New York Yankees: 3 players with most pressure to succeed in 2020
After an active offseason, the 2020 season is championship or bust for the New York Yankees. That places a lot of pressure on these three players.
For a team like the New York Yankees, It doesn’t matter what your status is around the league. Players are expected to perform and deliver in the game’s toughest moments, and if you don’t, the fans will make sure that you’re aware of their displeasure.
It’s precisely why some of the games biggest stars fizzle in the Bronx, only to be reborn elsewhere. Players like Randy Johnson, Kevin Brown, and Kenny Rogers to name a few.
So today, we’re going to look at three players who the Yankees and their fans expect big things from in 2020. If they can’t live up to the hype, they face less playing time, being traded, and/or, more likely for this next player, experiencing the full wrath of impatient Yankee fans.
Giancarlo Stanton
New York Yankees fans were ecstatic when it was announced that the team had traded for slugger Giancarlo Stanton prior to the 2018 MLB season. He had just come off of an MVP season in which he led the league with 57 home runs, 132 RBI, and a .631 SLG.
In 2018, Stanton didn’t quite play up to 2017 standards. He did, however, lead the Yankees to 100 wins and a second consecutive postseason appearance.
That, of course, means very little to Yankees fans, and when he only managed to appear in 18 games last season, the Yankee faithful began to become impatient.
Entering the 2020 season, the Bronx expects big things from Stanton. I for one believe he’s poised to have a monster season. For his sake, he better or became the most despised member of the team.
3 Yankees with the most pressure to succeed
Adam Ottavino
When the New York Yankees signed Adam Ottavino last season, they assured the baseball world that they would feature the best bullpen in MLB. In many ways, they lived up to that promise… in spite of Otto’s performance.
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Even though he featured a 1.90 ERA in 73 appearances last season, Otto appeared shaky in many of his games. So much so that his 1.312 WHIP ranks as the 4th highest WHIP of his nine-year career. What’s more, he posted a career-high BB with 40 and was tied for 3rd in Blown Saves (7) in MLB.
Fortunately for Ottavino, many of his issues seem to have come from a lack of control, which could hopefully be corrected under the new team’s pitching coach Matt Blake.
Also, he is only under contract for the next two seasons, unlike Giancarlo Stanton who is under contract through the 2027 season. What’s more, since he is a reliever, Otto gets to hide in the bullpen for much of the game and will appear in just a fraction of the games a regular, like “G,” would.
So, while the pressure is there for Ottavino to perform next season, especially when Dellin Betances took his talents to Queens, it is not comparable to the 2017 NL MVP.
3 Yankees with the most pressure to succeed
Miguel Andujar
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When Miguel Andujar arrived in 2018, he promptly became a fan-favorite. Defensively, there wasn’t a worse third baseman in the game. However, offensively, Andujar worked his way up to the runner-up to the AL Rookie of the Year award.
In 2019, Andujar joined a group of New York Yankees players in setting a record for most players on the injured list. As a result, Andujar only managed to appear in 12 games, providing an opportunity for Gio Urshela.
In Urshela, the Yankees found the type of defensive player required to play the hot corner. What’s more, unlike in previous seasons, Gio also managed to find his bat, slashing a career-high .315 / .355 / .534.
This spring, Andujar will get an opportunity to compete to get his job back at third base, but the likely option is that he will take over DJ LeMahieu‘s previous with the team as the super-utility. Not only will Miggy have to show that he’s a competent defender at third, but he’ll also have to prove that he can man other infield positions as well.
In these three players facing pressure this coming season, the New York Yankees have a good problem in their hands. It shows that the team has great depth and the loss of one player can only mean that another, capable player waits in the wings.
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With Spring Training games set to kick off in just 21 days, as a fan of the team, I can’t wait to see how the season unfolds.