The Yankees Are On the Brink of Disaster

The Yankees have been eager to get back on the diamond after a disappointing season-ending loss to the rival Red Sox in the divisional round of the American League playoffs. They broke triple-digit wins in their first year with the Aaron Judge-Giancarlo Stanton duo, and simply had the misfortune of playing in the same division as the best team in baseball.

Opening Day came, the Yankees beat up on the division basement-dwelling Orioles, and then things went south. Very quickly. A mere week later, the Yankees find themselves on the edge of disaster. Essentially every key player other than Judge is hurt, and it feels like one more injury could send New York over the brink and into a spiral that could threaten their season.

To recap, the Yankees have lost Stanton, Troy Tulowitzki, Miguel Andujar, Luis Severino, Aaron Hicks, and Dellin Betances over the last few weeks, not to mention Didi Gregorious starting the year on the injured list. With the exception of Gregorious and Andujar, who might need season-ending surgery, none of the players listed are expected to be out for more than a few weeks.

But with this laundry list of injuries six games in, things don’t look good. New York dropped two of three, at home, to the Detroit Tigers, widely expected to be the worst team in baseball this season. From how unsteady the team has looked, one more serious injury to a key player might sink them. Sure, the same could be said about most teams in baseball, but the Yankees weren’t supposed to be most teams in baseball this year.

If their health luck swings the other way, things will even out by June at the latest. But if it doesn’t, the team could end up in a formidable hole, one which will take some time to overcome.