Red Sox and Yankees in extra-inning affairs
The Red Sox were a staggering 15-3 in extra inning games and 21-19 in one-run contests. The Yankees were 5-6 in extras and 18-26 in one-run games, meaning the Sox were the better team when the final score was close. The Yankees were far more likely to blow out their opponent, going 37-13 in games where the drama was done by the time the 9th rolled around.
The blowouts explain at least some of the difference in Pythag record, which the Yankees had a decisive advantage in. Finishing nine games below their expected wins is likely due, in part, to the 28 games in which they won by six runs or more.
However, it cannot account for all of the difference so some improvement on that record could be expected even before making any changes to the roster.
And boy did they make changes to the roster.
Meet The New Yankees, Same As The Old Yankees
While the additions of Neil Walker and Brandon Drury were necessary for a team with holes at second and third (after the departure of Todd Frazier and the trades of Starlin Castro and Chase Headley), neither was a big move in and of itself.
The addition that had fans of the Bronx Bombers celebrating was the December trade for mammoth slugger Giancarlo Stanton. That’s because adding the only player in MLB who can compete with Aaron Judge for the exit velocity crown means the classic nickname for the team may never be more apt than it will be in 2018.
The Yankees also re-signed C.C. Sabathia, and Masahiro Tanaka activated his player option, ensuring the 2017 rotation would remain intact.
Meanwhile, north of Fairfield County, similar celebrations abounded in late February when the Red Sox finally inked J.D. Martinez to a five year deal with a couple of opt-outs built in. The Sox also re-signed Mitch Moreland and Eduardo Nunez meaning the 2018 offense would be nearly identical to the 2017 division winner, except for the addition of MLB’s slugging leader, “Flaco.”
So both teams made a significant addition to their lineups. How do their rosters shake out? We’ll use the depth charts at mlb.com for each team to take a look, and Fangraphs for projected WAR figures from Steamer. We will also refer to the positional rankings from this Fangraphs article. (There will be some modifications to account for minor injuries.)