The Yankees' injured list is better than most MLB teams

Aaron Judge became the latest high profile New York Yankees player to succumb to an existential rash of early season injuries when the massive outfielder hit the injured list with an oblique strain likely to sideline him until at least the end of May.

Giancarlo Stanton and Miguel Andujar played only three games apiece before hitting the shelf. Ace starter Luis Severino and key bullpen arm Dellin Betances both opened the season on the injured list battling shoulder issues, and neither appears likely to pitch before at least June.

Over the weekend, the Yankees' television network put out an image highlighting the outrageous extent of the club's injury woes:

Outside of first baseman Greg Bird, every guy in that image either is or at least has been at some point an All-Star-caliber player. Stanton, Hicks, Judge, Sanchez, Severino and Betances all rank among the very best in the game at their positions.

The lineup in the image above is one that stacks up well against practically every team in the Majors. You'd rather have the Astros' lineup than the one currently on the Yankees' injured list, and you can make a case that the Dodgers have a deeper batting order than the IL Yankees do. But those are the only no-doubters, really.

Incredibly enough, the Yankees are still playing fairly well despite missing the bulk of their offensive core. After winning five of their last six games behind contributions from the likes of Gio Urshela and Mike Tauchman, the Yanks are a game above .500 on the season, within striking distance of the first-place Rays and 2 1/2 games ahead of the defending world champion Red Sox.