New York Yankees: 3 Yankees who can’t afford to get hurt

Luke Voit

This seems obvious, but right now, with three of the top four Yankees out of the lineup, Luke Voit is the only one who remains with consistent power.

He is tied with Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels with an American League-high 10 home runs, and has driven in 20 runs for the Bombers, attacking a Rays pitching staff this week that no other Yankee could touch.

Moved around in the order by Boone, Voit seems to produce wherever he’s hitting. Torres has started to show some progress in coming out of his slump, while Gary Sanchez has also hit better lately, but neither is supplying the Yankees with much power — and if Torres is going to miss some time, his leap forward has been muted as well. It’s been Voit carrying that load lately.

Voit took a step back in the second half of 2019, hitting just four homers after tearing his core muscles and attempting to play through extreme pain. It was clearly not the real Voit out there, though his downturn in productivity tricked many Yankee fans into believing that Mike Ford would steal the starting job away from him in 2020.

Now? Ford’s wonderful, but the Yankees cannot afford to lose Voit, or even let him play through pain.

If the Yankees are to stay within striking distance of the Tampa Bay Rays in the division until Judge and Stanton can return, Voit needs to remain healthy and keep supplying the Yankees with power. It’s not coming from anywhere else right now.

Gio Urshela

Urshela is quickly becoming an even more valuable piece of the Yankees than he was when 2019 wrapped — after all, that’s what happens when you prove yourself and do it all over again.

Starting the year in the bottom third of the lineup, he has moved up to different spots in the top of the order. He had a two-run home run off of Nathan Eovaldi Saturday night in the No. 4 spot, and continues to be a contact hitter at the top of the order in the absence of LeMahieu and Judge.

His defense has been his calling card since taking over third base last season, but this season, he is contributing more with his bat once again. He has five home runs and 18 RBI in 23 games this season.

Not for nothing, too, but Miguel Andujar has struggled to come back in any capacity in 2020, looking as weak with the bat as he did while battling a pre-surgery shoulder injury in 2019. Some Yankee fans may have feared an Urshela backslide in ’20, but likely assumed that Andujar’s potent bat could make up for the defensive downgrade, in case of emergency.

So far, Andujar’s been non-competitive at the plate, whereas Urshela has looked like a clone of his 2019 self. Without an adequate replacement, and with the middle of the infield now decimated by dings, the Yanks have placed a lot of faith in Gio Dude.

Playing Gold Glove-caliber type of defense at the hot corner, the Yankees need his glove and bat moving forward.

Mike Tauchman

Mike Tauchman is another Yankee who has seen himself moved around the lineup this summer, but wherever he goes, it just seems like he is productive — and can someone let Aaron Boone know he can hit lefties? Please?

In 20 games, he has slashed .333/.404/.431 with seven RBI. He has cut down his swing and has become more of a contact hitter, and with that, he has been doing a nice job of using left field by going with outside pitches.

There might not another Yankee who hustles out of the box harder than Tauchman, who has five doubles, which most come on ABs where he’s thinking two out of the box. Defensively, he has played all three outfield positions and committed just one error. Clint Frazier’s defense has gotten better, but Tauchman has always been Mr. Reliable in the outfield.

Tauchman fills many roles for the Yankees in the outfield, and as an option off the bench when he’s not in a game as a pinch-runner. It’s no secret that Judge has been fragile the last couple of years, and Stanton has been on another level.

Throughout the saga, Tauchman has continued to be a backup that is more valuable to the Yankees than anyone else.