Hal Steinbrenner spoke with reporters at the MLB owners meetings on Tuesday, and noted his team’s painfully familiar struggles with injuries, as the team continues to battle the injury bug despite their strength and conditioning overhaul in 2020.
“We tend to have an older team,” Steinbrenner said, via Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. “And I think workload management is something we really strive to get better at.”
Asked if the Yankees have considered seeking out younger talent in free agency rather than previous trends where they target veterans like DJ LeMahieu, Carlos Rodon, and Anthony Rizzo, Steinbrenner said that isn’t what the Yankee fans want to see.
“No, but look, we’re always trying to do what we can to have a great player development system, and I think we got some good young talent coming up behind [Oswald] Peraza, behind [Anthony] Volpe,” Steinbrenner said, via Kirschner. “[Jasson] Dominguez, Spencer Jones, Austin Wells. We got some good guys.
“This is New York City. Fans want the stars. We need the veterans. It needs to be a good mix of veterans and young kids.”
Rodon, Judge, and Rizzo, the team’s big free agent signings this past offseason, have all battled injuries this season, with Rodon still yet to make his debut, Judge on the IL for the second time this season, and Rizzo slumping badly after a neck injury. Even Tommy Kahnle, the team’s big bullpen signing, missed extended time with biceps tendinitis. Still, Steinbrenner says he wouldn’t change the team’s approach this past winter.
“I felt we did everything we needed to do in the offseason,” Steinbrenner said.
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