Rise and shine, it’s Opening Day. Hopefully, you have a fresh cup of coffee because the Yankees have a long list of things to work on.
Last season was erratic. A perfect game for Domingo German (in between suspensions), a Cy Young Award for Gerrit Cole, but no post-season to dominate in, potentially wasting one of Cole’s best seasons.
Injuries marred the team — first Aaron Judge stubbing his toe at Dodger Stadium, sidelining him for a month, and Anthony Rizzo was kept in the game for two months despite dealing with post-concussion syndrome, where he simply could not contribute to the offense.
There were growing pains for rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe and his bat, though defensively he was one of the best in the league. Carlos Rodon, signed last winter, was expected to be the biggest one-two punch with Cole. That didn’t pan out.
This leaves 2024 as the season for the Yankees to prove themselves. To prove that they’re worth the hype and that they can bring another ring to the Bronx. It’s only been 15 years, after all.
LEADING OFF
New acquisitions are here to build their personal brand as much as the Yankee franchise.
New York brought in Alex Verdugo and Juan Soto after they had underwhelming seasons in
their respective organizations, though there were different circumstances but for similar reasons.
Verdugo was repeatedly called out and penalized for coming into the Red Sox clubhouse late,
incurring public ridicule. Paired with an awful 2024 season that the Red Sox had, Verdugo
couldn’t do much, so being an outfielder for the Yankees could provide a type of renaissance for him — a chance to remake his image into a more serious ballplayer.
Soto, dubbed a once-in-a-generation hitter, was part of one of the most hyped-up and formidable dream-team ensembles that money could buy with Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. It went up in smoke when the Padres finished third in the NL West, 82-80.
That begs the question, is Soto worth it? He’s the big bat the Yankees desperately needed to pair with Judge and is expected to feast off the short porch in left field. But how long will he stay in the Bronx? He is a free agent after this season.
In the starting rotation, Marcus Stroman was brought in to provide depth at the top, especially with Cole out for the first two to three months of the season. An All-Star campaign was undone by injuries last season with the Chicago Cubs, who missed the playoffs for a third straight season. Donning the Pinstripes and back in his home state, he sends a clear message: he wants more than to be on the hill every fifth day past October 1st.
NEXT UP
There is a pitching crisis.
Cole’s arm is not available, obviously a huge blow to the organization. His replacement, in the meantime, is Luis Gil, someone who has starter experience but missed all of 2023 due to Tommy John surgery and rehabilitation.
As the sixth man off the bench for the starting rotation, he showed promise throughout spring training by holding batters down to a .127 batting average. In the instances he wasn’t successful and let up hits or home runs, he never came unraveled, but instead zeroed in on his craft, evolving. Whether or not he will succeed is to be determined, but he will constantly be under scrutiny, the way Clarke Schmidt was when he was plugged into the starter role.
Two other characters in the starting rotation are due for scrutiny in Nestor Cortes and
Rodon. Last season was derailed with rotator cuff issues for Cortes followed by other stints on the IL, shortening his season by two months. The daily question for him is whether or not he’s healthy enough every fifth day.
Rodon has a different type of consistency issue. Time on the IL changed him and therefore his
performance, so he’s almost difficult to predict every time he takes the mound.
When Joe Torre went in to relieve him in his second-to-last start in spring training, Rodon had not given up a hit through 5.2 innings where he threw 72 pitches — 50 of them for strikes.
In his final start of the Grapefruit League, his final line was 4.0 innings pitched, giving up six runs (four earned) on seven hits in 82 pitches, also 50 of them for strikes.
That difference begs the question of whether he be consistent for the Yankees, the way he was dominant in San Francisco in 2022.
BATTING THIRD
The Yankees are dealing with some injury issues not pertaining to Cole.
Anthony Rizzo raised alarms when he was scratched 10 minutes before first pitch of an exhibition game on March 22, but he’s said to be all good and ready for the season according to manager Aaron Boone.
He also said the same thing about his head collision with Fernando Tatis Jr. last year and Rizzo went on an awful hitting drought that month due to a severely late diagnosis
of post-concussion syndrome. Take of that what you will.
DJ LeMahieu has been out with a bruised bone for about two weeks now, meaning the Yankees infield has a gap in its armor at third base. It’s the same foot that he injured earlier in late summer 2022 that took him out of the lineup for playoffs that year.
IN THE CLEANUP SPOT
Is there something to wipe the slate clean, and give fans something to look forward to?
To avoid sounding like a Debbie Downer, there are bright spots to look forward to. Judge and Rizzo are back in the lineup, so barring any setbacks, the offense should be there. In addition to that, the Yankees have a generational hitter in Soto batting second in their lineup and
in the outfield.
With a heavy hitter like Judge batting third, this makes for a dangerously top-heavy lineup that can get on base and bang for power.
There is also Volpe to look forward to. Defensively, the shortstop did his job more than well, but his bat was one of the quietest in the lineup. This spring training, it appears that he
flattened his swing to put the ball in play more, and the numbers support that.
Last season, he slashed .209/.283/.666; this spring he shot up to .314/.364./.835.
In a world of inconsistency, Schmidt brings some. He was peachy all spring, doing exactly what was expected of him. In fact, his ERA dropped down to 3.18 during the exhibition slate, granted his sample size was five games and 19 innings compared to every fifth day
across 162 games.
