3 Yankees Hurt Most by Delayed MLB Season

If there's a silver lining to be had during this professional sport hiatus, it's that teams dealing with the most injuries have the opportunity to get relatively healthy for when play resumes.

The New York Yankees clearly fit into that category as they watched the likes of Luis Severino, James Paxton, Aaron Hicks, Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge all get shelved shortly after arriving at Spring Training. Severino underwent Tommy John surgery so he was done for the year either way, but Paxton, Stanton, and Judge should all be ready to return by the time the season starts.

While that's great news for Yankees fans, it likely means that the players who were ready to fill their shoes will get demoted to a role off the bench.

3. Miguel Andujar

Don't get it twisted: manager Aaron Boone will still find a way to get Andujar's bat into the lineup. However, it's difficult to evaluate an everyday role for the 25-year-old star with Stanton, Judge and Hicks returning. Andujar, who lost the starting job at third base to Gio Urshela, was taking reps in the outfield during the preseason. Now, the Dominican Republic native will likely be a part-time player at best, logging reps all over the place whenever somebody needs rest. On top of that, he was swinging a good bat this spring before everything got postponed.

2. JA Happ

The last we heard from Paxton's recovery indicated that he was targeting a mid-May return to the Yankees rotation. With the MLB's hiatus expected to extend into June (and potentially beyond), Big Maple should be ready for the start of the 2020 season. That means JA Happ, who the Yanks shockingly didn't trade this offseason, will likely lose his chance to prove that he's deserving of a role in the group. The 37-year-old vet could still earn a spot at the back of the rotation, but we also wouldn't be surprised if Jordan Montgomery and Jonathan Loaisiga beat him out. Happ was another guy who was cruising through Spring Training and showing he's ready to play a big role in 2020.

1. Clint Frazier

The stage was set for Frazier to have a significant amount of playing time in the outfield while Judge and Stanton made their way back. Assuming they return in due time -- let's also not forget about Hicks, who is working his way back from Tommy John surgery -- the 25-year-old bopper will have to embrace a role off the bench once again. In fact, it's not out of the realm of possibility that Frazier begins the 2020 season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre. After all, Boone and Co. would hate to see him wasting away as a reserve with the big boys. You really have to feel for Frazier, who was off to a blazing start before Spring Training was postponed.