Yankees Injuries Create Bind for Lineup, Payroll Imbalance Entering Season

A large portion of the New York Yankees payroll goes toward three players, creating a tough imbalance to work with.

Kenneth Teape | Mar 23, 2025

Jun 20, 2023; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman on the field during batting practice before a game against the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

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New York Yankees

There isn’t a team in baseball that is dealing with as many injuries to key players entering the 2025 season as the New York Yankees.

The team’s spring training facility looked more like a triage unit with several key players ending up on the sidelines from various injuries.

Some, such as the one relief pitcher Ian Hamilton was dealing with, weren’t too severe as he is in the mix to be available still for Opening Day. Others were more damaging, such as to reigning American League Rookie of the Year Luis Gil.

He is going to be out until the summer as he deals with a serious lat strain. At a minimum he was going to be shut down from throwing for six weeks and will have to do an entire ramp up process after that.

He was just the first of the projected starting rotation to go down, as he is being joined on the injured list by Clarke Schmidt to open the season.

A shoulder injury is knocking Schmidt out of the mix for the Opening Day roster as there just wasn’t enough time to ramp up stretching out his arm.

The most damaging blow to the starting pitching depth was ace Gerrit Cole having to undergo Tommy John surgery, knocking him out for the year.

Their pitching depth was crippled with JT Brubaker, Scott Effross and Jake Cousins all suffering injuries during camp. Jonathan Loisaga is still recovering from his surgery in April 2024 and stellar prospect, Chase Hampton, also had to go under the knife for Tommy John.

In the lineup, desginated hitter Giancarlo Stanton is dealing with injures to both elbows and a calf issue. Projected starting third baseman DJ LeMahieu is also dealing with a calf ailment entering the year.

That is a lot of holes on a roster to fill but the Yankees are lacking the payroll flexibility to go outside of the organizaiton and find some help.

As shared by MLB insider Jeff Passan of ESPN+ (paid subscription required), there are 16 players in the MLB who are set to make at least $30 million in 2025. Three of them are injured going into the campaign; Cole, Stanton and Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon.

New York has a third player on that list, reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge, who will be earning $40 million. Cole and Stanton are at $36 million and $32 million respectively.

That $108 million combined is 39.5% of their total payroll going toward only three players and more than nine franchises are paying their entire rosters in 2025. Of that, $68 million of that won’t be helping early in the season, potentially all year, as there is a chance Stanton also misses the 2025 campaign.

The Yankees certainly have the means to spend in the fashion which they have, but such a top-heavy payroll has made it tough to fill out the rest of the roster with capable depth at some spots.

No one could have predicted that the pitching depth would be hit as hard as it has been by injuries, but the team’s situation at third base and lack of contingency plan in place for Stanton can be traced back to their lack of payroll flexibility.

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