One Flaw Could Come Back to Hurt Yankees in a Big Way

On the eve of Carlos Rodón returning to the New York Yankees, Max Fried was placed on the injured list on Monday. It was a cruel twist of fate for a starting rotation that has yet to feature all four horses at once. In some ways, it feels like there's a black cloud over the team's head in 2026, and every time it seems like they're making some headway health-wise, something goes wrong.

Think of a world where the Yankees are fully healthy and things went to plan. Rodón and Gerrit Cole would have joined the team back in May. Four out of five turns in the rotation would feature a frontline starter, and, on top of that, it feels likely that Aaron Judge would've eventually turned it around. After a somewhat slow start by his standards, he probably goes on another MVP run.

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge looks on from the dugout during a game. — The New York Yankees are hoping that outfielder Aaron Judge will return soon before the playoffs start. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Tampa Bay Rays are really good this year, but the Yankees are probably in first place right now if they're healthy. Instead, they're currently five back, and, good news by this team's standards, are getting positive updates on the injury front. The injury news has been so rampant this year that Fried going down once again doesn't even seem that bad, since this stint isn't expected to be long.

Now, if things go to plan, it will have to be because all their injured stars are healthy enough to play in September. The best-case scenario went from a team that was going to be whole in May to one now hoping to get everybody on the field weeks before the postseason.

A bad history of stars returning during postseason play

The frightening part about all of this is that the Yankees haven't had good luck with stars who came back just in time for the playoffs. Back in 2019, Edwin Encarnación and Gary Sánchez went down late in the season. Both were non-factors and looked just a tick off.

Encarnación slashed .161/.278/.258 in the postseason after returning from a wrist fracture. Sánchez, who got hurt stealing a base in Detroit late in the year, slashed .129/.250/.226.

The most recent instance of a returning player not being right in their return was Matt Carpenter. Carpenter broke his foot on a foul ball in the middle of the year after his renaissance season and just looked off after being activated in the postseason.

New York Yankees designated hitter Matt Carpenter reacts after striking out during a playoff game. — New York Yankees designated hitter Matt Carpenter was in the middle of a renaissance season in 2022 before breaking his foot. | USA TODAY Sports

In 12 plate appearances, Carpenter slashed .083/.083/.083 with nine strikeouts. He had one lone hit in the ALCS.

Cody Bellinger might be back next week, but the Yankees still haven't given a solid date for Judge or Giancarlo Stanton.

Given that returning players haven't fared well after being dropped into October play without much respite, there should be some concern about what Judge will be able to do when he is finally back. It shouldn't be a surprise if he's putting up the slash lines of Sánchez and Encarnación from 2019.

Same goes for Rodón and Fried. Rodón is back, and Fried should return to the mound soon, but both have had extended absences this season. And despite having about a month to return to form, is that even enough time for them to get into a groove? On paper, the Yankees should finally be ready to go, but some of their stars may not have had enough time to knock the rust off.

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