New York Yankees Have A Roster Of Injuries, Holes, And Unmet Needs

Compared to their successful past, this edition of the New York Yankees is badly underachieving.

That’s putting it mildly.

The Yankees are now in the position of chasing Tampa Bay, Baltimore, Toronto, and possibly Boston to regain their footing in the American League East.

As of this writing, the Yankees have a record of 17-15, which places them last in their division.

The Yankees are having trouble scoring runs.

That said, they are coming off a successful series with the Cleveland Guardians, having won two of the three games.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has outstanding financial resources with which to build his club.

According to Fangraphs, the Yankees have a payroll of $273 million, or $74 million more than last year.

Here are the other payroll estimates for AL East teams:

Baltimore=$63 million

Tampa Bay=$77 million

Boston= $196 million

Toronto= $213 million

The disparity in payrolls is amazing, but division titles aren’t guaranteed to the team that spends the most.

Frankly, the Orioles and Rays are getting a whole lot more bang for fewer bucks than the Yankees.

Injury and Depth Issues:

Every team suffers injuries. The Yankees have been hit especially hard this year. Here is a list of currently injured players:

Aaron Judge- outfielder

Giancarlo Stanton- outfielder

Josh Donaldson- third baseman

Carlos Rodon-pitcher

Lou Trivino-pitcher

Jonathan Loaisiga-pitcher

Frankie Montas-pitcher

Tommy Kahnle-pitcher

Luis Severino-pitcher

Harrison Bader-outfielder

Oswald Peraza-infielder

Bader left the game May 3 after colliding in short left with Isiah-Kiner Falefa.

Peraza left the game May 3 with an injury after stealing second base.

Few teams can overcome that many consequential injuries.

Not having power from Judge and Stanton, and missing the rotation starts from Rodon and Severino have profound, possibly season impacting ramifications.

Injuries are one thing, having holes in the roster left unattended are quite another.

Holes at Third Base, Left Field, Rotation

Even with a totally healthy roster, it might be quite possible the Yankees will struggle all season.

Despite their massive payroll, the Yankees have holes to fill on their roster.

To this writer, they need a third baseman. They need an outfielder. They need at least one starter.

Third baseman Josh Donaldson, 37, hit .222/.308/.374/.682 with 15 home runs and 62 RBIs last year. He clearly was not the player the Yankees traded for on March 13, 2022. He hit 42 points behind his career batting average.

Donaldson was off to a tough start this year; hitting just .125/.176/.313/.489 with two hits, one homer and one RBI in 17 plate appearances. He played just five games before going on the Injured List.

In recent years, outfielder Aaron Hicks, 33, has suffered injuries that limited his playing time. Last year, Hicks hit .216/.330/.313/.642 with nine homers in 384 plate appearances.

Even with the futility and struggles of both Donaldson and Hicks, both were in the Yankees planning during the offseason. It seems general manager Brian Cashman was satisfied with his roster.

The Yankees knew the injury history of lefty Carlos Rodon when they gave him a massive, 6-year, $162 million contract this offseason. While Rodon was healthy last season, he missed considerable time with arm and shoulder issues when he pitched for the Chicago White Sox.

There is no current timetable for Rodon’s return, as his back and forearm issues remain.

Righty Frankie Montas had arthroscopic shoulder surgery in February, meaning the Yankees were already missing a starter in spring training.

Luis Severino has had injury problems that have sent him to the Injured List in the past. The Yankees were well aware that health issues were a concern with Severino. Counting on Severino for a full season of starts had some risk.

The team did not address their weaknesses at third base, the outfield and the rotation during the offseason, or during spring training. Now, as the season is moving along, it is more difficult to pry players away in trades with other clubs.

Replacement Players:

With so many injuries, how have the Yankees filled the roles of the missing players?

Of particular interest are third base and the outfield.

Versatile DJ LeMahieu 34, has moved to third base on a regular basis. Still a good player, LeMahieu started the season well, but he has been in a bit of slump recently. He did have a couple hits in the recent series against Cleveland.

But is LeMahieu the long-term answer at third?

Left-handed hitters Jake Bauers and Willie Calhoun have gotten playing time in the outfield.

Utility player Isiah Kiner-Falefa has also found playing time in center field and left, an indication of the concerns the team may have about outfield depth-especially in left field.

While he is a good athlete, it doesn’t seem to this writer that Kiner-Falefa is a particularly good outfield option as a replacement player. His outfield inexperience is limited.

It is difficult for this old scout to fathom a New York Yankees team, usually an offensive juggernaut, with outfielder Jake Bauers on their roster.

But maybe we are seeing a new Jake Bauers. He’s showing some true power.

Bauers, 27, is a left-handed hitter coming off dismal seasons since his MLB debut with the Tampa Rays in 2018. He was traded to Cleveland, and hit .226 in 423 plate appearances in 2019 for the Indians.

Cleveland designated Bauers for assignment. He played for Seattle in 2021, hitting .220 with two homers and 13 RBIs in 202 plate appearances. He was released by Seattle.

Bauers was signed by Cincinnati in 2021, but never played for the big league team.

The Yankees signed Bauers as a free agent this past December.

Bauers has a career .213 batting average with 28 homers in 1,130 plate appearances. To this writer, he just doesn’t fit the prototypical New York Yankees player profile.

In his past, Bauers was a marginal utility player. However, he may be a late bloomer.

Bauer hit a homer May 3 against the Guardians, his former team, after hitting nine homers in his Triple-A minor league stint.

Outfielder Willie Calhoun, 28, is another left-handed hitter the Yankees hope can add some pop to their roster.

Calhoun hit a homer May 2, and another May 3. He has hit just 34 home runs in 988 big league plate appearances, but he has added a bit of a jolt to the Yankees.

Calhoun, 5-8, 205 pounds, was signed by the Yankees as a free agent in January.

Calhoun has a career .241 batting average after playing sporadically for the Texas Rangers in parts of seven seasons. Calhoun profiles as a utility player. He probably will not fill a full-time outfield role. Unless Yankee injuries linger.

The Yankees rotation currently consists of All Star right-hander Gerrit Cole, right-hander Clarke Schmidt, lefty Nestor Cortes, and right-handers Domingo German and Jhony Brito.

Brito is a rookie, making his debut appearances on the big league stage.

Clarke has struggled.

The Yankees pitching depth is very thin, at best.

Conclusions:

While injuries have dismantled their projected starting lineup, power potential, and starting rotation, the Yankees have issues beyond injuries.

To this writer, holes exist at third base, in left field, and in the starting rotation.

The Yankees have added utility type players to their roster, but to this observer, it remains to be seen if the team can be competitive in the American League East, even if their injured players return.

The Yankees will play the Rays seven times in their next 10 games. That stretch should be very telling.

They will have to score more than two or three runs a game to take out the Rays.