AL East preview: 1. New York Yankees
After getting swept by the Astros in the ALCS, it was clear GM Brian Cashman needed to make a splash in free agency if he wanted New York to overtake Houston as the best time in the American League. Cashman made some big moves, resigning Aaron Judge and bringing in Carlos Rodon to join the starting rotation. Can the Yankees finally win an American League pennant, while also defending their AL East title?
Re-signing Judge was a major victory for the franchise. Judge will serve as the 16th captain in franchise history, and will hope to lead this lineup to its first World Series trip in 14 years. While Judge is an incredible offensive piece for this lineup, he can only do so much to make up for the offensive holes that exist within this lineup. To the dismay of many fans, Aaron Hicks will start in left field. Hicks mightily struggled at the plate last season, virtually looking like an offensive black hole the last few seasons. I’m a big fan of Jose Trevino and the elite defense he brings to the diamond. After dumping Gary Sanchez, we saw how much better this team was with strong defensive catcher like Trevino. However, we can’t ignore his offensive struggles. The All-Star had a respectable .248/11 HR slash during the regular season, but struggled mightily in the postseason hitting .045 in 22 at-bats. Then there’s the dilemma at shortstop. Who will start this season? Will it be Isaiah Kiner-Falefa who is unable to hit for power? Or will it be the rookie Oswald Peraza? Potential AL ROY candidate Anthony Volpe is an option too. I think just about every baseball fan is excited to see if the #5 overall prospect lives up to the hype. After these three positions along with Judge were left with Josh Donaldson, Gleyber Torres, DJ LeMahieu, Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo. Is this really a World Series-caliber lineup? It’s something that certainly needs to be questioned moving forward. Undeniably, it’s a lineup that could have a ton of potential holes offensively.
While the lineup has its weak spots, the rotation is just about the best it’s ever been. After signing Carlos Rodon in the offseason, the Yankees now arguably have the best starting rotation in baseball. They now have a lethal top three highlighted by Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes Jr. and Rodon. Cortes Jr. broke out last season, using a multitude of arm slots and wind-ups to fool hitters. Luis Severino is the number four starter on this team. Wow. While Severino has been injury-prone most of his career, he’s undoubtedly an elite starter when healthy. Cole is still searching for his first Cy Young award, a fact that is quite hard to believe. Cole will lead this juggernaut rotation, currently sitting with the second-highest AL Cy Young odds behind Jacob deGrom. Can Frankie Montas turn it around? Before being traded to New York at the deadline, he was a really valuable starter for Oakland Athletics. Since he’s come to New York, he’s been nothing short of a disaster. He’ll start the first few weeks on the injured list, still recovering from shoulder problems. If he continues to struggle, the Yankees will fall back on Domingo German, Luis Gil and Deivi Garcia for additional depth. Regardless, German or Montas is probably the best five starter paired against any other rotation.
The bullpen is incredibly strong, with Michael King fully healthy from the broken elbow he suffered late last season. King, along Clay Holmes, proved to be an unstoppable eighth- and ninth-inning combo during the regular season. Both have a sinker that sits around 97 mph that is virtually unhittable for right-handed hitters. Wandy Peralta is the main lefty out of this pen, beating out Aroldis Chapman, tossing an impressive 2.72 ERA in 56 innings.
With Harrison Bader on the injured list, Hicks in left, and question marks at shortstop, hopefully New York’s loaded farm system can fill the void of these potential weak spots. Not to mention, Cashman is an ambitious GM who will make trades if this team is truly championship caliber. I’m quite interested to see if the Yankees can overtake Houston as the top team in the American League.