The New York Yankees defeated the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night, fighting back from a 5-0 deficit to win by a 6-5 final. After the game, manager Aaron Boone announced yet another Yankee was heading to the injured list -- yes, really: outfielder Clint Frazier, whose brilliant start to the season was interrupted by an ankle injury. In a corresponding move, the Yankees promoted reliever Joe Harvey to the big-league roster:
Clint Frazier is headed to the injured list with a partial tear in his left ankle, Aaron Boone announces. pic.twitter.com/OzI1ro8DfN
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 25, 2019
Frazier had hit .324/.342/.632 with six home runs in 73 trips to the plate. His placement on the IL wasn't the only bad news the Yankees announced on Wednesday either, as Giancarlo Stanton required a cortisone shot in his shoulder -- remember, he went to the IL due to a biceps injury:
Some injury updates:
— Coley Harvey (@ColeyHarvey) April 24, 2019
-Giancarlo Stanton had a left shoulder issue pop up while healing his left biceps (biceps have healed). He’ll stay in SoCal this weekend after getting a cortisone shot earlier this week, rehab here close to where he’s from, then rejoin Yanks in Arizona
Fortunately, for the Yankees, it does appear that Miguel Andujar, Troy Tulowitzki, and Aaron Hicks are getting closer to returning:
-Troy Tulowitzki has faced live pitching in Tampa, and could be close to playing in games there.
— Coley Harvey (@ColeyHarvey) April 24, 2019
-Miguel Andújar also has faced live pitching in Tampa, and could get into some extended spring training game action this weekend (surgery seems like it ultimately won’t be an option)
Frazier is the 13th Yankees player currently on the injured list, joining Stanton, Hicks, Tulowitzki, Andujar, Aaron Judge, Jacoby Ellsbury, Didi Gregorius, Greg Bird, Luis Severino, Jordan Montgomery, Dellin Betances, and Ben Heller. Phew. That group includes the Yankees' five top performers from last season, per Wins Above Replacement. In total, those players combined to be worth nearly 30 wins for the 2018 Yankees.
Yet despite all that sidelined talent, and despite losing 40 more days to injury than anyone else in baseball, the Yankees are in a relatively nice spot. They entered Thursday 14-10 and riding a six-game winning streak that has left them just 1.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays. There's at least a chance the Yankees end the week in first place in the American League East.
Given how deep onto their depth chart the Yankees have to dig to field a starting nine, that would be a remarkable achievement.
