For a chunk of an afternoon, the New York Yankees appeared to be nearing full strength. Yet just hours after the Yankees announced ace Luis Severino would make his season debut on Tuesday (with slugger GIancarlo Stanton's return not far behind), the Yankees may have a pair of veterans to take their vacated spots on the shelf. 

Designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion exited the first game of Thursday's doubleheader with the Detroit Tigers after a plate appearance in which he walked. The Yankees have described his injury as a strained left oblique, and he's en route to New York for further testing:

Encarnacion, who came over in a midseason trade with the Seattle Mariners, entered Thursday with a .246/.320/.514 (117 OPS+) line and 12 home runs in 43 games with New York. He only recently returned, on Sept. 3, from a fractured wrist he suffered in August.

Left-handed starter J.A. Happ, meanwhile, departed after throwing 4 2/3 innings and permitting seven hits and two runs. Manager Aaron Boone said Happ will see a doctor about the bicep tendinitis he's been dealing with in recent starts:

Coming into his start on Thursday, Happ had a 5.10 ERA (87 ERA+) in his first 28 appearances. Amusingly, he'd done some of his best work as of late, compiling 12 1/3 scoreless innings in his previous two starts. Happ is owed $17 million for next season.

It's unclear if either Encarnacion or Happ will miss time -- obliques are notoriously tricky, while you never want any pitcher to have lingering arm trouble, even if it appears relatively minor. If they do, the Yankees will extend their lead in an undesirable category. So far this season, New York has accumulated nearly 2,500 days to injury, per Spotrac. The next-highest amount belongs to the San Diego Padres, at 1,836.

Nonetheless, the Yankees entered the day with the best record in baseball.