The Cleveland Guardians return home to Progressive Field on Monday night having split a six-game road trip, and they do so with a notable advantage waiting for them in the upcoming three-game series against the New York Yankees. New York is banged up, and the injury report heading into this series reads like a who’s who of their most important players.
Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com laid out the damage on the Yankees’ side of the ledger.
“RF Judge (right rib), C Wells (cervical headaches), LF Jasson Dominguez (left shoulder), DH Giancarlo Stanton (right calf), RHP Angel Chivilli (right shoulder), LHP Max Fried (left elbow), RHP Clarke Schmidt (right elbow) and RHP Luis Gil (right shoulder) are on the injured list,” Hoynes wrote.
That is an extraordinary amount of talent missing from one roster. Aaron Judge, the reigning AL MVP and the most dangerous hitter in the American League, is dealing with a right rib injury. Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees’ designated hitter and one of the most feared power bats in baseball, is out with a right calf issue. Max Fried, who was one of the top free agent signings of the last offseason, is on the IL with a left elbow problem. When you remove Judge and Stanton from any lineup, the offensive ceiling drops dramatically. When you remove Fried from a rotation, the pitching staff becomes significantly more vulnerable.
Cleveland arrives at this series with some momentum to rebuild after a demoralizing 10-0 loss to Texas on Sunday, a performance that exposed real concerns about Joey Cantillo’s recent form and left the Guardians at 37-30 heading into the homestand. The road trip finished 3-3, which was salvaged largely by Tanner Bibee’s dominant shutout on Saturday night and a 2-1 series victory over New York earlier in the week. During that Yankees series, Jose Ramirez went 7-13 at Yankee Stadium, a performance that served as a reminder that few players in baseball are more comfortable in that building than Cleveland’s third baseman.
Gavin Williams beat Gerrit Cole in the middle game of that series, a win that demonstrated this Cleveland rotation at its best is capable of beating anyone.
Cleveland does not need to be reminded of what is at stake in a series like this. The AL Central race is tight, the Yankees are a genuine postseason threat even banged up, and wins at home against compromised opponents are exactly the kind of opportunities that separate division contenders from division winners.
The edge belongs to Cleveland. Now they have to take advantage of it.
NEXT: Guardians Big Move With Jose Ramirez Is Paying Dividends
