The New York Yankees enter this season as the defending American League champions. They were disappointed by their World Series performance last fall, unable to showcase their talents in clutch situations.
There was a significant change in the Yankees roster, notably, Juan Soto moving crosstown to join the Mets. While that left a giant hole in the batting order, the franchise appears to use the saving of money wisely and every top-rated sportsbook has the Yanks favored to repeat.
New York Subtraction and Addition to This Season’s Roster
Besides Soto walking, other notable leaves were:
- RP Clay Holmes
- 1B Anthony Rizzo
- 2B Gleyber Torres
- SP Nestor Cortes
In their place, GM Brian Cashman added:
- SP Max Fried
- 1B Paul Goldschmidt
- OF Cody Bellinger
- Devin Williams
Fried and Goldschmidt are upgrades over their predecessors. Williams had a few more problems last year with Milwaukee, but Holmes also declined, so at worst it’s a push. Bellinger helps balance the lineup with a left-handed bat and improves the outfield defense by moving Aaron Judge back to right field.
Overall, this feels like a win.
Why The Yankees Will Repeat
When it comes to pitching for almost any team, year-to-year injuries can change the situation completely. Nevertheless, a case can be made skipper Aaron Boone might have the best starting five outside of Seattle in the AL.
That would require Gerrit Cole to have another fine season. Cole will be 35 in September and last year there was a noticeable decline in velocity and break on the slider. Maybe not having spring training had something to do with it.
Adding Max Fried will take some pressure off Cole, but the lefty also has to bounce back from his various ailments. Meanwhile, Luis Gil, Carlos Rodon, and Marcus Stroman will match up well with almost any #3, #4, or #5 starters in the junior circuit.
Offensively, the power bats are still in place. What could make this a more versatile offense is Jazz Chisholm Jr., Anthony Volpe and DJ LeMahieu/Oswaldo Cabrera having higher on-base percentages and letting Aaron Judge and others drive them in.
As far as the bullpen, Aaron Boone and company almost always have a Top 5 bullpen by June.
Why The Yankees Won’t Repeat
The starting staff has structure, along with age and potential injury issues.
We mentioned Cole’s age figure, Stroman is 33, Rodon is 32, and he has never thrown more than 175 innings. Fried has hit the IL the last couple of seasons with forearm issues. If two or more of these hurlers are on the IL at the same time for extended periods, the farm system doesn’t offer help.
Stanton starts the year on the IL, a normal occurrence in the past few seasons. He’s 35 and very muscular, thus, the DH spot could need to be filled for who knows how many games. Goldschmidt is 37, and unless Chisholm returns to his best days in Miami, this lineup outside of Judge and maybe Bellinger doesn’t start the season as imposing.
The Verdict
In looking at the AL Central and AL West, Cleveland keeps unloading good hitters because of salary concerns, making it a challenge to take the next step. Kansas City and Detroit are on the rise but at Pinstripes’ level? Probably not. Houston has peaked and ownership is less intent on winning. Seattle can outpitch anyone but can you win a playoff series with a limited offense?
That leaves Baltimore and Boston as contenders. The Orioles’ second-half collapse has taken the steam out of their ascent and is there enough starting pitching?
The Red Sox aggressively are back to compete. If Walker Buehler is back, having learned to pitch without blazing speed, he’s an ace. And if talented Garrett Crochet can reach 180 or more effective innings, having pitchers Tanner Houch, Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford not having to carry the load with speed-laden offense, they can challenge New York.
All things equal, it feels like the AL is the Yankees to lose and we’ll say they can repeat.
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