New York Yankees: 5 Creative Ideas to Overcome Injury Crisis

If only the New York Yankees' recent misfortunes stayed confined to the rule of threes.

On June 12, they improved to 38-23 with their sixth-straight victory, and fans already began envisioning October baseball in the Bronx.  

Fast-forward to July, and they're 44-38 following an Independence Day loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. A cozy American League East lead has decayed into a four-game deficit behind the Boston Red Sox, and the entire AL remains in the wild-card hunt.

After enjoying relative health for most of the season, they lost Starlin Castro, Matt Holliday, Aaron Hicks, CC Sabathia and Adam Warren. Inching closer to a promotion, top prospect Gleyber Torres instead went under the knife. Dustin Fowler and Tyler Austin received call-ups, but neither lasted a week before getting hurt.

Suddenly the Yankees are scrambling to fill out a lineup card. Making matters worse, relievers Tyler Clippard and Dellin Betances have unraveled amid the madness.

How can the contenders avoid a collapse? Assuming "clone Aaron Judge" isn't an option, here are some suggestions to help stay afloat during tumultuous times.

Keep Batting Aaron Judge No. 2

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Aaron Judge has started a few games in the No. 2 spot.

When picturing a No. 2 hitter, many fans still see a scrappy contact fiend who can work the count, move the batting order and accomplish some other baseball cliche. They don't imagine Aaron Judge, a 6'7", 282-pound demigod who makes fellow All-Star Jose Altuve look like a toddler. 

Nevertheless, Yankees manager Joe Girardi has used him in the No. 2 hole five times during the past week. Limited options forced him to think outside the box, but it's an interesting experiment worth conducting even when some reinforcements arrive.

Published a decade ago by Tom Tango, Mitchel Lichtman and Andrew Dolphin, The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball determined that the No. 2 hitter bats in as many high-stakes situations as the No. 3 hitter, but he naturally does so more often as a result of residing earlier in the order. Many teams have since moved their stars up to a position once occupied by powerless professionals with a polished plate approach.

This wouldn't make sense if Judge were the three-true-outcomes slugger most scouts envisioned. Yet baseball-torturing power isn't his only asset. The rookie is also hitting .329 with an MLB-best .444 on-base percentage. 

If Girardi would rather his slugger occupy the third spot, Gary Sanchez should precede him in the slot he often engrossed before Aaron Hicks' emergence. With the lineup at full strength, they will score runs regardless of the arrangement. For now, they might as well keep tinkering.

The best batters who reach base the most should receive the most plate appearances. Higher placement on the lineup card accomplishes that.

Add Chance Adams to a Six-Man Rotation

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Prospect Chance Adams is waiting for an opportunity to join the New York Yankees rotation.

With CC Sabathia and Adam Warren back from the shelf, no pitching ailments are holding New York's staff back. Yet, the unit is more responsible for the squad's struggles.

A point of pride early in 2017, the Yankees have relinquished 80 runs during the past 15 games. While Masahiro Tanaka has regained his rhythm, Michael Pineda is back to trading gems with blowup outings. 

They should worry about their rotation holding up throughout the second half. Neither of their two top starters, Luis Severino and Jordan Montgomery, has pitched a full season in the majors. Sabathia, who turns 37 later this month, can no longer be treated as a reliable workhorse.

Yet none of these guys deserve to get booted from the rotation, which makes a midseason trade unnecessary if they all stay healthy. The organization, however, can ease the group's strain by tinkering with a six-man rotation featuring Chance Adams.

The burgeoning prospect is ready for the spotlight, submitting a 1.85 ERA in 16 Double-A and Triple-A starts. He has struck out over a batter per frame in Triple-A while decreasing his walk rate to 3.25 per nine innings. 

A six-man unit would keep Severino and Montgomery's workload in check while allowing Girardi to pitch his starters a tad deeper into each outing. This could shorten the bridge to Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman, which would primarily feature superb long relievers Warren and Chad Green consuming the middle innings.

Don't expect this to happen. If this was on the table, the Yankees would have promoted Adams after sending Sabathia to the disabled list in mid-June.

Let Miguel Andujar Learn on the Job

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Miguel Andujar hasn't played for the Yankees since recording three hits and four RBI in his MLB debut.

Starting Miguel Andujar is not ideal, but it's their best option.

The 22-year-old third baseman played just eight Triple-A games before going 3-for-4 with a walk and four RBI in his MLB debut. He then went right back to the minors so Chris Carter—replaced by Tyler Austin—could replace the injured Austin. They officially designated Carter for assignment after Tuesday's game. 

When Dustin Fowler ruptured his patellar tendon in his MLB debut, the Yankees brought Andujar right back up. Then he went right back down to make room for Clint Frazier.

"We want him playing third base every day and to continue to develop," Girardi said after Andujar's first demotion, per MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. "This will not be the last time that we see him."

Their reluctance to roll with the prospect is understandable. He barely received time in Triple-A, and his glove isn't ready to lock down a corner infield slot. Although Andujar is better suited for a short-term stint as a designated hitter, they have a more pressing need at first base.

Given the circumstances and his promising opening game, the Bronx Bombers might as well push him into the deep end. The neophyte can't play much worse than Carter, who was hitting .201/.284/.370 prior to his second designation for assignment in two weeks.

Andujar is not a permanent solution for their playoff push. Holliday could log some reps at first when he returns. Tyler Wade can either shift over from second when Castro takes his spot back or move to third with Chase Headley sliding across the diamond. 

Injuries to Torres and Fowler will make it tougher for the Yankees to make a major trade, but they can still find a serviceable corner infielder.

If they don't think Andujar will develop defensive tools, perhaps he's the prospect leveraged for a deadline shakeup. A strong week or two at the plate would enhance his value and create a sell-high opportunity.

Corner Infield Platoons

Jason O. Watson/Getty Images

Chase Headley would benefit from a platoon limiting him to right-handed pitchers.

Chase Headley isn't as bad as critics think. Although he hasn't provided power since 2012's 31-homer outlier with the San Diego Padres, he has solidified a .347 on-base percentage on the strength of a 11.6 walk rate. His glovework is more erratic than usual, but the 33-year-old has a compelling track record at third.

If he's their biggest problem, the lineup will be fine. He's even above-average against righties, registering a .788 OPS and 114 weighted runs created plus (wRC+) prior to Tuesday's game. Against southpaws, however, he's hitting .195/.225/.286 with a 31 wRC+.

The right-handed Ronald Torreyes, meanwhile, is 11-for-25 versus southpaws. One must urge extreme caution when playing with small sample sizes, but Headley's steep splits should open the door for a platoon.

It's far too early to get any read on Wade, but the versatile lefty could form another corner infield partnership with Andujar or the recently promoted Ji-Man Choi. The latter is likelier given the franchise's preference to give Andujar regular playing time.

Even when Castro comes back, Girardi can find innovative ways to utilize Torreyes and Wade, two utility men who offer their skipper positional flexibility. And again, these are more bandages on wounds waiting to heal.

It's possible all of these guys are out of starting spots if they recover to full strength and acquire another bat.

Be Patient

Elsa/Getty Images

Starlin Castro should return soon, and Aaron Hicks may not be too far behind.

Patience in New York? This is the craziest idea of them all.

Enhanced attention bestowed upon the Yankees magnifies their peaks and valleys, but every baseball team hits a rough patch somewhere along the 162-game season. And it's not like they now face an uphill climb like the New York Mets, who can kiss their NL East chances goodbye after two losses to the Washington Nationals.

The Yankees still control the AL's first wild-card spot. They can still win the division and claim the league's second-best record behind the Houston Astros. Maybe three rough weeks is just three rough weeks rather a reason to panic.

Sabathia returned to a now healthy pitching staff. Warren and Castro shouldn't be far behind. If Hicks' initial timetable of three-to-four weeks holds up, he'll return by the end of July. 

Holliday's situation is more fluid, as he has still not recovered from a virus that caused him fatigue last week. If he feels better within the coming weeks, they're back on track for the stretch run.

If not, maybe Judge and Sanchez can still keep them in the race. The short-sighted offense scored 12 runs on Thursday and 13 on Sunday, so they clearly have enough firepower left on the roster.

Get Castro back and trade some mid-tier prospects for a first-base rental a la Lucas Duda or Yonder Alonso, and they're back on the postseason path with better results from a slumping pitching staff.

The injury bug isn't exclusive to the Yankees. There's no national attention devoted to the Tampa Bay Rays lurking without Kevin Kiermaier, Brad Miller, Colby Rasmus and Matt Andriese. Or the Baltimore Orioles hanging for dear life without Chris Davis and Zach Britton.

While the Yankees would have preferred to enter the All-Star break boasting an AL East advantage, these obstacles aren't the end of the world. Everyone needs to endure some adversity along the way.

All advanced stats are courtesy of FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.