New York Yankees: Team preview and prediction for 2020 season

Michael King, Deivi Garcia, Jonathan Loaisiga, Jordan Montgomery, Clarke Schmidt, and Nick Nelson are all lined up to round out the Yankees rotation this year, not to mention Domingo German when he returns from suspension (if at all), and each one of them has a high-enough ceiling for the Yanks to be excited about the prospect of them getting quality mound time this year. The question will be if one or two of them will be able to make a big enough impact that will offset the losses the Yanks have already suffered due to their injuries.

There’s also a big question in my mind as to how Gerrit Cole will be coming into this season on the heels of a huge contract signed in the offseason. We see this time and time again where guys who sign big contracts ultimately don’t pay it off. Who were the players who signed monster contracts last offseason?- Manny Machado, Mike Trout, and Bryce Harper. How many of them made the playoffs? Zero.

So, in the case of these gigantic contracts, I think there tends to be some sort of letdown at some point where that player doesn’t exactly live up to expectations. Cole is one of the best pitchers in the game today. Many believe he is the best. I would say he’s at the very least top two behind Jacob deGrom.

But will he come in this year and repeat what he did in 2019 to a tee and clean sweep the Cy Young this time around? I tend to think he will have a small rough patch at some point. Hopefully, it’s just in the beginning and he’ll be able to hit his stride as the season goes on.

So, once again, the Yankee rotation is a big question mark for me. But what about the bullpen? We still have the great Aroldis Chapman in his prime to close down games as well as a strong back end with Zack Britton, Adam Ottavino, and Tommy Kahnle who’s coming off a terrific 2019 himself. But is this group really as strong as it’s marketed?