Today it’s time to talking about a baseball team you’ve might have heard of, they’re called the New York Yankees.  The team that has won more World Series than any other team including 3 straight from 1998 to 2000 and the 2009 championship, but since then it’s been a struggle to back into the fall classic much less win it and despite being one of the more stacked teams going into 2020, they lost the division to the Rays then lost to that same Rays team in the Division Series.  A lot of this can be attributed to injuries and the Yankees more so than any other team it seems just can’t stay healthy.   I don’t know if it’s bad luck or just injury prone players but it’s at the point where when making predictions you almost have to assume some of these guys aren’t going to be healthy all year. 

Additions

• 2B DJ LeMahieu (Re-Signed)

• RP Justin Wilson

• SP Corey Kluber

• SP Jameson Taillon (Trade – Pirates)

• RP Darren O’Day

• OF Greg Allen (Trade – Padres)

• OF/DH Jay Bruce (Minors)

• RP Kyle Barraclough (Minors)

• SP/RP Asher Wojciechowski (Minors)

• RP Tyler Lyons (Minors)

• RP Nestor Cortes (Minors)

• IF/OF Andrew Velazquez (Minors)

• OF Socrates Brito (Minors)

• SP Jhoulys Chacin (Minors)

• RP Adam Warren (Minors)

• RP Matt Bowman (Minors)

• C Rob Brantly (Minors)

• OF Ryan Lamarre (Minors)

• RP Luis Garcia (Minors)

• RP Lucas Luetge (Minors)

That said, the roster is still awesome and just got a little better with the signing of free agent left handed reliver Justin Wilson, who pitched out of the Yankees bullpen back in 2015 and was awesome with a 3.1 ERA, striking out 66 in 61.  The 33-year-old has continued to pitch well for the Mets the last 2 years and should be nice piece for the Yankee bullpen.  Wilson has a mid-90’s fastball with solid cutter and an occasional changeup and curve as well.  DJ LeMahieu will be back and this is beyond huge; it was absolutely critical that they bring back their best all around hitter and one of the few big talents who stays relatively healthy.  He led the league in batting average, on-base-percentage, OPS and OPS+.  Need I say more about LeMahieu? 

The Yankees have also signed to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training Jay Bruce.  This could be a sign that the Yankees might not re-sign Brett Gardner but I don’t know about that; the Yankees have done nothing but build depth through signing decent names Minor League Deals this offseason as we’ll get to, so this could be just another signing in case guys starting falling like flies in Spring Training.  Bruce is somewhat injury prone as well but still, he’s got 318 career home runs, hit 6 in 96 at bats for the Phillies last year and can provide a power bat if needed if, or should I say when, Hicks or Judge get hurt.  He could also compete for backup outfielder/DH role with guys like Mike Tauchman and Mike Ford, neither of whom had a great 2020.

Any holes in the rotation was addressed by trading for Jameson Taillon and signing Free Agent Corey Kluber.  The bullpen was improved not only with Wilson, but with the signing of Darren O’Day,  who appeared in 19 games for the Braves in 2020 and gave up a grand total of 2 earned runs for an ERA 1.1.  He also struck out 22 batters and earned this one year deal at the age of 38.  Other than that, the Yankees have singed an amazing amount of recognizable names to minor league deals and I’m betting that at least a couple of them if not more play an important role in 2021. Adam Warren is back in the Yankees organization, former Cardinals reliever Matt Bowman was signed, Rob Brantly and Kyle Barraclough who were with the Giants last year signed and they even signed some extra depth and choices for the rotation with  Asher Wojciechowski and Jhoulys Chacin, neither of whom have been great lately.  That said, if any team needs extra depth in case of injuries, it’s the Yankees.

Lineup

1.       DJ LeMahieu 2B

2.       Aaron Judge RF

3.       Aaron Hicks CF

4.       Giancarlo Stanton DH

5.       Luke Voit 1B

6.       Gleyber Torres SS

7.       Clint Frazier LF

8.       Gio Urshela 3B

9.       Gary Sanchez C

Looking at a possible lineup when completely healthy, it is pretty damn intimidating.  LeMehieu is simply outstanding and after hitting .364 last season coming off an All-Star 2019 season, people can just put away the theory that he was only so good because he played in Denver.  There is no better on-base machine at the top of any lineup in baseball and he brings power as well.  Aaron Judge has played in just 63% of the Yankees games over the past 3 seasons and to be honest I thought it would be lower when I went to look that up.  Last season was a down-year for him when he was in there, but he still smashed 9 home runs in 101 at bats with 22 RBI.  Even at his worst he’s going to be a major threat in there.  The key for Judge is being in there.  Aaron Hicks is a consistent switch-hitter who will get on base more than enough to make up for his low batting average.  He also smashed 27 home runs in his last full season.  His defense isn’t the best but he’s got a cannon for an arm.  His main issue is also, like Judge, staying healthy.

The same can be said for Giancarlo Stanton, who has played in only 18% of the Yankees games over the past 2 seasons.  He was traded from Miami after hitting 59 home runs in 2017 and since then has hit 45 over 3 years.  That said, when he is in there he’s ridiculously dangerous if the Yankees will be using him almost exclusively as a DH to try to keep him healthy.  Next is Luke Voit, who hit more home runs than any one in the league with 22 bombs last season.  He does strike out a lot and doesn’t walk that much but if the tradeoff is that kind of home run production, the Yankees will take it.  The question is can he continue a similar pace in 2021?  Gleyber Torres will be looking for a bounce-back season after a drop in production but in his case, it may just be a product of the shortened season.  I expect better numbers in 2021.  However, his defense was also subpar and that is a cause for concern. Clint Frazier has amazing bat speed and pretty good defense as well.  He improved his patience and had a .394 on-base with 8 home runs in 39 games.  He should finally get a chance to play a full season in 2021 without getting demoted to Triple A. 

Gio Urshella continues to show that he’s a big league talent not only with the glove but also at the plate.  He followed up his impressive 2019 with another big 2020 hitting .298 with an .858 OPS.  Finally, Gary Sanchez at catcher had one big year in 2017 and has been basically horrendous ever since.  He’ll occasionally square one up and hit it a mile but otherwise just flails away with lots of swings and misses and poor contact.  In 2020, his batting average dropped to an abysmal .147.  If he can’t show immense improvement, the Yankees will have to go with some one else like Kyle Higashioka, who is a better defender and can’t be much worse at the plate.  Hell, I’d prefer Rob Brantly, who looked decent in Spring Training with the Giants last year and hit .314 in 236 at bats in Triple A in 2019. 

Assuming it’s healthy, this lineup is obviously very strong.  The main weakness is pretty glaring and to me, it’s Gary Sanchez until he proves otherwise.  Gleyber Torres also needs to be better.  Other than that it’s just about staying healthy and if they do so, this lineup is damn potent.  I’m going to give it an B+.

Bench

• Kyle Higashioka C

• Miguel Andujar IF/OF

• Mike Ford 1B/DH

• Tyler Wade IF

• Thairo Estrada IF

• Mike Tauchman OF

• Greg Allen OF

Kyle Higashioka is a solid backup but like I mentioned earlier, the Yankees have an issue at catcher so there could be moves on the horizon.  He has been a personal catcher for Gerrit Cole and that alone is a ton of a value.  Mike Ford hit just .135 last year and he’ll have to prove something at Spring Training to hang on to a roster spot.  The clock’s also ticking for Tyler Wade, who has gotten lots of chances to fill in for injured players but hasn’t been great lately, hitting .170 in 2020.  He’s got a strong glove and would have been a regular if the Yankees didn’t bring back Lemahieu. 

Miguel Andujar is one of the most compelling cases as he is young and powerful and in a full 2018 season, he hit .297 with 27 home runs and 92 RBI.  If the Yankees don’t trade him, and assuming he performs halfway decently, he’ll probably get plenty of playing time considering how injury-prone the Yankees can be.  Greg Allen came over in a trade with the Padres and he provides nice defense and speed but not much of a bat.  Thairo Estrada wasn’t great in 2020 but showed promise in 2019 and will also be a nice backup infielder assuming he makes the team over Wade and other options the Yankees will have in Spring Training.  Tauchman is another guy who showed promise in 2019 then fell apart in 2020. Overall, the saving grace of this bench is Andujar but even he’s a couple of years removed from a big season.  It’s not the most impressive bench – I’m going to give it a C.

Rotation

1.       Gerrit Cole

2.       Corey Kluber

3.       Jameson Taillon

4.       Jordan Montgomery

5.       Domingo German

Deivi Garcia

Michael King

Clark Schmidt

Luis Severino (IL)

Asher Wojciechowski (Minors)

Jhoulys Chacin (Minors)

The rotation for the Yankees starts out with a bona fide Ace in Gerrit Cole.  He had another great season in 2020 posting his third straight sub-3 ERA year while having the best average velocity among American League starters.  No one can blame the 2020 Yankees season on Cole, who earned his money in his first year of the $324 million contract.  Corey Kluber is another major signing for the Yankees and he was one of the better pitchers in the game before injury issues in 2019.  He only pitched an inning in 2020 and had to have a showcase to prove he can still pitch.  Apparently, it was good enough for the Yankees and they signed him to a one year-deal.  If he can get back to his pre-2019 production, this will be a great addition for the Yankes and if not, there is plenty more depth as you can see.

Jameson Taillon was likely going to be the Ace in Pittsburgh before getting traded to New York.  He has had injuries and Tommy John surgery, which is not a good sign as the Yankees have been burned on similar trades for rotation help in the past, but when healthy he has been very good including a 14-10 2018 with a 3.0 ERA.  Reports indicate that he is feeling great and should be ready for Spring Training.  Jordan Montgomery is a solid strike thrower and should improve on that 5.11 ERA with a bigger sample size and being further removed from his Tommy John surgery.  Domingo German missed 2020 after a domestic violence suspension but was elite in 2019 with an 18-4 record and 9.6 Strikeout per nine ratio.

The issue with this rotation is simply the uncertainty how everyone except Cole will bounce back from missed time due to injury or suspension.  Assuming everyone is at their best, it’s going to be damn good.  However, if there are issues, the Yankees have more than enough depth to keep things stable.  Deivi Garcia is the Yankees best young pitching prospect and has great control with nasty stuff.  Clark Schmidt is another option waiting in the wings.  Michael King showed some brilliance in the minors although he hasn’t gotten it done in the big-leagues yet.  Luis Severino could be ready just around the time some of their main rotation guys could start getting the injury bug.  And then, as I said ,there’s some more options getting Spring Training invites.  Although there’s some baggage and injury prone guys in the main five, because of the excellent depth and young options like Schmidt and Garcia, I’m going to give this rotation an A-.

Bullpen

• Aroldis Chapman

• Zack Britton

• Chad Green

• Darren O’Day

• Luis Cessa

• Jonathan Loaisiga

• Albert Abreu

• Nick Nelson

• Justin Wilson

• RP Kyle Barraclough (Minors)

• RP Tyler Lyons (Minors)

• RP Nestor Cortes (Minors)

• RP Adam Warren (Minors)

• RP Matt Bowman (Minors)

• RP Luis Garcia (Minors)

• RP Lucas Luetge (Minors)

The bullpen for the Yankees should still be anchored by Aroldis Chapman, whose strikeout rate is still beyond elite.  His velocity has dropped slightly but when Chapman’s velocity drops a little, it’s still around 98-100 MPH so I think he’ll be just fine for 2021.  Zack Britton would be a closer for most teams and is absolutely sick with a sub-2 ERA for the past 2 seasons.  Chad Green and Luis Cessa are both great mid-game relievers with solid breaking stuff.  And the big signing to help replace Adam Ottavino who was shipped to Boston will be Darren O’Day, who hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down.  He’s also had a sub-2 ERA for the past 2 seasons.  Jonathan Loaisiga has shown improvement every year of his career and Nick Nelson has big strikeout stuff and should be ready for a breakout year after a decent 2020 rookie campaign.  Pick one or two of their other options that might make the team out of Spring Training and it’s a decent bullpen.  I did want to mention Lucas Luetge as a big low risk signing who hasn’t pitched in the big leagues in 6 years.  He was lights out in 2019 in Triple A with the DBacks system with a 2.38 ERA and 9.8 Strikeout rate.  Not sure if there’s anything to that, but it’s some one to keep an eye on in Spring Training.  Overall, this bullpen is more than solid and I’m going to give it an A.

Overall, as a team, the Yankees are pretty stacked when you look at the names on the roster – Judge, Stanton, Cole, Kluber, German, Chapman, etc. The big issues is just staying healthy and hoping for a lot of bounce-back seasons from underperformance and injury.  Because of all those question marks and unknowns, I can’t give this team an A but because of all the added depth and great young talent on the way, I think they’ll be able to fight through any injuries and still be a playoff team in 2021.  All around as en entire time, I’m going to give the Yankees a B+.