The 5 Most Important Yankees In September

Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

#2. Carlos Beltran

Signed to a 3-year, $45 million dollar deal this past off-season, Beltran was brought to the Bronx for his history of post-season heroics. As recently as last October, Beltran proved his worth to the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Yankees have always had a love affair with the Puerto Rican who was the 1999 American League Rookie of the Year with the Kansas City Royals.

While the power numbers have come on over the past few weeks, he’s only hitting .239 for the season, and is nowhere near driving in 100 runs in the first year of his deal. Beltran has battled through a bone spur in his elbow, which prevented him from playing right field for most of the season, relegating him to designated hitter duty. Finally feeling well enough to play the outfield, he re-injured the elbow down in Tampa, diving for a ball on the hard turf. Swinging the bat is painful, as cortisone shots have been administered to keep the 37-year-old in the lineup. If the Yankees are going to see October baseball, their freshly-signed playoff hero of years gone by, needs to push through the pain, and put this lineup on his back.