees by only a .5 game, while the Astros are commanding the AL West, leading the second-place Rangers by nearly 10 games. This will be a great test for the Yankees, especially if Judge and Stanton return. If New York can have a successful week, they should gain a lot of momentum moving forward.
Who’s Going to Play?
Aaron Boone will have a lot of tough decisions to make this week. With some notable starters returning, who will lose their starting role? Players like DJ LeMahieu, Gio Urshela and Cameron Maybin have done a great job filling the roles of the injured players. Edwin Encarnacion has just been added to the Yankees roster in a trade with the Seattle Mariners. With all of these players being added or coming back from injury, who is going where for the Yankees? The easy answer would be that Boone will look at who’s hitting well at the time, as well as pitcher versus hitter match-ups. The Yankees are going to have a lot of depth, and it will be interesting to see what Aaron Boone decides to do with his club.
Pitching
Domingo German, Luis Severino and Jordan Montgomery are all starting pitchers currently on the IL. The team is now rotating Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, J.A. Happ and CC Sabathia. They also started Chad Green for two innings and then used the bullpen on June 15. The four-man rotation may catch up to the Yankees, especially since they have seven games this week. Sabathia hasn’t thrown more than six innings in a game this season, which also leads to more bullpen innings. Don’t be surprised if a few relievers are called up this week to pitch in a wash-up role.
Feature Image Courtesy of NESN from USA Today
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