Yankees: Injury woes continue, Betances out for the season

Only days after returning, Dellin Betances’ season is over. This “freak” injury is emblematic of the historic number of injuries the Yankees have endured this season. 

Dellin Betances has been one of the most consistently dominant relievers in the past 5 years. In a league that has seen a decline in consistent relief pitching, his presence has been palpable in the Yankee bullpen. Since his rookie season in 2014, Betances is a four-time All-Star as the Yankees’ primary set-up man. He has a career 2.31 FIP and a whooping 14.6 strikeouts per nine innings.

However, Betances had missed all of the 2019 season with a lingering shoulder injury he suffered during spring training. Later, it was revealed that he had a bone spur, which made his road to recovery even more difficult. Nonetheless, Betances and teammate Luis Severino, who had an almost identical injury, underwent a lengthy rehab process with hopes of returning down the stretch for the first-place Yankees.

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After many obstacles and setbacks, Severino and Betances were ready to return to Yankees to help them chase their 28th World Series. On September 15th, Betances was activated to the 40-man roster and was set to make his first appearance of 2019. When he stepped on the mound in the 4th inning against the Blue Jays, Yankee fans were ecstatic to see their All-Star set-up man back in peak form. Betances struck out both the batters he faced in that inning.

But that’s when Yankee fans got brought right back down to earth.

After his celebration of his second strikeout against Brandon Drury, Betances appeared to walk gingerly to the dugout. Two days later, it was revealed that Betances had a partially torn Achilles, and would miss the rest of the season.

For the Yankees, this type of news has become all-to-familiar. The Yankees have already set an MLB record for most players on the Injured List in a single season.

Just days before the Betances news, the Yankees lost All-Star catcher Gary Sánchez and slugger Edwin Encarnación for the second time this season. Both are questionable to return before the start of the postseason.

While Betances’ injury is disheartening for the Yankees, they have proven to have the depth to overcome major injuries. Despite their injury woes, they are currently tied with the Astros for the best record in the MLB at 99-53. While Betances will be missed in their bullpen, they have tremendous depth with the likes of Adam Ottavino, Tommy Kahnle, Zack Britton, and of course Aroldis Chapman.

On the bright side, the Yankees are actually getting healthier, by their standards. On Tuesday, Betances’ rehab-mate Luis Severino made his first start of 2019. He pitched four shutout innings while topping out at 99 miles per hour with his fastball. Severino gave Yankee fans hope that their ace has returned to top form just in time for the playoffs.

Additionally, Giancarlo Stanton returned to the lineup on Wednesday after only playing nine games in 2019. Stanton roped a double in his first at-bat back.

While any baseball fan can feel the devastation of losing your season to such a freak injury, especially after such a long and grueling rehab process, the Yankees still appear primed to battle for a World Series.

There is no doubt Dellin Betances would give anything to be on the mound for his team in October, but hopefully, he will return to dominance for years to come.