Imagine if the New York Yankees Were Actually Healthy?
· Yahoo Sports
I said all season long that when healthy, the New York Yankees were the best team in the American League. The problem? Health never came.
The Yankees have been ravaged by injuries all year long, and they just swept the Boston Red Sox in the Wild Card Series without Aaron Judge. Giancarlo Stanton was available, but it was clear he was a last-resort option.
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New York didn't just beat the Red Sox, either. The Yankees dominated them, and while it's fair to say that Garrett Crochet was out just about all of 2026, as well, there isn't a contending team in the AL that had more injuries than the Yanks this season.
So just imagine if Judge and Stanton weren't injured? Imagine if Gerrit Cole didn't miss most of the first two months? Imagine if Max Fried — who was terrific in Game 2, by the way — or Carlos Rodon didn't miss extensive time?
And there were still plenty of more injuries to go around, too.
Sorry, but I'm not buying that the Tampa Bay Rays would have won the AL East against a healthy Yankees squad. They only won the division by 4.5 games (New York had one rainout at the end of the year) against this current iteration of the Yanks.
A fully-loaded Yankees roster almost surely wins 100-plus games. Just look at how good they are right now without some of their biggest stars?
Now, the good news is there is hope for New York to get Judge back as the postseason progresses, and Stanton may be prepared to take on a larger role, as well.
Judge is still working his way back from a calf strain he suffered on Sept. 16, and while the three-time MVP tried to convince the Yankees to put him on the Wild Card roster, there was never a realistic scenario.
Could Judge make it back for the Division Series against the Rays? Debatable. The 34-year-old still hasn't run the bases, and his calf strain was a moderate-degree injury in the soleus muscle — the muscle connected to the Achilles tendon.
Maybe if the series against Tampa Bay extends to a full five games, Judge can return, but it seems more likely that Judge would be more ready for the ALCS ... if the Yankees get there.
Stanton? He was ready to hit against the Red Sox, but Aaron Boone was obviously trying to stay away from Mr. October 2.0 himself. Luckily, New York didn't need him, but you get the feeling that Stanton's bat will be necessary versus the Rays.
The point? The Yankees are doing all of this damage right now and they are not even their true selves. If they can manage to get everyone back to full strength as we move into the October portion of the playoffs ... look out.