The 2019 Yankees: Rolling with the Punches

The New York Yankees have won 14 of their last 19 games and are two games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East. Who do they Yankees have to thank for their recent success? Aaron Judge? Giancarlo Stanton? Luis Severino?

Those are the players who you think of when the Yankees come to mind, but the team can thank players like Gio Urshela, DJ LeMahieu, Luke Voit, Clint Frazier and Brett Gardner for this spur of wins.

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Urshela, Voit and LeMahieu all stepped up in the Yankees road trip out West. The Yankees won six of nine games in their series against the Angels, Giants and Diamondbacks.

LeMahieu currently leads the team in batting average at .321 and Voit is leading the team in RBIs with 29.

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Veteran pitching has come into play as the Yankees have won every start that CC Sabathia has made this season. In his 18th and last season, Sabathia continues to play a part on this young Yankees team.

Although the Yankees will ride these wins as long as they can, the timetables for return of their stars is up and down.

The Yankees activated Clint Frazier and Miguel Andujar from the injured list on Monday. Neither had a hit in their return, but bringing key components back to this team will continue to be a step in the right direction for the Bronx Bombers.

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This is a Yankees team that currently only has four opening day starters in the lineup that are healthy. The Yankees were happy to welcome back catcher Gary Sanchez who missed 11 games before returning.

The most notable players who continue to stay on the IL are Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Dellin Betances, Luis Severino, Aaron Hicks and Didi Gregorious. These are all major impact players who the Yankees are going to need going forward.

Their timetables of return range from June all the way until August. Stanton was on pace to be back this week, but is now nursing a shoulder injury. The upside for Stanton’s return is that his bicep strain is completely healed.

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Judge’s injury is being treated very carefully at this point by the Yankees organization. There is currently no timetable for his return. Yankees manager Aaron Boone confirmed Judge’s injury was significant and little has been determined on when he can play again.

Betances and Severino are both having to deal with injuries to their throwing arms. Betances has been shut down since early April and Severino was scratched from his opening day start. He will make his return in June right now, but Severino will be sidelined until at least July.

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Hicks enjoyed a large contract extension of seven years, $70 million this offseason but has not featured in a game this season. Hicks is dealing with back pain and currently is looking to return at some point in May.

Gregorious’s injury is a lot more fragile than a lot of these other injuries. He underwent Tommy John surgery after the Yankees lost in the AL Division series last September. Gregorious had been one of the most consistent players for the Yankees all last season. Depending on how he progresses, the Yankees will have to make a decision on when to bring him back.

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The Yankees should enjoy this win streak as long as they can. Many players are having to step up for the team with all of these injuries. They hope to continue their success in a three-game series with the Mariners, which they started with a 7-3 win last night.

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