New York Yankees: Not enough at-bats available for Bombers bats

At one point this season, the New York Yankees were without five members of their starting nine. Some have come back, more are coming back soon. There will be plenty of adjustments to the current lineup over the next few weeks.

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone may be the greatest lemonade maker in history. The Bronx Bombers received a big lemon early this season but survived a normally devastating rash of injuries to key players to hold first place n the American League East with 100 games remaining (after Friday). Their success has been driven by a group of talented young players, who made the jump from Triple-A and thrived in pinstripes.

Now many of those key players have returned or are about to return. Baseball lineups only have nine slots for hitters. That means several players who helped the New York Yankees win games over the first two-and-a-half months of this season are going to the bench.

What a great problem to have if you are Boone or GM Brian Cashman. Too many good players and not enough places to put them. Then again, for the affected players, turning in solid performances and then being asked to sit has to be extremely disappointing, no matter how much the team wins. They know that they have helped the team win this season, but find themselves watching from the dugout.

It’s hard on the returning veterans as well. On the one hand, they are hurt and need to heal. On the other, the Yankees are winning and they want to be a part of it. These guys are competitors and wouldn’t have become starters on baseball’s greatest team ever without some fire in their belly.

Once the regulars come back there will be lots of position shuffling. This is the New York Yankees and they are in it to win it. Let’s take a look at some of the more immediate impacts by position.

Catcher

This one is a no brainer and is the only position to hold steady. EWB did a recent article that shows Gary Sanchez is on pace to be one of the best hitting catchers of all time. He is the anchor of this team. Austin Romine is a solid backup and is capable of producing in the lineup if necessary.