Yankees injuries continue to mount, giving the Blue Jays even more of an advantage

Earlier on Saturday, news came out that New York Yankees starter Luis Severino is unlikely to be available for Opening Day, thanks to a lat strain.

He adds his name to a ridiculously long list of teammates that are going to miss time to start the season.

Position players:

C Ben Rortvedt (shoulder surgery)

OF Harrison Bader (strained oblique)

Pitchers:

Luis Gil (Tommy John surgery)

Frankie Montas (shoulder surgery)

Carlos Rodón (strained forearm)

Scott Effross (Tommy John surgery)

Tommy Kahnle (biceps tendinitis)

Lou Trivino (strained elbow)

This is without mentioning Nestor Cortes, who is currently working back from a groin strain but should be ready for the season opener in the upcoming week.

Fortunately for the Evil Empire, the injuries to Rodón and Severino don't seem to be long-term, but Montas is going to miss the entire 2023 season and will end his Yankees tenure with a whimper rather than a bang.

Clarke Schmidt already figured to get his fair share of starts thanks to the previously announced injures, but it looks like he is formally going to be replacing Severino in the rotation. He will line up alongisde Gerrit Cole, Domingo Germán, Nestor Cortes and perhaps a prospect like Matt Krook.

As the Yankees continue to be decimated by the injury bug, this once again will provide the Toronto Blue Jays with an automatic advantage to start the season. This Yankees club is stacked from top to bottom, so the talent is not going anywhere anytime soon, but the losses of some of the team's biggest names is great news for the other AL East teams.

All throughout the offseason, it felt like New York didn't do enough to upgrade their team compared to last season's squad. Sure, Aaron Judge was re-signed and the Rodón addition is no joke, but the team remains one or two significant injuries away from the 2023 campaign going haywire.