Yankees: Internal and external replacements for Luke Voit after injury news

It was nice somewhat avoiding the injury bug for like, six weeks, right New York Yankees fans? Now, back to reality.

Baked into the Corey Kluber update on Wednesday, which revealed he’d be shut down for a month, was a Grade 2 oblique strain for first baseman Luke Voit. An optimistic timetable would be a month. A more realistic one? Two months.

Once again, the Yankees will be without their slugging first baseman for a significant amount of time. Voit, who led MLB with 22 home runs in 2020, missed the first six weeks of the season after undergoing knee surgery, returned for 12 games, and will head back to the injured list.

Manager Aaron Boone will have to go back to his old plan of platooning guys at first base. Or, you know, the organization can figure out a couple more options that might be more intriguing.

Boone revealed who could be filling in for Voit shortly after he shocked us with the injury news, and sure, those are cool, but what about a few others?

Maybe another long-term one, too? There’s hardly a guarantee Voit comes back producing like his usual self, and obliques can affect players for the entirety of a season. We just want to be prepared, that’s all.

Here are some replacements for Yankees slugger Luke Voit at first base.

5. Mike Ford

He’s done it before. He’s a lefty hitter. Mike Ford has logged 98 games with the Bombers, but has yet to recapture that 2019 magic. Perhaps some consistent playing time this year can do him some good. But 2020 sent his stock plummeting.

Ford’s already seen 19 games in 2021 and he’s slashing .154/.290/.3327 with six runs scored, three home runs, five RBI and 10 walks. His 17 strikeouts aren’t a great look, but his hard hit percentage is an impressive 51.4%. He’s lifting more balls in the air, too.

Perhaps he’s among the top choices because he can hit from the left side of the plate, which is a trait the Yankees desperately need to diversify their lineup. But for the next two months? Not so sure.