The New York Yankees set a new record on Friday, and it’s not necessarily a record teams want to have.
The New York Yankees officially set the record for most players on the injured list this year with 29 when they put Gio Urshela on the list. They beat the 2016 Los Angeles Dodgers who had 28.
With all of these injuries the Yankees have lost the most man games this year at 2,246. The closest team to that mark is the San Diego Padres at 1,653.
They have used the IL 36 separate times this season and have had big injuries to big star players including, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, and Luis Severino to name a few.
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Despite all of these injuries, the Yankees own the leagues best record at 89-48, leading the AL East by a whopping 10 1/2 games over the Tampa Bay Rays. This is because some lesser known players have really stepped up this season.
The most overlooked player on this team has to be DJ LeMahieu. He has been a big reason they are where they are. He is slashing .335/.383/.536 with 23 home runs and 89 RBI’s. The home runs and RBI’s are career highs for him.
His .335 average is leading the major leagues and he will probably end up with the batting title this year barring any injuries. Signing him away from the Colorado Rockies in the offseason was the best move the team made.
He has been the swiss army knife for Aaron Boone, playing pretty much every position in the infield at one point or another.
Urshela was also succeeding prior to his injury and was another weapon in Boone’s arsenal. He was slashing .331/.370/.555 with 18 home runs and 67 RBI’s.
Only Urshela, LeMahieu, Gleyber Torres and Brett Gardner have played in more than 100 games to this point in the year.
The one thing I know about the New York Yankees after this season, is they absolutely need to sign Lemahieu to a long-term contract. He’s only signed through next season despite being the best player on the team this year.
They are poised to make some noise in the playoffs because of what he has done.