The Yankees made the playoffs in 2020 despite suffering through a myriad of injuries to their roster. The one consistent in their lineup all season long was a bit of a surprise: Luke Voit.
Acquired in a minor deal with the Cardinals in July 2018, Voit didn't just become a regular for the Yankees, he became an unlikely star, leading the majors in home runs and finishing ninth in AL MVP voting.
Now, with Opening Day less than a week away, the Yankees received some disconcerting news when manager Aaron Boone announced Saturday that Voit has a partial meniscus tear. The slugger had an MRI to confirm the news.
Betting Odds Impact: Voit will be down with no baseball activity for at least three weeks, per Boone, but because it's only a partial tear there seems to be some optimism that he won't miss significant time, and could be back as soon as May. Because of this, the Yankees' future odds haven't taken any sort of hit as of yet.
One area that could be impacted, though, is in Voit's statistical futures. As of Saturday morning, he was still on the board at +2400 at FanDuel to lead the league in home runs. He's +2500 at BetMGM, +2800 at PointsBet, +4000 at DraftKings. Those odds will surely go down or be taken off the board, but those who have already locked in Voit futures will surely be hindered by however much time the slugger misses.
Fantasy Impact: Voit has been a top-10 first baseman in fantasy in most standard leagues, going off as the No. 7 first baseman at ESPN with an ADP of 65.2. If you didn't already draft, Voit's positioning will clearly drop, but the fact that there's a chance he could only miss a month means he shouldn't fall too far down your board, as he should still mash once he's able to play.
The Yankees' internal options don't seem particularly fantasy relevant, even if the names are familiar. Non-roster invite Jay Bruce will now make the club and be the everyday first baseman until Voit returns. He's someone to watch, but if you own Voit, he's not worth running out and snagging unless you're in a league so deep that there are no other options.
One other player who could benefit is Mike Tauchman. The 30-year-old has been on the fringes of the Yankees' roster and is out of options, meaning the club needed to either include him on its Opening Day roster or expose him to waivers. The club seems likely to hold onto him for now. He's not fantasy relevant, but a breakout 2019 season isn't too far in Tauchman's past, so he's one to keep an eye on, particularly for a Yankees team that seems to find a few diamonds in the rough every year.
