By Steve Herman, NYXNEWS SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR
Injuries have been contagious this season for the New York Yankees but oddly enough so has winning. A fixture at the top of the standings for most of the year all without the likes of some of their top tier talent. Giancarlo Stanton has only appeared in 9 games while Miguel Andujar’s season-ending surgery limited him to 12 games and that’s just scratching the surface. Pitchers Luis Severino, Dellin Betances, and Jordan Montgomery all have yet to see the field in 2019 yet somehow Boone’s crew is still bringing home the W’s.
However, their ability to win without some of their big names seems to have made their front office complacent. Their rotation lacks a true ace and when the chance to land a big arm presented itself at the deadline, Yanks brass refused to part with their top prospect Deivi Garcia. Maybe Brian Cashman views the return of Severino and Betances as the equivalent of adding 2 quality arms late in the season. Even still, pitching wins championships and that’s where they remain weakest.
Eye-popping fact of the day, out of the 9 different starting pitchers who have taken to the bump this season, only 1 of them carries an era under 4.40. That is downright scary and has to make you think. What happens if their bats cool off in the postseason? What happens if Severino doesn’t return or just isn’t the same when he does? This team is having too good a season for it to just be another one and done in the playoffs. It’s a shame that MLB abolished the August 31st waiver trade deadline this year as the Yanks could have really used a Verlander-esque deal to help cement their World Series hopes.
