John Conway MD
2 min read • October 20, 2022
Posted in
This matchup between two of baseball's biggest villains contains a fair amount of injury storylines, especially in the New York bullpen. Each team won over 61% of their games this season, but enter the postseason without some key pieces that got them there.
The biggest absence for the Astros is veteran outfielder Michael Brantley. He is out for the season after undergoing right shoulder surgery in mid-August. Houston acquired Trey Mancini to help account for that loss, but Mancini’s production has dipped since joining the Astros. He hit .171 with 8 home runs and 22 RBIs in 51 games with the Astros.
Left fielder Yordan Alvarez has been dealing with power-sapping soreness stemming from what the Pro Baseball Docs believe was a midseason hook of hamate injury.
Alvarez had just 1 home run with a .312 slugging percentage in August, but bounced back with 6 home runs in September and October while hitting .355.
Lance McCullers Jr. missed most of the season with a flexor tendon strain and Justin Verlander missed a few weeks with a calf strain, but has been exceptional in his return from TJ surgery.
McCullers finished with a 2.27 ERA in 8 starts, while Verlander had an Al-leading 18 wins and a 1.75 ERA in 28 starts.
The Yankees have the worst health score of any of the remaining playoff teams.
The biggest issue might be in the bullpen and right-hander Michael King has been the biggest loss for the bullpen. He suffered a fractured elbow in late July, while Zack Britton was shut down for the season.
Clay Holmes recently suffered a shoulder injury in late September and only recently returned to the bullpen.
Holmes has pitched in four games, allowing 6 hits and striking out 5 in 3.1 innings.
Aroldis Chapman’s season was derailed with lingering Achilles tendonitis in May and he later missed time with a leg infection.
By the time he returned for good in early August, he’d lost a significant role in the bullpen and has been left off the playoff roster.
Outfielders Matt Carpenter, Andrew Benintendi have missed significant time after suffering foot and hand fractures, respectively. Carpenter is back on the active roster, but Benintendi is not expected back until a potential World Series appearance.
Aaron Hicks has been ruled out for the remainder of the playoffs, but was minimally involved down the stretch.
DJ LeMahieu is also not on the playoff roster after suffering from toe inflammation late in the season.
Gleyber Torres and Oswaldo Cabrera have been relied upon to replace his production, but have fallen short thus far.
Anthony Rizzo missed the first three weeks of September with a back issue and corresponding epidural and Giancarlo Stanton missed 28 games between late-July and late-August with left Achilles tendonitis.
Written by John Conway MD
