As another Yankees star heads to IL, these two players need to stay healthy

"Nasty Nestor" broke out during his first full season as a starter in 2022, going 12-4 with a 2.44 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 163 strikeouts across 158 1/3 innings pitched covering 28 starts, earning his first All-Star nod in the process. Cortes has had difficulty replicating last year's success this spring -- posting a 5.16 ERA and 1.29 WHIP through 11 starts -- but he's second on the team in wins with five (against two losses) and tied for third in strikeouts (59).

His peripherals are also a bit skewered by two bad starts when he allowed seven earned runs against the Texas Rangers on April 30 and six earned runs against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 13. The Rays (45-19) and Rangers (40-21) have the two best records in MLB.

With Cortes (and 2022 AL MVP Aaron Judge) becoming the latest Yankees to hit the IL, the two players who are most critical to keep healthy and producing are ace Gerrit Cole and oft-injured slugger Giancarlo Stanton.

Cole is an early candidate to win his first Cy Young award and leads New York starters in nearly all pitching categories. The two-time AL Cy Young runner-up is 7-0 with a 2.82 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 84 strikeouts across 79 2/3 innings pitched in 13 starts.

Fortunately for Yankees fans, Cole has been one of the best and most durable pitchers in MLB over the past six-plus seasons, as he's made at least 30 starts every year since 2017 (except for the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign). He's also pitched at least 200 innings five times in 11 big league seasons and has only had an ERA over four once (in 2017 with the Pittsburgh Pirates).

With Stanton on the other hand, fans in the Bronx can only hold their breath that the former NL MVP can stay on the field while his co-Bronx Bomber in Judge is sidelined for the second time this season.

Stanton has already spent time on the IL this year with a hamstring injury and he's played in only 16 of the team's 62 games thus far. With 100 more regular season contests to go, it may be wishful thinking for Yankees followers to expect the five-time All-Star to crack the 100-game mark for the third straight year.

The 33-year-old Stanton played in at least 120 games five times in eight seasons early in his career between 2011 and 2018 but has only done it once since. Stanton was limited to 18 games in 2019, and after the shortened 2020 season, played in 139 contests in 2021 and just 110 last year.

He's the best power source the Yankees have without Judge in the lineup and in his limited action this spring, he's done well, recording five home runs and 12 RBIs with a .254/.288/.556 slash line over 63 at-bats.

With the Rays and the rest of the AL East playing .500 ball or better, New York (36-26) needs Cole and Stanton to stay healthy if they want to extend their run of six consecutive postseason appearances.