New York Yankees Battle Injuries as Season Fast Approaches
Injuries are becoming a major concern for the New York Yankees as they mark the final week of preparations for the start of the 2024 season. Already without Gerrit Cole…
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 21: DJ LeMahieu #26 of the New York Yankees celebrates in the dugout after scoring on an RBI double hit by Aaron Judge #99 during the seventh inning of the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on September 21, 2023 in the Bronx borough of New York City.
(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)Injuries are becoming a major concern for the New York Yankees as they mark the final week of preparations for the start of the 2024 season.
Already without Gerrit Cole for the next two months with nerve inflammation in his right elbow, the Yankees are now dealing with concerns over the health of Aaron Judge and D.J. LeMahieu.
According to reports Judge is the closest to coming back, in fact it is believed he will return Wednesday against Pittsburgh. Judge has been dealing with an abdominal injury that has kept him out of the Spring lineup since March 10. He has swung off the tee inside the Yankees training facility. MRI's on Judge's abs have come back clean.
DJ LeMahieu
Meanwhile the New York Yankees have graver concerns for infielder DJ LeMahieu, who reportedly is suffering from a bone bruise to his right foot, and may not have enough time to be ready for Opening Day.
“We’ll see,” Boone said Monday. “We’re going to listen to the foot. I hope so. It’s certainly reasonable to think so. But I’m not going to speculate too much on that. We’re going to look at it every couple days.”
What Losing LeMahieu Means?
Losing LeMahieu for a significant amount of time means the New York Yankees will have to look towards Oswaldo Cabrera or Oswald Peraza to fill the void at third base. Both Cabrera and Peraza have been highly touted in the Yankees system for some time, starring with the Double-A Somerset Patriots a couple years ago.
Peraza hasn't played much third base in his career, while Cabrera is a third baseman. Cabrera has hit better at the Major League level as compared to Peraza. Cabrera owns a .296 batting average with six homers and 21 RBI.
Gerrit Cole:
Of course the most significant injury is Cole, who is out two months with elbow inflammation. He can't throw for three to four weeks with the hope of avoiding surgery.
OPENING DAY:
The season begins for the New York Yankees on March 28 in Houston against their arch rivals the Astros. Talk about getting off to a tough start. They will follow that up with a three game series in Arizona against the defending National League champion, Arizona Diamondbacks.
The home opener is March 5 against Toronto Blue Jays.
While the New York Yankees look like a stacked team with the likes of Juan Soto, a healthy Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, they can ill afford injuries in the jam packed AL East which, again, figures to be the best division in baseball.
