Hal Steinbrenner, speaking with reporters on Tuesday, said the Yankees have a championship-caliber roster, with one key catch.
“Absolutely,” Steinbrenner said, via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. “If we can get them back on the field.”
Aaron Judge, Harrison Bader, and Carlos Rodon are just a few key players who are sidelined with injuries, with all of them not having clear timelines for a return. It is a painfully familiar sentiment for the Yankee brass, which lamented injuries to DJ LeMahieu and Andrew Benintendi last year after the offense went quiet in an ALCS sweep at the hands of the Astros.
Steinbrenner did not have an update on Judge’s toe injury, but he did add that one of the team’s current predicaments, struggling rookie Anthony Volpe, is not a predicament at all, and the team is committed to keeping the 22-year-old in the majors to work through his sub-.200 batting average.
As for potential changes that could be made outside of the current roster, Steinbrenner said, via Laura Albanese of Newsday, that ownership is open to adding payroll at the trade deadline. He was also asked about the job securities of Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone if the Bombers were to scuffle without Judge and miss the playoffs, and Steinbrenner said an October in the Bronx without postseason baseball wouldn’t be a death sentence to their tenures in New York, but their performances would be evaluated after the season.
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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