In the context of the franchise's history, the Yankees are in a somewhat odd place. They haven't been bad since the early 1990's - and we all know what happened at the end of the decade. Despite such consistency in the standings, New York hasn't been to a World Series since its victory in 2009, and that year is the franchise's only appearance in the Fall Classic since 2003. For 29 other organizations that fact is nothing to worry about, but the Yankees aren't like anyone else.
Expectations are always extraordinarily high in the Bronx, and given how close the team has been in the last three years, plus the addition of Gerrit Cole, it's World Series or bust for 2020. With Opening Day coming on July 23 against the defending champion Nationals, here are the five biggest questions coming out of the Yankees' camp as they begin the quest for title No. 28.
1) The injuries can't possibly pile up like 2019... right? From the early stages of spring training last year, there was something off in the Bronx, and their injury luck never improved from there. A short list of injuries that affected the team include:
- Aaron Hicks started the year with a strained back, debuted in May, then in September needed Tommy John surgery, ending his season at 59 games.
- Dellin Betances had shoulder discomfort, debuted in September and after 2/3 of an inning tore his Achilles.
- Luis Severino had March shoulder inflammation, then a few weeks later strained his lat, and pitched in five games all year.
- In April, Miguel Andujar tore his labrum, opted for rehab over surgery, and went 3-for-34 in May before opting for surgery, ending his season.
- CC Sabathia missed a month with knee inflammation.
- New signing Troy Tulowitzki, oft-injured in his career, lasted five games before straining his calf and retiring in July.
- Aaron Judge missed two months with an oblique strain.
- Giancarlo Stanton played in 18 regular season games.
- Greg Bird played in 10 games before a fascia tear, missing the season.
- Gary Sanchez and Luke Voit each had two injured list stints.
- Edwin Encarnacion was acquired in June, and missed most of July and August with a fractured wrist.
In all, a MLB-record 30 players spent time on the injured list in 2019, yet they still won 103 games. Now, 2020 hasn't even started yet and already the injuries have begun. In spring training 1.0 Giancarlo Stanton wasn't 100 percent, and he might only be DH-ready come next weekend. Since the restart, Aaron Judge has missed a few days with neck stiffness and Masahiro Tanaka took a Stanton line drive off his head (luckily, he appears to have avoided major damage). Imagine how good this lineup will be, assuming everyone can stay healthy?
2) Who is the fifth starter? The offense and bullpen have been stacked for the last three years, but the biggest complaint to Brian Cashman has been fixing the rotation. He answered that in a big, big way last December, signing the 29-year-old Cole to a nine-year, $324 million contract. He is unquestionably the ace, after a season in which he led the majors in strikeouts (326) and strikeouts per nine innings (13.9), and led the American League in earned run average (2.50) while winning 20 games (his last regular season loss came on May 22) and completing a third straight 200-plus inning season.
Cole anchors what is arguably the best one-through-four rotation in the American League, joining Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka and James Paxton (assuming all are healthy... see above, as that's a big if, especially as Paxton comes off February surgery). In the postseason it doesn't much matter, and in a 60-game sprint it might not matter as much either, but who is the fifth starter? J.A. Happ appears to be the front runner after starting 30 games in 2019, but he had a 4.91 ERA, allowed the second-most home runs per nine innings among qualified starters in the majors and is 37 years old -- though he was good down the stretch last year. He seems best suited as the plug-in as needed.
Beyond him, it's a bit thin. Jordan Montgomery is coming off Tommy John surgery, Jonathan Loaisiga started four games a year ago, Domingo German is serving a 63-game suspension which will take him out of the running and it's unrealistic to think prospects Clarke Schmidt and Deivi Garcia will be ready.
3) Can the old Giancarlo Stanton return? After an otherworldly 2017 MVP season with the Marlins, his debut in the Bronx was a "struggle" in relative terms. He still hit 38 home runs with 100 RBIs (I know, awful, right?), but had strikeout problems early on, hit just .222 without an extra base hit in the ALDS and heard about it from fans. Then injuries piled up last year, when he played in only 23 games between the regular and postseasons. Now a calf injury lingers, and though he expects to be ready by Opening Day, reports are that any setback would cause the Yankees from pulling him from the lineup. He's obviously a valuable bat when he's healthy, but he's played in 75 percent of games just four times in the last eight years. Can he be counted on to play 45 games?
4) Where does Miguel Andujar fit into the equation? This is a good problem to have, but one that still needs answering. After a very good rookie season in 2018 in which he hit .297 with 27 home runs, but played poor defensively at third, he missed basically all of last season (see above). In his absence, Gio Urshela took the job and became one of the biggest surprises in the majors, batting .314 with 21 homers and 34 doubles. Though he isn't exactly Brooks Robinson at third, either, the hot corner appears to be his. Now that Andujar is healthy, where does that leave him? Giancarlo Stanton appears to have a stranglehold on designated hitter, with Gary Sanchez probably stealing a good 10 games there, too. Luke Voit is the first baseman, and both being right-handed it takes out a righty/lefty split.
Andujar's bat is too valuable to sit on the bench, but what his role will be appears to be determined.
5) How will Gleyber Torres handle full-time shortstop duties? There's no questioning Torres' talent at the plate after his breakout 2019 season. Now with Didi Gregorius gone, the 23-year-old becomes the team's full-time shortstop after splitting time between short and second base last year, and that has some question marks. In 77 games he made 11 errors at short - Gregorius hasn't had 11 errors at short since 2016 when he had 15, and that came in 153 games - and at times can confound with a show-stopping play in one at-bat, followed by a routine error on the next.
He's obviously still young and Aaron Boone says he'll grow into the role. Look at the rival Red Sox for comparison: Xander Bogaerts' bat wasn't the issue early in his career, and he's gone from downright bad to at least league-average defensively at short. There's no reason Torres can't surpass that. But when you're looking for questions on a team as loaded as the Yankees, you have to nit-pick somewhere.
