Halfway through spring training, the Yankees cannot sustain another wave of injuries

Okay, yeah, you're right: I  know the deal with spring training stats: Why frickin' bother? The tribal elders don't care, and a pair of bloop doubles can turn a prospect into the "It Girl" of Tampa. We all remember Kyle Higashioka last March: Leads the team in HRs, then goes until mid-season before hitting one.

Thus, disregard this stupid list, aside from maybe one column: ABs. Because playing time offers an insight into the Yankee brain trust activity. It shows who has a shot, and maybe who doesn't. (Not making his list are Gleyber (13 ABs), Bader (12, now hurt), Rizzo (12) and Rafael Ortega (12), who is strangely far below the player he is supposedly battling for LF: Willie Calhoun. Dare we make anything of this? Probably not. But if Calhoun keeps hitting, whatever deficiencies he has with a glove - and they are said to be considerable - his LH bat means he has a solid chance. Cashman is desperate for another Jose Trevino or Gio Urshela: Calhoun might just be the guy. 

Some other takeaways:

The Harrison Bader injury really hurts. For one thing, it's a strained oblique. The YES propagandists say he'll miss one-to-two months. I'm calling bullshit. When was the last time an oblique strain didn't sideline a Yankee for at least two months - often three? Secondly, we were excited about the Bader of last October - bat and glove. Now, we must wonder if we'll see the Bader of St. Louis, a gold glove and banjo bat. 

Right now, CF looks like a drainpipe awaiting Elliot Maddox. (Generational reference, there.) Would the Yankees subject Aaron Judge to the position, running foul line to foul line? I hope not. The dream here remains Estevan Florial, the one defensive CF left, and it'd sure be nice to get something out of a failed prospect, rather than releasing him to humanity. (They have no more options on Florial.) But thus far, Flyin' Florial has looked more like "Gloria" Estevan: 10 strikeouts in 22 ABs. Yikes. That's Joey Gallo Country. Florial might be our glove and SB specialist: he has stolen four, not yet caught. But with Florial in CF, our bottom third of the batting order would look sad and withered. Our lineup won't scare anybody.    

The Carlos Rodon injury has yet to be fully assessed. The line on forearm strains is that they might go away after two weeks of saunas and healing sex, leaving all to be groovy. But but BUT... after two weeks of sun and fun, if the forearm still hurts, concerns grow exponentially. 

We're a week into Rodon's shutdown. We won't know how he feels until he starts throwing again - around opening day. Then, the implications could fly off the charts. I don't even wanna think about it.

The Tommy Kahnle injury can be spackled over, for now. The Yankees have a bunch of young arms who can be touted as the pitching staff's 12th man. But the ice is thinning. Yesterday, the famed scout Michael Kay gushed over Matt Krook, a 28-year-old LH with "swing and miss potential," who might even be in the mix for fifth starter.

Krook was pitching the late innings against Philadelphia's Double A team, and it was a chance to show his stuff. Well, five hits and three earned runs, pulled after 40 pitches. Not saying Krook is a bust, or that Kahnle is the answer... we'll know in due time.

But if next week brings the injuries of last week, we are frickin' dead.