New York Yankees 2017 Team Preview

Key Offseason Additions

The Yankees made their big splash by bringing Aroldis Chapman back five months after trading him to the Cubs. The flamethrowing closer signed a five-year, $86 million deal, the largest ever for a relief pitcher. Some might question whether the team needed to spend big on an elite closer at this point in their retooling, but Chapman is one of the best at what he does and the Yanks will look forward to seeing those 105-mph fastballs again.

Chapman converted 20 of 21 save chances in New York last year with a 2.01 ERA and 12.6 K/9 rate. Aside from that Game 7 hiccup in the Fall Classic, he was even better for the Cubs. Regardless of whether he’ll make a real difference to the club’s ultimate fate in 2017, the Yankees won’t have to worry much about the ninth inning this year and for the foreseeable future.

With Alex Rodriguez out of the picture, the Yanks aimed to boost their production out of the DH spot with Matt Holliday. He’s another addition that might not make total sense on paper, but as a one-year stopgap he could prove valuable to the team’s contention chances. The 13-year veteran was limited to 110 games last year for the Cardinals with a broken thumb, and his slash line sagged below its usual levels at .246/.322/.461.

He did manage to hit 20 home runs for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons, and the Yankees were encouraged by his exit velocity on batted balls in play. At an average of 94.7 mph, only Nelson Cruz (95.9) and Giancarlo Stanton (95.1) performed better by that metric in 2016. Now 37 years old, Holliday’s glory days are behind him, but the Yanks are betting that if he stays healthy he’ll provide some pop and leadership in an increasingly young lineup.

Chris Carter was an unexpected last-minute signing right before Spring Training. He tied for the NL lead with 41 homers last season, but his well-documented problem with strikeouts (career 33 percent K-rate) kept teams at bay. For one year at just $3.5 million, the Yanks thought him a decent insurance policy for youngster Greg Bird at first base.

Of course, Bird has been on an absolute tear this spring (7 HR) as Carter flails (.125 BA). Barring injury or a real rough patch for Bird, it’s hard to see Carter getting much playing time. And given the Yankees’ hopes for Bird and the rest of their young core, that’s frankly a good thing.

The club inked former Mets infielder Ruben Tejada and left-hander Jon Niese to minors deals. Tejada might have seen a role in the wake of shortstop Didi Gregorius‘ recent injury, but a poor spring with the glove ticketed him to minor league camp. Niese was always a long shot for a place in the bullpen, and the Yanks released him. However, he signed another minor league pact days later to continue working on building his arm strength.

Both names are worth keeping in mind, but don’t expect either to impact the big league club this year.

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