The Yankees have had their share of spring injuries so far this year, losing Zack Britton for the first half of the season due to a bone chip in his right elbow, and now fellow lefty Justin Wilson is headed to the MRI tube with shoulder soreness.
But compared to seasons past, 2021 spring training has been an encouraging one in terms of team health.
The previous two springs saw the Yanks decimated with injuries, including a number of serious injuries to key players, like losing Luis Severino to Tommy John surgery or Aaron Judge to a punctured lung and fractured ribs. But this year, the key position players have managed to stay on the field, which feels like a win for a team that is hoping to get to Opening Day with all of their big bats ready to start the season.
“I think we’re confident,” Brett Gardner told reporters on Tuesday. “Obviously we have a lot of depth whether it be on the pitching front or the positon player side, pretty much up and down the board, I feel like we’re really deep.”
Gardner has seen plenty of playing time over the past few seasons with injuries to Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks in the outfield, but both have stayed healthy this spring and with Clint Frazier set to be the starting left fielder, Gardner will be on the bench to begin the season. Of course, Gardner will be ready to contribute in a more regular role if the need arises, but the Yankees are hoping that won’t be necessary.
“I know that’s going to be tested over the course of a long season, hopefully not as much as it’s been in the last couple years, but whatever obstacles we come up against, we’ll be ready for it,” Gardner said. “Hopefully we can just collectively do a better job of all staying healthy as a group. I know that’s easier said and done, but I feel like our guys have put in the work and so far looked pretty good, so hopefully we can continue that run of good luck.”
Frazier avoided an injury scare when he collided into the left field wall earlier this spring, while Luke Voit shrugged off knee soreness to return to the lineup, and quickly tested it out when he tried to go from first to third, but was thrown out. With a week to go in spring training, the projected Opening Day lineup is still intact, which is a refreshing change of pace for the Yankees compared to previous years.
“The more guys we have that are healthy, the more confident we are and the better we are and the better team we run out there,” Gardner said. “On paper we’ve looked really good the last couple years and obviously have had some injuries that we’ve had to deal with. Hopefully this year there won’t be quite so many.”
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