If Brian McCann’s Toe Goes From Day-to-Day to Being a Problem…

The New York Yankees seemingly survived a scare on Monday night when the Yankees coaches and staff checked out catcher Brian McCann and a troublesome big toe. McCann stayed in the game after the scare and was listed as day-to-day with the big toe bruise allowing Yankees fans everywhere to take a collective sigh of relief. What if he isn’t okay though? I mean I’m sure he is, surely the Yankees would never lie or downplay an injury… right, but we like to play devil’s advocate here anyway. What if he’s not, can the Yankees survive?

In a word, yes they can. Gary Sanchez did not exactly force the Yankees hand this spring training but the only reason it was a discussion was because of a great start in Triple-A at the end of the last season that carried over into the Arizona Fall League. Sanchez, who would presumably come up in the absence of McCann, has proven that he can hit advanced pitching and in a 15-day DL stint he would be more than suitable as a replacement both offensively and defensively.

It wouldn’t be ideal losing a big bat, a defensive player and a clubhouse presence like McCann but if it wasn’t too serious I believe the Yankees could weather the storm. If it were a season ending injury, which I’m not suggesting it is or that it could be simply having fun with the “what if” of it all, we may be singing a totally different story. McCann’s bat in the middle of the lineup is one thing but his control of the pitching staff and the running game which coincides with his pitch framing and other intangibles that aren’t talked about enough I think the loss would hurt more than anyone may think or want to realize.

Sanchez has made great strides defensively and the bat can be MLB ready while Austin Romine gets the bulk of the starts and reps behind the plate but he’s not McCann. Sanchez and Romine combined are not McCann. The Yankees need McCann. Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez, who would see less pitches to hit, need McCann. Carlos Beltran needs McCann. We all need McCann. Hopefully McCann can tough out this injury and hopefully the Yankees are being truthful, and again I think that they are or he wouldn’t have stayed in the game on Monday night in Toronto, or else things could get real interesting going forward.

One man does not make the team by any means but it sure doesn’t make it any easier when you lose one the caliber of Brian McCann.