Baseball's regular season is less than two weeks away. When it begins, don't expect the New York Yankees to be at full strength.
The Yankees entered the spring knowing they'd be without shortstop Didi Gregorius. Since then, they've seen ace Luis Severino go down with rotator cuff soreness; veteran southpaw CC Sabathia require an angioplasty and surgery on his right knee; and outfielder Aaron Hicks develop back issues. On Friday, Brian Cashman conceded Severino and Sabathia will begin begin the season on the injured list and Hicks could very well join them. Severino's injury appears to be the most serious, and the righty will miss all of April:
Cashman said he doesn’t expect Severino back until May, CC not until sometime in (presumably) mid-to-late April.
— Brendan Kuty (@BrendanKutyNJ) March 15, 2019
It is becoming more realistic that Aaron Hicks will begin the season on the injured list. Brian Cashman said he and Aaron Boone have discussed their roster contingencies if that happens.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) March 15, 2019
Sabathia could actually start the season on the 25-man roster, however, in order to serve a five-game suspension he received at the end of 2018:
Brian Cashman said that the Yankees expect CC Sabathia to be ready for @mlb games in April. They’re considering beginning the year with him on the active roster so they can get his 5-game suspension out of the way.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) March 15, 2019
Factor in Jordan Montgomery and Jacoby Ellsbury's absences, and the Yankees will be rolling into Opening Day down three starting pitchers and three noteworthy bats.
The Yankees do have some interesting options to slot into their rotation and outfield. Domingo German and Jonathan Loaisiga are intriguing young arms, though Luis Cessa is out of options and likely to crack the 25-man roster in some capacity or another. The Yankees could, theoretically, also look at a free-agent starter like Dallas Keuchel or Gio Gonzalez.
As for replacing Hicks, the Yankees could opt to carry Greg Bird and Luke Voit, or shun one of the pair for Clint Frazier:
#Yankees GM Brian Cashman says Hicks starting on DL could lead to both Voit and Bird making Opening Day roster or one of them making it and Clint Frazier also on as 4th outfielder.
— Randy Miller (@RandyJMiller) March 15, 2019
Cashman and company have some time to figure it out. For now, though, it seems like the Yankees won't be near full-strength until May at the earliest.
Remember that you can follow along all season with our new injured list tracker.
