Injuries and Roster Turnover Threaten To Derail New York Yankees Championship Hopes

The New York Yankees have not had a good start to spring training, and that's putting it lightly.

They have a championship-caliber roster, but they already have three concerning developments to key players.

Powerhouse designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton has tendinitis in both elbows with no timetable to return. The situation is uncertain enough that the team is exploring a veteran option in free agency.

That's not a good sign.

Stanton's injury situation is beginning to mimic the mystery that surrounded San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey before the 2024 NFL season opener.

McCaffrey had tendinitis in both Achilles that, paired with a calf injury, caused him to miss the first two months of the year. His injury status fluctuated from day-to-day, to him flying to Germany during the season for medical advice.

After appearing in just four games, the running back then suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Stanton has not, as of yet, booked any trips to Europe. However, his dual elbow tendinitis is already coming with the same kind of mysterious explanations that 49ers management used throughout McCaffrey's injury uncertainty.

The commonalities between the two situations are unsettling.

Then there is American League Rookie of the Year contender Jasson Dominquez, who is outright missing fly balls in the outfield.

Dominguez is a natural center fielder who moved to left in order to accommodate the arrival of former MVP Cody Bellinger.

Growing pains are an expected part of that kind of transition, but two major flubs in the span of four days is concerning for a rookie like Dominguez. One more defensive blunder could force management into making a difficult decision on his role in 2025.

Dominguez could fill in at designated hitter early in the year if Stanton misses games, giving the youngster more time to adjust to his new position. But this is the Yankees where championships are the expectation, and on the job training is a luxury not often afforded in New York.

Then, on Friday, starting pitcher Luis Gil was pulled from a bullpen session after experiencing discomfort in his throwing shoulder.

Gil is the reigning American League Rookie of the Year after finishing with a 3.50 ERA and 3.1 bWAR in 2024.

He is now set to get an MRI on his pitching shoulder. That doesn't necessarily mean something major is wrong, but this kind of situation is often a prelude to bad news.

At the end of the day the Yankees will exit February with the status of three key pieces up in the air. Two of those involve very young players.

New York still has plenty of talent to be a factor, even if Stanton and Gil miss time. If manager Aaron Boone decides Dominguez is not yet ready to play left field, the Yankees won the AL pennant without him last year.

The team has enough talent to absorb those potential blows.

But the real concern comes if anyone else on the roster has a noteworthy set back.

Aaron Judge is the reigning MVP, but he'll also turn 33 years old in April. The 6-foot-7 behemoth has missed at least 40 games in three different seasons during his nine-year career. That doesn't include his rookie debut in 2016 where he only played in 27 contests or the 28 he appeared in during the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.

To put that another way, Judge has appeared in at least 145 games in just four seasons.

New acquisition Paul Goldschmidt is 37 years old and ace Gerrit Cole will turn 35 in September.

It might actually be more of a surprise if those two key veterans went through the season without a stint on the IL.

Bellinger will turn 30 in July and starting pitcher Max Fried and closer Devin Williams have both reached 30 years of age themselves.

Even with the uncertain status of Stanton and Gil, or if Dominguez continues to struggle defensively, they are still the team to beat in the American League.

But if they are going to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers this year, the Yankees need all hands on deck.

If another key player goes down or unexpectedly struggles, New York suddenly becomes a team that's in danger of being overtaken in the American League.

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