New York Yankees catch a break in MLB coronavirus halt

Luke Voit

Luke Voit was having a good season in 2019 (.278 BA, 19 home runs, 54 RBI in 94 games) before he ultimately got bit by the injury bug at the end of July in London. Voit was diagnosed with a sports hernia but was able to avoid season-ending surgery and returned to action late in the regular season.

The first baseman seemed to be a shell of himself after returning from injury going 1-for-32 with 13 strikeouts. His late-season slump resulted in him falling off the postseason roster. Last October, the slugger underwent surgery to address his core muscle injury and worked hard all offseason to get ready for Spring Training.

Voit has appeared in 10 games with eight hits in 30 plate appearances this spring. He was batting .267 with one home run, two RBI, two walks, and 10 strikeouts. There’s no doubt that the extra time off will only help Voit as he recovers from his offseason surgery.

Miguel Andujar

Miguel Andujar has been the biggest wild card for the Yankees this spring. After a stellar rookie campaign in 2018 (where he finished second in Rookie of the Year voting) when he hit .297 with 27 home runs and 92 RBI, he tore the labrum in his right shoulder. Andujar was limited to just three games in 2019.

The young phenom spent all of April on the IL and tried to come back in May. Despite his best efforts to play through the injury, Andujar clearly wasn’t himself. At that point, the Yankees and Miggy decided to opt for season-ending surgery.

During his absence, Gio Urshela emerged as an above-average player for the Yanks. So as the 2020 season approached and third base was occupied, the Bombers needed to find a position for Andujar to keep his bat in the lineup.

When Spring Training began, Miggy was getting reps at first base and mostly left field. When Stanton and Judge went down with injuries, Andujar’s role on this team became apparent at least for the first few weeks of the season; the 25-year old would be a part-time DH and part-time left fielder.

The reason Andujar is a wild card is with the season delayed until mid-May, there is a very good chance that both Judge and Stanton will be ready to play. If the Yankees outfield and Urshela are healthy with Stanton also getting time at DH, where does Andujar fit?

The extended delay might be suitable for the Yankees as a whole, but Miggy might end up being the one affected by it the most.

Jordan Montgomery

Jordan Montgomery was ready to return this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow in June 2018. He did appear in two games late last season, throwing just four innings, surrendering seven hits and three runs.

The young lefty was on pace to earn a spot in the rotation this spring with Paxton, Severino, and Domingo German (81 game suspension) all out of action. So far this spring, Montgomery pitched well. In 11 innings Monty had a 4.09 ERA and was tied with J.A. Happ for the most strikeouts with 16.

When a pitcher misses a year and a half, there’s going to be some rust. So with this extended delay, the spare time allows Montgomery to perfect his craft and fine-tune his mechanics for when the season finally gets underway.