MLB

Four reasons why the Yankees are in danger of missing playoffs

BALTIMORE — If ever a season set up for the Yankees to reclaim the AL East title, this was it.

They spent $458 million to import Masahiro Tanaka, Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran. The last three were supposed to lessen the sting of Robinson Cano leaving for Seattle.

The Red Sox, coming off a World Series title, fell apart. The Rays were picked by many to win the East and midway through August have yet to challenge.

Matt Wieters, the Orioles’ All-Star catcher, went down May 10 and hasn’t played since after right elbow surgery. The Blue Jays lost Edwin Encarnacion on July 5 with a right quadriceps problem and he is on a minor league rehab assignment.

Yet after Tuesday night’s game against the first-place Orioles was rained out, the third-place Yankees (61-57) remained a season-high seven games out in the AL East. The Yankees also are 2 ¹/₂ games behind the Tigers and Mariners in the chase for the second AL wild card with the Blue Jays also in front of them.

So what went wrong? Here is a look at a few areas that sabotaged the Yankees’ chances of winning the East and have put them in jeopardy of not playing in October for the second straight season.

Letting Cano go

The Yankees knew better than anybody how good a hitter Cano was when he left to Seattle for 10 years and $240 million. The Yankees’ best offer was seven years for $175 million.

Robinson CanoGetty Images

They believed Ellsbury (seven years, $153 million), McCann (five years, $85 million) and Beltran (three years, $45 million) combined with Mark Teixeira returning from a wrist injury would make up for Cano vacating the No. 3 spot.

Only Ellsbury has been a productive player, even if a .278 batting average, a .347 on-base percentage and 31 stolen bases is light for that money.

Injuries

Every club has them.

“I think the team that stays the healthiest is going to win it,’’ manager Joe Girardi said often during the middle months of the season.

Of course his club didn’t.

Girardi lost 80 percent of the Opening Day rotation before the All-Star break and Michael Pineda appears to be the only one of the four coming back.

The biggest blow was Tanaka (12 wins) going down July 8 with a small tear in the right ulnar collateral ligament that is being rehabbed with the hope of avoiding Tommy John surgery.

Beltran has been on the disabled list twice (bone spur right elbow and concussion). Teixeira visited the DL early and has appeared in 86 of 118 games. McCann went on the seven-day concussion DL Saturday. David Robertson missed two weeks in April with a groin injury.

Men without bats

Beltran, McCann and Teixeira haven’t hit like expected, and because they work in the middle of the order, they are the biggest reasons the Yankees are in the lower half of every major hitting category.

“All season long we have been disappointed,’’ Teixeira said of the feeble attack that is hitting a putrid .156 (15-for-96) during the three-game losing streak the Yankees will try to end Wednesday night against the Orioles at Camden Yards. “We all thought it would be better.’’

The Yankees’ 471 runs were 11th in the 15-team AL. The .250 batting average was 10th, the .696 OPS 11th, their 107 homers were ninth and their 439 RBIs were 14th.

Soriano/Suzuki

Alfonso Soriano didn’t have a set position when the season started, but he was expected to produce at the plate. When he was released July 6, Soriano was batting .221 with six homers, 23 RBIs and an OPS of .611 in 67 games and never adapted to not playing every day.

Ichiro Suzuki thrived in a part-time role, but failed when Soriano’s departure opened up right field for the future Hall of Famer who didn’t hit enough to avoid the Yankees acquiring Martin Prado. Since July 11 when Ichiro was hitting .306, he has gone 10-for-55 (.182).