Yankees: Rays pitching injuries prove NYY have no excuse in AL East

Tampa Bay’s injury woes proves the Yankees have no excuse.

For the second consecutive season, the leading narrative surrounding the New York Yankees has been injuries. Fans in the Bronx will be quick to remember that the club set a new MLB record in terms of players it sent to the injured list in 2019.

Fast forward to the present, and New York has seen sluggers Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu and Gleyber Torres all spend time on the shelf through the first half of the campaign. You could argue those are the four best hitters on the team. That’s impossibly bad injury luck, and — because we apparently can’t have nice things anymore — it has predictably extended beyond the Yankees’ big boppers.

Shortly after losing Tommy Kahnle for the season, the likes of James Paxton and Zack Britton were placed on the IL, putting further pressure on the club’s current assortment of pitchers to produce, and produce in doubleheader after doubleheader. However, as easy as it would be for New York to blame its current skid on injuries, that simply isn’t an option.

The casual baseball fan probably wouldn’t be able to tell, considering how well they’re playing, but the Tampa Bay Rays pitching staff has been absolutely ransacked with injuries. Try to not act befuddled while reading their current list of shelved hurlers.

If Tampa Bay is out here overcoming egregious injury luck, then the Yankees, who are widely said to have one of the deepest rosters in the league, should be able to do the same. We have zero joy in saying it, but the Rays are doing the equivalent to what New York pulled off last season as it pertains to winning, despite the hand they’ve been dealt by the baseball gods.

After a 12-7 victory over Miami on Sunday, Tampa improved to 24-11 on the season, extending its lead in the AL East to four games over the Yankees in the process. The Rays have now won five in a row, including eight of their last 10.

Following their 4-0 shutout (their second in three games) of the Marlins on Saturday night, Tampa Bay’s official Twitter accounted post a picture of the box score. We’d be lying if we said we recognize any of the names listed that contributed to the victory.

Nothing would please us more than hating on the Rays, who have established themselves as New York’s kryptonite and most bitter rival this season, but we have to give credit where it’s due.

Their resilience has been one of the most overlooked storylines in MLB, and the Yankees should seriously look to take a page out of their playbook in terms of developing depth.