Yankees have a $138 million problem that might be resolved soon originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. The New York Yankees have been struggling a little bit lately, even though their 69-55 record would suggest otherwise. They're 7-7 in August, which isn't bad, but for a team trying to catch the Tampa Bay Rays and stay in front of the Boston Red Sox, it's not good enough. One of the big reasons for the middling play? The $138 million on the injured list. Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report called out that $138M figure as the one statistic that has defined the season. It's also the one statistic that's making things a lot more challenging for the Yankees lately, as this stacked injured list is posing a real problem. Yankees' $138M on injured list is posing a real problem "New York Yankees (69-55): $138M presently on the IL," Miller writes. "The Yankees have seven players with a luxury tax of at least $22M. From that group, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Cody Bellinger and Carlos Rodon are presently on the IL." The Yankees have $138 million on the injured list right now, but Rodon is coming back and will make that number a good bit lower. But the issue is still very apparent. The Yankees have too many players they've heavily invested in sitting on the injured list. Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger should be able to come back somewhat soon for the Yankees, but there is still a lot of uncertainty about their exact return dates. MORE: Diamondbacks' Corbin Carroll joins only Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio in wild MLB history But it's not just those current players on the injured list; it's the laundry list of stars who've been on the IL at times this season. Max Fried, Gerrit Cole, and Trent Grisham have all been on the injured list for some time this season. Anthony Volpe was out for a while as well, but they've replaced him with George Lombard Jr., and his absence hasn't been a bad thing for the Yankees. But one thing is clear for the Yankees: They have way too much money on the injured list right now, and it's proving to be a problem. If these injured players can return, the Yankees would be able to go head-to-head with just about any team in baseball. But for right now, the $138M sitting on the injured list is posing a real problem as the Yankees try to secure a strong postseason spot. More MLB news:
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